Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ehhhh...my 5 year old who is 36inches and 30lbs who is still rearfacing...

I don't really care if its popular. You can't fix dead and my son is way safer rearfacing.

You have a five-year-old child facing backwards?!?!?! How does he/she go on playdates in other people's cars?

I've got three children in different schools and I've never, ever heard of or seen a five-year-old facing backwards. That is definitely unusual. Most five-year-olds in NW DC are in booster seats.

Wow, your kid doesn't ever ask to see where he or she is going? My 3 and 5 year old kids notice road signs, trucks, people walking, etc. and we can talk about what we are seeing. My five year old loves practicing reading signs that we pass on a regular basis. I think it helped him figure out how to read. The other day my husband took my five year old for a playdate and he didn't know the way. As he was calling me to get directions, my five year old was able to tell him where to turn.

Why would he he's never sat any other way? He can still see signs and tell me when to turn

Honest question..where do their legs go? Are they sitting indian style? Maybe my kids are just big.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ehhhh...my 5 year old who is 36inches and 30lbs who is still rearfacing...

I don't really care if its popular. You can't fix dead and my son is way safer rearfacing.

You have a five-year-old child facing backwards?!?!?! How does he/she go on playdates in other people's cars?

I've got three children in different schools and I've never, ever heard of or seen a five-year-old facing backwards. That is definitely unusual. Most five-year-olds in NW DC are in booster seats.

I suppose the way other kids do? I stick the seat in their car?

The intention was not for it to be read as a maximum of two -- it still states in multiple places or until limits of seat. They were intending to clarify the position of the year before, which apparently some people misunderstood as 1 still being okay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ehhhh...my 5 year old who is 36inches and 30lbs who is still rearfacing...

I don't really care if its popular. You can't fix dead and my son is way safer rearfacing.

You have a five-year-old child facing backwards?!?!?! How does he/she go on playdates in other people's cars?

I've got three children in different schools and I've never, ever heard of or seen a five-year-old facing backwards. That is definitely unusual. Most five-year-olds in NW DC are in booster seats.

Wow, your kid doesn't ever ask to see where he or she is going? My 3 and 5 year old kids notice road signs, trucks, people walking, etc. and we can talk about what we are seeing. My five year old loves practicing reading signs that we pass on a regular basis. I think it helped him figure out how to read. The other day my husband took my five year old for a playdate and he didn't know the way. As he was calling me to get directions, my five year old was able to tell him where to turn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A aid puts your kid in the carseat for you? Why don't you do it yourself and then the "problem" is solved.

I am not the OP - but I assume the parent is in the Carpool line (based on the title of this thread).

The way carpool lines work is that people help young children get into the car - and strap them in to keep the line moving.

Oh, okay - thanks for explaining. I can see how that would keep things moving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be annoyed too but she is past the AAP recommendation which is until 2.

I'm not the OP, but the recommendation is actually until at LEAST two, so she isn't really past the recommendation.

Look at the recommendation. It is a minimum of two or when child outgrows the seat RF by height or weight. Most US seats RF 35-40 pounds. The Foon goes to 50 but does not do it in a way like swedish seats to give more leg room, which seems to be an issue for most people.

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

There are many of us who extend RF. I don't know why it is surprising to see a 4-5 year old RF. To me, the minimum I'd consider turning is 3, but now at 3, I am trying to wait till 4 or at least get through the winter when the roads are at the worst with ice, rain and snow. It is far safer.

Uh, it's a maximum of two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be annoyed too but she is past the AAP recommendation which is until 2.

I'm not the OP, but the recommendation is actually until at LEAST two, so she isn't really past the recommendation.

WRONG - All children two and older should be in convertible seats and forward-facing seats with harness.

In a new policy statement published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics now advises parents to keep toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age two, or until they exceed the height or weight limit for the car seat, which can be found on the back of the seat. Many parents currently choose to flip their child to forward-facing around his or her first birthday.

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

Convertible seats and forward-facing seats with harness:
All children 2 years or older, or those younger than 2 years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car seat, should use a Forward-Facing Car Seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed their car seat’s manufacturer.

My daughter just turned three and we just turned her seat. Quite frankly, I just do not get the argument that it is easier to buckle them in when front facing. It was SO much easier when she RF because I just sat in the seat and easily buckled it. Now I have to twist myself around to get it done and it drives me crazy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be annoyed too but she is past the AAP recommendation which is until 2.

I'm not the OP, but the recommendation is actually until at LEAST two, so she isn't really past the recommendation.

Look at the recommendation. It is a minimum of two or when child outgrows the seat RF by height or weight. Most US seats RF 35-40 pounds. The Foon goes to 50 but does not do it in a way like swedish seats to give more leg room, which seems to be an issue for most people.

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

There are many of us who extend RF. I don't know why it is surprising to see a 4-5 year old RF. To me, the minimum I'd consider turning is 3, but now at 3, I am trying to wait till 4 or at least get through the winter when the roads are at the worst with ice, rain and snow. It is far safer.

Anonymous wrote:Ehhhh...my 5 year old who is 36inches and 30lbs who is still rearfacing...

I don't really care if its popular. You can't fix dead and my son is way safer rearfacing.

This is nuts.

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration's guidelines for 4-7 years olds say:

Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.
http://www.safercar.gov/parents/RightSeat.htm

The American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep your child backwards until they turn two - or until they are one and twenty pounds:
http://www.parenting.com/article/car-seats-safety

Anonymous wrote:I would be annoyed too but she is past the AAP recommendation which is until 2.

I'm not the OP, but the recommendation is actually until at LEAST two, so she isn't really past the recommendation.

Anonymous wrote:Ehhhh...my 5 year old who is 36inches and 30lbs who is still rearfacing...

I don't really care if its popular. You can't fix dead and my son is way safer rearfacing.

You have a five-year-old child facing backwards?!?!?! How does he/she go on playdates in other people's cars?

I've got three children in different schools and I've never, ever heard of or seen a five-year-old facing backwards. That is definitely unusual. Most five-year-olds in NW DC are in booster seats.

Anonymous wrote:A aid puts your kid in the carseat for you? Why don't you do it yourself and then the "problem" is solved.

I am not the OP - but I assume the parent is in the Carpool line (based on the title of this thread).

The way carpool lines work is that people help young children get into the car - and strap them in to keep the line moving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What kind of car seat do you have, op? The only car seat that rear faces until 50lbs is the new Clek Foonf. Most children will outgrow the RF seat by height first, not weight.

Not OP, but many kids don't hit 40 pounds till 3-4. Our child has not and we are at 3 1/2 comfortably RF. The Max-Cosi Pria works great as well as several other seats.

It's not the weight I was questioning, it was the height. Does your 3.5 year old have an inch or more before his or head reaches the hard shell (1.5" for the Radian) AND have the harness straps at or below their shoulders? If not, per most manufacturers, the seat is outgrown RFing, regardless of whether the child is well below the weight limits or not.