Why did you turn your children FF?

Hey All.
Just kind of a spinoff on another post. I feel like almost everyone I know has children that love the car. The children either sleep or chill out, or basically give their parents a breather. But on the other hand so many people flip the children at 1 year and 20lbs. Why is this? Just trying to understand the whole thing a little better.

My children do not love the car. I think my son might get car sick, but I'm not sure. I'm still going to try to keep them RF for as long as possible.

Thanks for voting!
Stacy

 

i'd like to choose more than 1.
I switched b/c it was a pain to have them rear facing. but I didnt switch until they had met both requirements of 1 yr and 20 lbs. For Rachel this didnt happen until 15 months.

 

I would need to choose more than one also. I turned one when he hit one year and was over 20 pounds, the other was not 20 pounds until 20 months so I turned her then. Personal preference had nothing to do with it (mine or theirs).

 

I also need multiple options. We turned Nathan around after we confirmed he got car sick with excessive vomitting on a long car ride when he was a couple weeks shy of 1 but several pounds over the 20lb mark. We didn't turn William around until he was 1 and just shy of 19lbs.

 

I voted that they are still rear facing. My girls just made the 20lb mark at their 18 month check up. I am not sure I want them forward facing yet because everything I have read says that rear facing is still the safest way for them to travel.

The above being said, I will most likely be turning them soon as I am going on vacation in April and I just can not accomodate my parents in the rental mini-van with the seats rear facing. One of them would have to crawl under a carseat in order to sit between them and that just won't work for either of my parents.

 

I did not turn mine until they were 22 months old and well over the 20lb limit. I was hit by an old woman who ran a red light when the twins were only 13mths old and the paramedics credited the fact that they were still rear facing as the reason that they were not injured at all. I had back, neck, and knee injuries. The doctors at the ER said the same thing, So I kept them rear facing until their legs got too cramped. If you research it you will find that in many countries, children stay rear facing much longer than they do in the US.

 

Mine were kept rear facing for as long as they could because it's the safest. However, at around 15-16 months their heads were at the top of the seat (they have long torsos and short legs). They were well over the 20lbs guideline at 28 lbs or so. I wouldn't have turned them otherwise.

 

thanks so far for your replies.. Just wanted to clarify. By '1 year and 20lbs' I meant you turned your kids when they met both. so in the case you waited until 15 months since your baby was 20lbs by 15 months, then that still qualifies as choice number 1.

Thanks! Stacy

 

I just turned them yesterday because they are too tall to remain rear-facing even though they are barely over 20 pounds. It made me sad to do it because I want them to be as safe as possible.

 

debid - I just wanted to give you this information. It's unusual (though I'm sure not impossible) for babies at that age to need to be turned forward facing.
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Parents have heard many guidelines about the height limits for rear-facing child seats. Many are familiar with the "1-inch" rule that says a child is too tall if the top of their head is within an inch of the top of the shell. Others are familiar with guidelines that allow the top of the head to be even with the top of the shell, or even the top of the ears being even with the top of the shell. Which is the right one? Depending on the situation, all these recommendations can be correct. Some general guidelines:
The most important rule is to follow any height limit given by the manufacturer of your child seat, usually listed in the owner's manual. These limits are to be followed above any general guidelines below.


The "1-inch" rule is a general guideline to determine when to move a child from a rear-facing infant carrier to a rear-facing convertible. It is NOT a conservative guideline to determine when to turn a child front-facing.


An appropriate height guideline to determine when a child is too tall for a rear-facing convertible is when the top of their head reaches the top of the shell. Make sure to measure to the top of the hard shell and not the fabric cover that may appear be taller. If your seat has an adjustable head support (like the Britax Advantage/Wizard or the Cosco Alpha Omega/3-in-1), then the top of the head support is the important level if it extends beyond the main shell.


Some manufacturers state other limits. For example, Britax convertibles list a rear-facing limit that allows the top of the child's ears to be at the top of the shell. These limits are acceptable only for those models listed by the manufacturer or in the owner's manual.


If a manufacturer's limit seems to conflict with one of these general guidelines, please contact the manufacturer for instructions.
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This is from http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

 

quote:
I was hit by an old woman who ran a red light when the twins were only 13mths old and the paramedics credited the fact that they were still rear facing as the reason that they were not injured at all. I had back, neck, and knee injuries. The doctors at the ER said the same thing,


VERY GOOD ADVICE!

I ditto the video I have posted tons of times here!

 

quote:
debid - I just wanted to give you this information. It's unusual (though I'm sure not impossible) for babies at that age to need to be turned forward facing.


Thank you for the information. They are extremely long in the body. They are almost too long for 2T onesies so I suspect they are taller in their seats than many 2-year olds. I got out the carseat manual and it says the top of the head must be 1" below the top of the shell. They were at or slightly above the top of the shell if I looked straight on (depending on whether they're slouching) and 1-2" below if I measure at a right angle from the reclined back of the seat. So, then I had to guess at whether it was more of a risk having the straps not fitting well at the shoulders and having their heads at or above the maximum or turning them. The information available focuses on the earliest you can turn them rather than the latest and it was a frustrating experience trying to decide what to do.

Oh, and they were in convertible seats, not infant carrier seats.

 

Wow debid you really took a lot of time to make sure that you were making the right decision. Good for you! My guys are still on the lowest strap.. not even 30" yet, so we have a way to go.

 

Multiple vomitings on a long car trip was our reason we were well over 20 lbs and two weeks short of our first bday.... Evacuating from Hurricane Rita in Houston.

 

quote:
Wow debid you really took a lot of time to make sure that you were making the right decision. Good for you! My guys are still on the lowest strap.. not even 30" yet, so we have a way to go.


Thanks. Today was our first car ride FF and seeing them in the fully upright position confirmed that they were indeed above the maximum. What kills me is that they probably hit the max BEFORE reaching 20 pounds. I worry they'll hit the height max for the seat FF before they're old enough for boosters too.

 

My boys were 19 months yesterday and are still RF. However, one is 31 lbs so it won't be long before he is FF as the carseat limit for RF is 33 lbs.

My other son is 25 lbs so he will remain RF a bit longer.

 

Mine ar estill rear facing. ds just reached 20 lbs and dd isn't there yet. The other thing is that dd1 and ds1 are in the row behind the babes so rear facing they actually face the other kids. My big kids love being able to se ethe babes and they entertain them and are something to look at for the babes. I am planning on keeping them rear facing as long as possible.

 

My car is really tight and with both forward facing nobody can sit in the back seat so we are keeping my smaller dd rf as long as possible so more people can fit in my car! Jessy just got to be 20lbs and I think she'll be able to ride rf for a looong time. I actually think she likes it better because then her toys don't fall in the floor and she can see Jazzy. Jazzy though loves to be ff.