# When do you face the carseat forward?



## vermontgirl (Aug 15, 2006)

I realize that the carseat specialists say to keep them rear-facing as long as possible. However, my 15 month old looks uncomfortable. His legs are bent awkwardly and he seems unhappy with the setup he has back there.
When did you/or when will you turn the carseat forward?
Is it really that dangerous to turn a 15 month old facing forward?

What are your thoughts and experiences?


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## carla72 (Aug 6, 2005)

in ontario we turn forward at 21 pounds and 12 months


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

You are sure to get a lot of responses to this!
My 17 month old is rear facing at 30 lbs. The next time we go in to have his seat installed (need to get straps repositioned next month probably) I am going to have them turn it, I think. I was planning to wait until 32 lbs, my seat goes to 33 rear facing. I guess I don't know if the weight includes clothing?

Anyway, no matter how uncomfortable it looks rear facing is much safer than forward facing. Even if your kid gets big enough a rear facing seat might cause a broken leg it is that vs. possible head/spinal injury. I'm sure others will have links for you.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Rear facing is MUCH safer. Bent legs are not uncomfortable for little ones.

My dd is 3yrs old and still rear facing. I would not face a 15 mo old forward as long as they can sit RF within the limits of their seat.

-Angela


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *carla72* 
in ontario we turn forward at 21 pounds and 12 months

Very dangerous! Please do some reading and research and consider rear facing for longer.

-Angela


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## kaspirant (Apr 28, 2006)

DS is 23 months and 30 lbs. He's still rear-facing. He is TALL and just sits cross-legged or sticks his legs up or out so they go straight. He has 3 more lbs to gain for the RF limit on his seat and he's staying till he hits that limit.


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## Ell-Bell (Nov 16, 2002)

Wow. DS is forward facing- he's 18 months and 30 pounds. He's in the middle seat, FWIW. Sounds like I need to reconsider. It's hard to give up the notion of easily passing back crackers or pointing out school busses when he's upset...


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

Anyone know if the weigh limit is with or with out clothes? I would guess with out but I don't know for sure...


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## seemfrog (Mar 30, 2006)

I just switched my boys around to be forward facing (right before their second bday). They never seemed uncomfortable as far as their legs (I have one ds who hates straps, but that is still true facing forward).
I think the safest thing to do is to leave them rearfacing until the limit of your seat's weight allowance (mine was 30lbs and when I checked my boys weight they were 25 and 33, so I switched them both). I know of a lot of kids with my longer legs than my ds's and they just figured out ways to cross them, or bend them and seemed fine.
I think its the development of the neck and spine that is the concern, that the motion in an accident has much more support rear facing.

The downside to forward facing for us now is that the seats are so upright that they have trouble sleeping (we used to always plan our drives during nap time), but of course now they can see the "world around them" and have a lot of fun seeing things (not to mention seeing us easier - but we had mirrors on their seat backs before so they could see us).

I know that singleton parents complain also that it bothers their kids to be facing backwards and not seeing them, so in that way I probably had it easier since there were two of them facing the same way, they could see each other, etc, it never occurred to them that it was "the wrong way"

Here is a link with lots of good info:
http://www.car-safety.org/


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## dawncayden (Jan 24, 2006)

We switched at 17 months and 30lbs. That was the rf limit on our seat. He's 33lbs now at 21 months.


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

The problem with forward facing (for all kids) is that their heads are out of proportion to the rest of their bodies, so they've got little necks and big heads. The younger the child, the bigger the head in proportion to the body.

Now, imagine a child in a forward facing seat during a frontal/frontal offset collision (which are statistically the most common). The heavy head flies forward under the force of impact with nothing to stop it. It pulls on the spinal column, stretching it, and yanks on the top of the spinal cord - right where the neck attaches to the base of the skull.

What you potentially end up with (depending on the crash and the child) is severe spinal injury, paralysis, internal decapitation or death. A spinal column and the spinal cord can only stretch so much....

Compare that to rear facing. A child's head, neck, and spinal column are cushioned against the back of the seat in a collision. The seat cradles them, so to speak. The most that happens is that a child may break his/her leg (though this has never been recorded as happening to a RF child).

Borrowing the quote from another woman on a different board:

Broken leg - cast it. Broken neck - casket.

That all said, my dd is 3.5 years old, 29 pounds, and still rear facing. Our seats go up to 33 pounds rear facing so hopefully she'll get to at least age 4 this way. In Sweden children rearface to age 5. Don't worry about their legs/feet.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pbjmama* 
Anyone know if the weigh limit is with or with out clothes? I would guess with out but I don't know for sure...

With- exactly how they will be in the seat.

-Angela


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## merry-mary (Aug 9, 2007)

yes, it really is dangerous to turn a 15 month old.

I have these websites bookmarked. I refer to them, and forward them, often.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.car-seat.org/


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Yes, it is VERY dangerous.

To the PP who said, "We turn them forward facing at 21 lbs and 12 months in Ontario."...you are mistaken. That is the legal MINIMUM. NOT when you should turn them. You need to keep them rearfacing to the limits of your seat...30 lbs in Canada.


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## broodymama (May 3, 2004)

DD is 14 months, ~24 lbs and is still rear-facing, she will remain that way as long as she can. 3 year old DS is forward facing because he has outgrown the rear-facing weight limit on his seat.


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

Their legs are fine! I tell parents to think about the difference between sitting up right on a kitchen chair and sitting in a recliner. Which is more comfortable? I frequently tuck my legs up under me when sitting in my office chair, on my couch, etc. FFing young toddlers legs dangle with no where to put them. My DD still complains (3 1/2 and 35lbs) about her legs falling asleep now that she is FFing. And the weight is WITH clothing, just as they would be in the car seat. Heading into cooler weather (hard to say as it is 90 today in Mich.!) please remember not to put bulky coats under car seat straps.


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
With- exactly how they will be in the seat.

-Angela

Thanks. That is what I thought, although I typed it backwards in my post! I guess I am going to have to switch my guy to forward soon. Boo.


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## wannabe (Jul 4, 2005)

We're going to have to turn soon, due to height. She's 2 1/3.

If she screamed for every journey then I would have considered turning somewhat earlier, but not at 12 months (when she did hate the car seat).

Quote:

I tell parents to think about the difference between sitting up right on a kitchen chair and sitting in a recliner. Which is more comfortable? I frequently tuck my legs up under me when sitting in my office chair, on my couch, etc. FFing young toddlers legs dangle with no where to put them. My DD still complains (3 1/2 and 35lbs) about her legs falling asleep now that she is FFing.
This is so true!

Quote:

It's hard to give up the notion of easily passing back crackers or pointing out school busses when he's upset...
It's easier to pass stuff when they're RFing because they're so close. I don't even need to turn around to do it.


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## Ducky5306 (Jul 2, 2006)

I wanted to leave my 17 month old RFing alot longer but he hit the weight limit this month so i turned him.. I planned on him being rfing past 2 years old.. everyone said oh he'll slow down growing after he turns 1 but he has gained about a pound a month every month now.. little chunker









I'd keep the baby rear facing as long as he/she is within the height/weight range


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## lucky_mia (Mar 13, 2007)

Still rear-facing here going on 22 months and around 28lbs. Hope to stay this way until limit of seat which is 33lbs.


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Very dangerous! Please do some reading and research and consider rear facing for longer.

-Angela

It really depends on the seat. I am in Ontario as well and my seat goes rear facing until 22 lbs and that is it. Mind you my DD was under 22 lbs until she was 2. The law here says you can FF them at 12 mos as long as they weigh 20 lbs.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
It really depends on the seat. I am in Ontario as well and my seat goes rear facing until 22 lbs and that is it. Mind you my DD was under 22 lbs until she was 2. The law here says you can FF them at 12 mos as long as they weigh 20 lbs.

The physics of rear facing being safer don't depend on the seat. Rear facing is safer. To my knowledge there are currently no convertible seats on the market that rf to less than 30lbs. (I realize there were infant seats in the past that didn't- but convertibles that only rf to 22 lbs? It's been awhile...)

The law is not strong enough.

-Angela


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
Yes, it is VERY dangerous.

To the PP who said, "We turn them forward facing at 21 lbs and 12 months in Ontario."...you are mistaken. That is the legal MINIMUM. NOT when you should turn them. You need to keep them rearfacing to the limits of your seat...30 lbs in Canada.

What seat in Canada has a weight limit of 30 LBS rear facing? Mine only goes up to 22lbs.


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## SwissMama (Sep 5, 2005)

yeah that. And in most parts in europe, you'd be hard pressed to find a legal car seat whose weight limit supports rear facing past SIX months.

I'm torn over whether or not people should be made to feel guilty for that, esp given a slough of factors (social, economical, financial, etc). Even cultural, since I have been picked on for being too fanatic about things like that (as a N. American in Europe). I'm also curious as to whether or not infant deaths or injuries are significantly higher in places where i live (aka, Germany and Switzerland) because of the lack of rear-facing options.


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
The physics of rear facing being safer don't depend on the seat. Rear facing is safer. To my knowledge there are currently no convertible seats on the market that rf to less than 30lbs. (I realize there were infant seats in the past that didn't- but convertibles that only rf to 22 lbs? It's been awhile...)

The law is not strong enough.

-Angela

I kept my DD RF until she hit the 22lbs but DS will be at the weight limit at an earlier age than she was. DD was almost 2 DS is 11 mos and 20 lbs. I would like to keep him RF but my seat says up to 22lbs rear facing.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
I kept my DD RF until she hit the 22lbs but DS will be at the weight limit at an earlier age than she was. DD was almost 2 DS is 11 mos and 20 lbs. I would like to keep him RF but my seat says up to 22lbs rear facing.

What seat is this?

IMO the best choices in Canada are the Marathon and the Radian.

-Angela


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## Tiffany_PartyOf5 (Jan 5, 2007)

DS(4) is forward facing and has only been ff for about 3-4 months lol.. Hes about 38 lb now and was 35 when we switched him (weights with clothes). He would kick his legs up on the back of the seat or go indian style with his legs bent. He actually liked rear facing better lol..

DD(2) is 29 months and is forward facing but only because she has been choking on her own saliva A LOT while teething getting her molars and has been having to sit up to keep from doing so.. Also I have a hard time getting her buckled in the back row of the mini van while hugely pregnant and her being rf so I often times cant see if its tight enough and stuff.. which isnt good so Im going to keep her ff for now.. may change once new baby is here. Shes about 30 lb anyways.. Our seat holds up to 34 rf.

DS(1) is almost 17 months and weighs about 24 lb or so? something like that.. anyways, hes still RF and will be for a very long time


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Tiffany_PartyOf5* 
Our seat holds up to 34 rf.

Which seat? I've heard of 33lb rf limits and 35lb rf limits, but never 34









-Angela


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
It really depends on the seat. I am in Ontario as well and my seat goes rear facing until 22 lbs and that is it. Mind you my DD was under 22 lbs until she was 2. The law here says you can FF them at 12 mos as long as they weigh 20 lbs.

What seat do you have? I'm very concerned based on this that it's expired.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
What seat in Canada has a weight limit of 30 LBS rear facing? Mine only goes up to 22lbs.

All of them.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Which seat? I've heard of 33lb rf limits and 35lb rf limits, but never 34









-Angela

Yup


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
What seat in Canada has a weight limit of 30 LBS rear facing? Mine only goes up to 22lbs.

Is it possible that you are referring to a "bucket" seat, like the SnugRide? Those RF to 21 pounds, I do believe. But once they outgrow the bucket (which my DS did before he hit 6 months) they should go into a convertible seat, rear-facing. There are LOTS of seats in Canada that RF up to 30 pounds. My DS has been riding in one for months now.


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

DD is almost 2, weighs 25 lbs and I still have her rearfacing. She will stay that way until she hits 35 lbs. (about 4 years old?) She is not uncomfy. If she was, she would cry and not be able to fall asleep. She can still fall asleep. She just spreads her legs far apart and lets them dangle over the sides. I can hand her things while I drive. I just hand them over the top of the seat and she grabs them. I currently have her in the center seat.


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## NiteNicole (May 19, 2003)

I turned my DD at 18 months and 30 pounds. She was at the rf weight limit.

In my real life, I don't know anyone who left a child rear facing as long as I did.


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## merry-mary (Aug 9, 2007)

It always gives me reassurance to read threads like these, since I know you like-minded mamas share my concerns. So many of my friends and family think we are CRAZY and ALARMISTS for keeping DS (18 mo) rear facing.

Just wanted to send a big thank you ... for nothing more than just being the smart outspoken mamas that you are!


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
What seat is this?

IMO the best choices in Canada are the Marathon and the Radian.

-Angela

It is the Alpha Omega 3-1


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
What seat do you have? I'm very concerned based on this that it's expired.

It is not expred trust me I just bought it when 6 mos ago. It is the alpha Omega 3-1 It says on the seat and in the book RF to 22 lbs







: ( not one of the recalled ones I checked)


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lemurmommies* 
Is it possible that you are referring to a "bucket" seat, like the SnugRide? Those RF to 21 pounds, I do believe. But once they outgrow the bucket (which my DS did before he hit 6 months) they should go into a convertible seat, rear-facing. There are LOTS of seats in Canada that RF up to 30 pounds. My DS has been riding in one for months now.

No I know what you mean. DS is a long baby and was out of that at about 4 mos because he was too long according to the height restrictions on the seat.What seat do you have if you don't mind me asking.


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## dallaschildren (Jun 14, 2003)

Moved to Family Safety.


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## Mom2Boy&Girl (Aug 25, 2007)

I didn't know about the rear-facing statistics when I turned my son at a year old (he was 25lbs at the time). So he's forward facing now ... he's 29 months and 35lbs now). However, I plan on keeping my daughter rear-facing for as long as I can (she's 21lbs and 13.5 months right now).


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
No I know what you mean. DS is a long baby and was out of that at about 4 mos because he was too long according to the height restrictions on the seat.What seat do you have if you don't mind me asking.

I have DS in a Britax Marathon. He's been in it since about 4 months. He currently weighs 24 pounds and is 31 inches tall, so he still has 6 pounds and a long way to go in height before he outgrows it RF.


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## katheek77 (Mar 13, 2007)

DD is still rearfacing. She's only 19 lbs. Makes it easy...no arguments









She'll stay rearfacing until she literally outgrows the car seats. I expect she'll out grow by height before weight.


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

My son is 22 mos., 27 lbs. and rear-facing. He will outgrow his seat by height before he reaches the 35 lb. RFing limit-- he only has about 1" before he's too tall to rear-face anymore (in a Cosco Scenera). He'll make it at least until 2, and then we'll buy a new seat which he should be able to RF in for a little longer if we're lucky (we'll probably buy a Radian, which RF to 33 lbs.)


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## Synchro246 (Aug 8, 2005)

I wanted to add a tidbit since it hasn't been mentioned generally in this discussion.

Age is more important than weight. I'd feel more comfortable turning a 25 lb 3yo than a 30lb 2 yo.

Having said that, I had to turn my son at 23 months. He has a gigantic head and if anyone needed to continue RFing it was him, but alas it was a no go for us.

Swissmama--I thought there were 40+ RF limit seats available in europe?
Here's a link to some Euro ERF. I don't speak the language, but that first kid is HUGE at 23kg=50.6lb!
Here's the britax website with some seats with special RF feet that extend to the floor of the vehicle. Again, I don't speak the language, but I was under the impression they RF until 25kg. Is that wrong?


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## linguistmama (Sep 25, 2006)

DD will probably be 4 when she reaches 33 lbs so she'll rearface till then in her current seat. That's 2 years away so we'll be looking at the latest seats then to consider rearfacing her longer.


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## mamamille (Nov 30, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Red Sonja* 
DD is 14 months, ~24 lbs and is still rear-facing, she will remain that way as long as she can. 3 year old DS is forward facing because he has outgrown the rear-facing weight limit on his seat.









:


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy2two babes* 
It is not expred trust me I just bought it when 6 mos ago. It is the alpha Omega 3-1 It says on the seat and in the book RF to 22 lbs







: ( not one of the recalled ones I checked)

Well, I have good news for you, you misunderstood the manual









The AOE 3-in-1 rearfaces to 30 lbs, period. HOwever, the manual says that you can't turn forward facing before 22 lbs. There is a lapover of 22-30 where the child can face either way. It is ALWAYS best to continue rearfacing to the max....which is 30.


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## lifescholar (Nov 26, 2006)

I turned my son at a year, at 27 lbs. In the future, I will more than likely wait until my other kids reach the weight limits...for my son, that was 16 months, so unless they come out with more seats with higher RF weight limits, my kids will never be RF for long!


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## mommy2two babes (Feb 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
Well, I have good news for you, you misunderstood the manual









The AOE 3-in-1 rearfaces to 30 lbs, period. HOwever, the manual says that you can't turn forward facing before 22 lbs. There is a lapover of 22-30 where the child can face either way. It is ALWAYS best to continue rearfacing to the max....which is 30.

Thank-you thank-you thank-you. I wish I had knwn that with my DD as I could have kept her RF for almost another year.


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## Keeping up (Apr 7, 2004)

I have a question though - I am Cdn and have a Roundabout and Marathon (well, actually 3 of them). The Roundabout has a height limit of 30 inches and the Marathon of 32 inches (RF). [I think those are the height restrictions, will check again ... my now 21 month old hit those a long time ago. Do we go by the manual or by the child in the carseat??? Rules in Canada are different, for perhaps no rationale reason, than the US.]

Along the same line - my 4 month old is almost 26 inches and his bucket (Peg Perego, older model, not yet expired) only goes to 26 inches - the top of his head has another good inch or so before it meets the top line. I will move him to a rear facing Roundabout but was hoping to use the bucket on our vacation next month but don't think it is the right thing to do because of the 26 inches.

We are well within the weight for RF for both these seats.

What is the right answer???


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## simplehome (Jul 13, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wannabe* 
It's easier to pass stuff when they're RFing because they're so close. I don't even need to turn around to do it.

I've always thought this was true as well. I'm not looking forward to having him so far away when he goes FF! But it looks like a while off for us---he's 2.5 years old, and just about 26 pounds. I think he'll be RF until he is 4!


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AnnD* 
I have a question though - I am Cdn and have a Roundabout and Marathon (well, actually 3 of them). The Roundabout has a height limit of 30 inches and the Marathon of 32 inches (RF). [I think those are the height restrictions, will check again ... my now 21 month old hit those a long time ago. Do we go by the manual or by the child in the carseat??? Rules in Canada are different, for perhaps no rationale reason, than the US.]

Along the same line - my 4 month old is almost 26 inches and his bucket (Peg Perego, older model, not yet expired) only goes to 26 inches - the top of his head has another good inch or so before it meets the top line. I will move him to a rear facing Roundabout but was hoping to use the bucket on our vacation next month but don't think it is the right thing to do because of the 26 inches.

We are well within the weight for RF for both these seats.

What is the right answer???

Ann - I asked a very similar question not too long ago, as my 10 month old is 31 inches tall and I was very worried about keeping him RF in his Marathon. The techs that weighed in said that while the weight limit is written in stone, the height limit is a guideline.

Here's a link to the thread. You might find some of the info helpful.


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## Mirzam (Sep 9, 2002)

My youngest was 3 years 11 months old when I turned him FF, this was when he hit 33 lbs. He was never bothered by squished legs, he sat with them crossed, either side of the captain's chairs in the van or up on the back of the seat.


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## ScotiaSky (Jul 2, 2004)

DS was turned at 18 months and 28 lbs. I was aware of the risks of turning him but was convinced by DH to turn him. Even so he still RF longer then the majority.

Now that things like Youtube have crash tests of RF/FF readily available.
DD who is 21 months and 24 lbs will RF to the limits of her Marathon which is 30 lbs here in Canada.
And a just in case she hits 30 lbs before I feel comfortable turning her we also own a E/B 3-1 that RF faces till 35 lbs.
If it has not expired by the time she hits 30 lbs even though I hate hate that seat I would use it for the last 5 lbs if needed.
This time around DH is not deterring me from keeping her RF to the limit.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

AJ was turned ffing at 11 mos, then turned back to rfing about 27 mos when I learned better. He was able to stay that way till 34 mos and loved every minute. He still asks to sit that way, but is 42# now. He's in a Radian 65.

Evan is 34 mos and 26# and still rfing in his Boulevard. He will go ffing when Ilana needs a convertible seat, so in another 10 mos or so maybe. Then I'm thinking of getting the Recaro Young Sport for him.

Ilana will rf until she hits the weight limits as well (33-35#). She's currently in a Graco Safeseat and is about 20# so has another 10 mos or so I bet before she needs to get out of it. We bought it so Evan could stay rfing as long as possible since 2 rfing convertibles don't work very well in the van.


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## LizaBear (Feb 1, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *carla72* 
in ontario we turn forward at 21 pounds and 12 months

No - YOU may do so, and you may live in Ontario, but that is where that correlation ends.

Please do not speak for anyone else.

I prefer to keep my children as safe as I can for as long as I can.

My oldest was turned to FF at 23 months, ~28 lbs
My dd was turned to FF at 27 months, ~28 lbs
My youngest is RF, and will remain so for as long as possible (but he's already 27 lbs, so I'm afraid he'll go FF out before I'm comfortable doing so)


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## huggerwocky (Jun 21, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SwissMama* 
yeah that. And in most parts in europe, you'd be hard pressed to find a legal car seat whose weight limit supports rear facing past SIX months.

I'm torn over whether or not people should be made to feel guilty for that, esp given a slough of factors (social, economical, financial, etc). Even cultural, since I have been picked on for being too fanatic about things like that (as a N. American in Europe). I'm also curious as to whether or not infant deaths or injuries are significantly higher in places where i live (aka, Germany and Switzerland) because of the lack of rear-facing options.

HTS makes seats that can be used rear facing for longer.


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## Simplicity (Mar 24, 2004)

My daughter is still rear facing at 15 months old. She is just over 20 lbs and is almost 32 inches. I plan to keep her rear facing for a while still.


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## momof2boys1girl (Nov 7, 2006)

I turned all mine around at 12months. I know it is said to leave them rf as long as possible but the seats we had at the time they did not look comfortable all scrunched up.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momof2boys1girl* 
I turned all mine around at 12months. I know it is said to leave them rf as long as possible but the seats we had at the time they did not look comfortable all scrunched up.

You are incorrect. Kids are quite comfortable rearfacing. Please don't put your adult misperceptions over your kids' safety


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Plus, I have NEVER seen a 12 month old rear-facing look 'scrunched up'. Good grief.


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
Plus, I have NEVER seen a 12 month old rear-facing look 'scrunched up'. Good grief.

My 10 month-old's legs DO look scrunched up. But he's a leggy kid. That said, how his legs look in his car sear have nothing to do with how I think he feels in it. When he kicks the seat and stretches them out, I figure he just needs to stretch. I don't think he's uncomfortable at all. And I'm certainly not going to turn him before he hits the RF height or weight limit on his Marathon.


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## dallaschildren (Jun 14, 2003)

Rearfacing to the upper most limit on your car seat is recommended. Rear facing is safest for any occupant for that matter. With that said if you feel your little one may be too scrunched or uncomfortable, you may be able to give them a bit of extra leg room by reclining the seat they are facing. Our little ones rear face from the beginning. They do not know any different until you turn them around. 12 months AND 1 year is the minimum to rear face.
If you have a feeling that your child isn't comfortable in their seat, it may just be a matter of the way in which the car seat is installed, or the way in which the child is seated/positioned in it. I would recommend visiting a certified child passenger tech to determine if there is any misuse which could be contributing to positional or other difficulties. www.seatcheck.org (US only)


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## cancat (Jun 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *carla72* 
in ontario we turn forward at 21 pounds and 12 months

I'm in ontario and we don't all do that!


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Here's my 34 mos old tonight in his seat. Granted, he's small (more like 2 though, not 1), but he's not scrunched at all in this seat or his Britax.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...n/oct07011.jpg


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Since my 38in 3yr old is still rear facing, I have a hard time imagining a scrunched up 12 month old....

-Angela


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

*drools over thepeach's beautiful coastal radian*

*drool*

*drool*


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
*drools over thepeach's beautiful coastal radian*

*drool*

*drool*

You're funny. I really do like this color though and am sad they don't make it. I realized one night all my seats are blue. I may need to get all new covers when it's time to upgrade Ilana and AJ though. I don't think DH will go for all purple covers though.


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thepeach80* 
Here's my 34 mos old tonight in his seat. Granted, he's small (more like 2 though, not 1), but he's not scrunched at all in this seat or his Britax.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...n/oct07011.jpg

That's what my 10 month-old's legs look like in his Marathon. And yes, it is reclined. Like I said, he's just leggy. I think it _looks_ a tad scrunchy to have their knees bent all the time, but I doubt it _feels_ bad at all. Which is why I said I'll keep DS rearfacing until the limits of his seat.


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## wonderwahine (Apr 21, 2006)

according to here (for canadians) there is no real law saying you cat use your canadian issue higher weighted rf seats until the US weight. They are still the same seat, just the manufacturer is setting their numbers different.http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=18186

that being said, i turned my ds a few months ago. It was the only way he would actually tolerate being in the carseat at all, and I would rather have him ff than not in the carseat at all because he was hyperventilating and hurting himself.


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