When did you turn your toddler around in the car seat?

[carminex]

DD is 16 months and still facing rear. I am anxious to turn her but know how much safer it is to keep them rear facing so we are waiting until she can't stand it anymore. She doesn't seem to mind riding backwards.
Wondering what others are doing?

[BusyMommy]

About a year and a half. It just made him much happier to look out the window and see "life." I think it depends on size, really. Our ds has always been really big for his age.

Good luck deciding!

[oceanbaby]

I turned ds around at just a little over a year. He was just 20lbs. I have heard and seen video footage demonstrating that it is much safer to keep them rear facing as long as possible. And while I am definitely in favor of anything to protect my child and keep him safe, I just felt like for my ds there was an emotional/psychological factor also at play. He was a lot happier once he was able to see forward and sit like everyone else.

So I guess my answer would be that you don't have to turn them around at any particular age - if you and they are happy rear facing, then it's probably a good idea to keep them that way. But I feel comfortable with my decision to turn him facing forward. It was definitely the right thing to do for us. Plus, it makes me a safer driver as I can hand him things without taking both hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road.

[Gagesmom]

I turned my Ds at 12 months but wish I had waited longer. He was 22lbs at a year old, but his car seat could be kept rear-facing to 40lbs, and it is so much safer. I didn't know at the time how much safer it is for them to ride backward and it isn't any extra work for the driver. I won't be in such a hurry to turn my DD around, that's for sure.

[Aster]

Just weighed ds today--he was 33 3/4 lbs at the ped's office. He's 15 1/2 mos. We're holding out until he's 35 lbs then we have to turn him bc that's the rearfacing weight limit of our seat.

Our ped thought that we were pretty silly to keep him rear facing and thought that we should have turned him at 20 lbs.: He was 20 lbs before he turned 3 mos old!!

[Stayathomemommy]

the general rule is one year and 20lbs right?? how about if they are 20lbs before one year old?? is it law that a child under a year be rear facing. i waited a year for my dd but i know people that have their 9 month old facing foward in a toddler seat. the baby is maybe 20lbs.

[Trishy]

The general rule is one year AND 20 lbs. Longer is safer, up to the limits of your seat if possible. The harness will restrain a child's body in a crash but not their head. If turned forward to early and you are involved in a crash, the force could cause the spine to separate and the spinal cord could rip. This will result in lifelong injuries (paralysis included) or death. That said, I turned my ds forward facing at about 15 months and 25 lbs. I wish I had kept him rear facing longer and I hope to keep my next rear facing until at least 18 months. Here is a wonderful link that explains why you should rear face longer. Pay close attention to the side by side comparisons and if you have time at least check out the forward facing crash test footage. I warn you, this may be disturbing to some people but really does empahsise the need to rear face for as long as possible:

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/extendedrf.aspx

HTH
Trish

[symbiosis]

Wow Aster, sounds similar to my youngest dd. She was almost 20 lbs. at 4 months!

We turned her seat between 14-15 months. She started having to bend at the knees to keep her legs comfortable because they were pushing into the back of the seat.

[Julie]

My DD is 20 1/2 months and still rear faceing. And very tall for her age

But she is also very light, she is only 20lbs now and she will remain rear faceing untill she is either 35 lbs (the rear faceing limit of her carseat) Or untill her head reaches the top of her carseat.

[the_mombat]

My daughter is 19 months and about 27 lbs, still rear-facing. We're planning to turn her at 33 lbs, the max allowed for rear-facing for her car seat. We originally turned her when she was a year old and already more than 20 lbs, but then I did some more research and we turned her back. She really liked facing forward and was pretty irritated about going back, but her safety is most important. I'd leave her rear-facing longer if I could find a car seat that allowed us to...

[ebethmom]

My son is 16 months old and only 24 pounds, so he is still facing rear. We have a mini van with a big back window, so he doesn't mind looking out the back. He likes interstate driving so he can watch trucks!

I plan to keep his seat rear facing as long as we can.

[nikirj]

My son was happy sitting rearward-facing until the day we turned him around, I think just because he didn't know any better.

We turned him at 11 months. I know, I know, too early you say.

The kid was nearly 30 lbs. He was so big, that even a convertible seat (we gave up on the infant seat at 3 months) meant him sitting cross-legged with his knees against the seat. Eventually, when we were doing an elaborate folding procedure to get him into the seat each time, we decided enough was enough and put him forward facing.

Besides, he was running and doing forward rolls and other complicated things by that point, I think he was fine physically.

Nicole
Mama to Becca (2/1/00) and Tony (12/2/01)

[pjlioness]

Hmmmm

Well, my ds, Alex, is now 25&1/2 months. He hasn't been weighed lately, but I think he's finally at least 20lbs. We turned the seat around just recently, but after seeing the information from that link, we'll probably put it back, though he may not like it. I had planned to keep Alex rear-facing until the limit of our seat - our Britax Roundabout is rear-facing until 35lbs., but changed my mind when he wasn't 20lbs. at his last Dr.'s visit in Sept. I did wonder about the safety of it, though. Thanks for putting that link in!

Pam

[EllasMama]

DD is 23 months and still rear facing. We need to weigh her soon to be sure, but I'm guesstimating that she weighs about 26 pounds. I think our Britax goes to 30 pounds rear facing, and I plan to keep her that way till she's reached the weight limit. People are such crappy drivers, I dare not take any unnecessary chances with my tiny, precious cargo!

Carol

[Trishy]

FYI, all Britaz Marathons, Roundabout and Advantages have now been rated for rear facing up to 33 lbs. You can read about it from Britax here .

HTH
Trish