Would you go against the rules...

[happy2bamama]

and turn your baby's carseat facing forward if they meet the weight limit, but were two months shy of being 1-year-old? Why is there a weight AND age requirement? Is there something that could magically happen in those two months that would make it more safe for your child to ride facing forward?

Thoughts? TIA

[lovesdaffodils]

Originally Posted by happy2bamama

and turn your baby's carseat facing forward if they meet the weight limit, but were two months shy of being 1-year-old? Why is there a weight AND age requirement? Is there something that could magically happen in those two months that would make it more safe for your child to ride facing forward?

Thoughts? TIA

Basically, yes. It's not just about weight but physical development as well. A baby under one year old is definitely not developed enough to be safe facing forward. However, it's actually safest to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. If they are 20lbs, get a convertible seat which can rear-face to a higher weight limit (30-35lbs), and keep them rear-facing until they outgrow that limit.

[wonderwahine]

only if there were special circumstances to cause the turning to even be an issue

[Daisie125]

I wouldn't turn a child until they were at least two, and that's pushing it. My son will be rearfacing until he outgrows the seat. (33lbs)

[happy2bamama]

Originally Posted by lovesdaffodils

Basically, yes. It's not just about weight but physical development as well. A baby under one year old is definitely not developed enough to be safe facing forward. However, it's actually safest to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. If they are 20lbs, get a convertible seat which can rear-face to a higher weight limit (30-35lbs), and keep them rear-facing until they outgrow that limit.

But here's what doesn't make sense - if it's about physical development, we all know that that happens at a different rate for every child, so the 1 year mark seems rather arbitrary to me. Is there some specific skill or reflex or something that they need to (or should) exhibit?

[mothragirl]

that is an absolute minimum (20 lbs, 1 year), but it is safest as long as the baby meets the seat requirements. it is about spinal/neck development and strength, and the size of their head compared to their body. the younger they are the heavier their head is compared to their body and the easier it is for it to be seriously hurt in an accident when forward facing. i don't know if you've ever had whiplash, but it is that but much worse, and with far graver consequences.

[AllisonR]

Yes, I would - and have.

I think all these type of "rules" are general, and common sense should overrule. Just because a society says you should BF for a minimum of 1 year does not mean that the day after your DC turns one you milk suddenly goes sour! And 1 year for a car seat does not mean that the same baby will be magically great forward facing the day they turn one.

I put my DD forward facing at 10 months. Yes, if she had loved, or even liked, backwards facing, I would have kept her that way another year. But actually, her backwards facing, screaming her head off constantly, no matter what we tried, meant my DH had to pull over to the side of the road, and constantly keep an eye on her instead of the road. That was much more dangerous that her forward facing. Now she is forward facing, can see the world (not just the toys in her lap), can interact with her big brother and is happy, and DH's eyes and ears are where they should be - on the road.

[wanderinggypsy]

Yep... my infant bucket (graco safeseat) is good to 30 pounds - that's why I chose it, because the longer facing backwards, the better!!

[Kat_shoshin]

I may not keep them rear facing until they were two - but I would do it for at least the year. My son is nearly outgrown the weight limit and 8 months old. We are pushing the weight limit and keeping him rear facing until at least 1 year. Here is the thread with the info on why:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...=784016&page=3

[Pam_and_Abigail]

Yes, I would bend the rule about turning at one year, and keep my child rear facing for much longer, until they outgrew the rf position. For my kids, who are tall and slim (don't get it from me), they outgrow the height limit before the weight.

We're all safest rf, but you can't drive that way.

wanderinggypsy, what is the height limit for rf in your graco seat? I'm looking for a new bucket for baby #3 (he/she will be in a radian when the bucket gets too small).

Thanks!

[pbjmama]

Originally Posted by Daisie125

I wouldn't turn a child until they were at least two, and that's pushing it. My son will be rearfacing until he outgrows the seat. (33lbs)

We turned my son at 18 months at 32 lbs, until at least 2 wasn't an option. And OP, no I wouldn't go against the law and turn early. The standards are the absolute minimum in this case. It has to do with spinal/muscle development (age) as well as weight and all sorts of other things.

We also had the safeseat and I think the height limit was 33 inches? We loved it!

[anabellee]

the longer you stay rf the better. it is safer. however, my ds1 got extremely carsick and so we did turn him at his 1yr b-day. ds2 isn't bothered by it though so i intend to leave him rf as long as possible.

[katemum]

We're going to wait as long as possible to turn dd (now 9.5 months), on the recommendation of a friend who does car safety research and said that rear-facing is basically always best. Beyond 1 year, considerations that we'll have to make are (I expect) - is dd too tall for rear-facing (ie are her legs too long for the space?), how fussy she is about facing backwards vs. forwards (she might really want to see where we're going...), and whether she has problems with motion sickness.

[rmzbm]

No way would I turn a babe FF at that age.

[eclipse]

No. I turned my son on his first bday because he was one of those scream in the car babies, and I had no idea rear facing was so much safer. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have waited longer, although I would have had to balance that against the real possibility of getting into an accident because I was distracted by his crying.

I rturned my daughter at 18 months because she hit the rearfacing limit for her seat. My 25 month old is still rearfacing and probably won't hit the rearfacing limit on his seat before he turns three (he's little).

As far as breaking guidlines/laws to turn a child early - I'd be more inclined to turn a 19.5 lb 2 year old than I would a 30 lb 1 year old.

[bc1995]

I can not imagine turning my 10 mo around already. I keep mine rear facing until at least 2.

[dancebaraka]

Originally Posted by AllisonR

Yes, I would - and have.

I think all these type of "rules" are general, and common sense should overrule. Just because a society says you should BF for a minimum of 1 year does not mean that the day after your DC turns one you milk suddenly goes sour! And 1 year for a car seat does not mean that the same baby will be magically great forward facing the day they turn one.

I put my DD forward facing at 10 months. Yes, if she had loved, or even liked, backwards facing, I would have kept her that way another year. But actually, her backwards facing, screaming her head off constantly, no matter what we tried, meant my DH had to pull over to the side of the road, and constantly keep an eye on her instead of the road. That was much more dangerous that her forward facing. Now she is forward facing, can see the world (not just the toys in her lap), can interact with her big brother and is happy, and DH's eyes and ears are where they should be - on the road.

ITA but I think we are in the minority! I remember when I was a small kid, my parents car didn't even have seatbelts in the backseat... it would be an interesting sociological study to examine how we have become so uber-safety conscious in our society in such a short time. I am sure backwards facing is better, and I understand the argument certainly, but only if your kiddo can be happy rear facing... if she's screaming her head off rear facing than how is that not a risk or harmful to the babe? CIO in the backseat doesn't sound good to me. I guess I am just not that fearful. Probably why I birthed my daughter in my backyard with nothing sterile and no emergency equipment....

[acp]

Originally Posted by AllisonR

I think all these type of "rules" are general, and common sense should overrule. Just because a society says you should BF for a minimum of 1 year does not mean that the day after your DC turns one you milk suddenly goes sour! And 1 year for a car seat does not mean that the same baby will be magically great forward facing the day they turn one.

I agree (but it does seem like we're in the minority!). DD is going to hit 20 lbs long before she hits one year, and while I won't turn her at that point, I probably will turn her a little earlier than 1 year (maybe 10 or 11 months), simply because she HATES the car seat so much and I think forward facing would help a lot.
I know that rear facing is safer, but I guess I'm a bit more like the previous poster when it comes to not being uber-safety conscious (maybe why I was OK with downhill skiing and eating soft cheese and sushi while I was pregnant as well - It's not that I don't think safety is a good thing, obviously, and I'm incredibly grateful for all the babies' lives that car seats have saved, but I sometimes feel like we've gone too far in this direction as a society - making us think, erroneously, that we can control for every little thing, and sometimes instilling too much fear into our little ones as they grow older.
If DD were happy rear-facing, I'd most certainly keep her that way as long as possible since it's safer and working for her. Since she's not, I'll probably switch her around earlier.

[the_lissa]

My baby was 20 pounds at 3ish months. Should I have turned him ff?

The guidelines take age and weight into account for a reason.

[dancebaraka]

Well... according to the guidelines I should still be using a booster seat


sorry... I am usually not so snarky..