# Forward-facing at 15-18 months??



## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

I know technically we can forward-face at 1 year and 20lbs. I also know that rear-facing as long as possible is best. I also know that harnessing as long as possible is best too. So, my dilemma:

We are a one income family with 4 children so need to watch where we spend our money. Child safety is a big one for us but we need to take all things into account.

We currently have two convertible seats for our 8 month old twins which will expire in Dec '09. Ds2 is already 21lbs so will easily fit the "requirements" for forward-facing. Dd2 is 18lbs now but I'm sure will be over 20lbs within the next 6-9 months.

We have limited room in our van and have been having trouble finding convertible seats that fit rear-facing. We tried the Truefit and the Radian but they don't work. I've heard the Britax Marathon is "smaller" but it is $$ and we would need to buy more seats after that is outgrown.

So, I'm wondering about waiting until they are 15-18 months and purchasing something like the Graco Nautilus (or any other seat like this) which will then last. They will be forward-facing younger than I would like but we can also then guarantee them being harnessed for quite a while and not having to buy more seats in the future. I guess I'm trying to decide what's more important for the amount of money we can afford to spend. Keeping them rear-facing as long as possible or keeping them harnessed as long as possible.

Thoughts?


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## UltimateSerj (Apr 9, 2002)

the cosco scerena (sp?) is only $42 at walmart, target, sears... and rear faces till 35 lbs, and isn't as long as the ones you have tried, i would get 2 of those then when they are out grown, get the nautilus' and you will have all this time to save for them.
though i have to say i have my first marathon now, i have graco and cosco seats with my other children at this age and i can not believe how amazing it is if i had known then what i know now i would totally have pinched the money to get one.... but i think getting the scerena for when your seats expire then going to a nautilus is the cheapeast way for you to keep them rearfacing as long as possible


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## Friday13th (Jun 13, 2006)

What about something like an Avenue ($65 at Big Lots) or a Scenera ($40-ish) which will keep them rearfacing to 35lbs. The Avenue has a taller shell and has a better chance of actually getting them to 35lbs but the Scenera will take up less room rear-facing, either one will probably take up less room then the Radian or the True Fit.

They both FF to 40lbs after which point you can get a Nautilus or whatever is on the market at the time (which in my dreams is a more affordable HWH seat).


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

I see that you are in Canada, which really affects the seats that are available. If you are lucky, they were selling the older style Scenera's for $50 at Walmart here, which rf to 30lbs. If not, the new ones, which rf to 35lbs are $79.99 each. They ff to 40lbs as a pp said, so that buys you a lot of time to save for something else. (And potentially for something new and perfect for you to come on the market.)


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## BeckC (Nov 27, 2006)

Have you tried installing the True Fit more upright? For older children it can be as upright as 35 degrees from the vertical.

The Scenera is not a bad idea, but it doesn't have quite the shell height to get some kids to 35 lbs. I would also look at the Evenflo Triumph Advance (make sure it says advance). The EFTA can be installed as upright as 30 degrees for older children.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

I agree to go with something like a scenera for now. They should last until 2 1/2 at the earliest, probaby until 3. Some smaller kids even longer. Get those, and start setting aside some money each month and you should have enough for 2 nautilus' by the time your LOs outgrow the sceneras.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

I would rf them for awhile at all costs- they're so tiny.

-Angela


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

What kind of van do you have? I'm trying to imagine not being able to fit a convertible at a 35 degree angle in a van? There should be enough room. I would start looking for a good deal on one of the high weigh harnessing convertibles that will fit. There are some great deals and Britax has their sale in the fall as well, you could pick up a Marathon for $170 or less. Some sites offer a twin discount too... My DD at 5 still fits in her little brothers Marathon and Boulevard.

I would rather see your children in dedicated high back boosters at 5 or 6 when they outgrow a Marathon/TrueFit/Triumph Advance/NEW AOE/etc. then forward facing at 15 months. The data is quite clear that RFing under 2 is 500% safer. And that same kind of data is just not out there for the benefits of extended harnessing. Not, OF COURSE, to say that extended harnessing isn't a great option, just that it isn't as critical to harness a 6 year old as it is to rear face a 15 month old. You also would have 4 or 5 years to save up for a forward facing seat that converts to a booster, whatever is best then.


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## 4Marmalade (May 4, 2004)

Thank you everyone! You have confirmed my thoughts to keep them rear-facing as long as we can. The idea about the Scenera's is a good one. We also just found out about the option of putting the rear-facing seats more upright than indicated in the manual. We have a Mazda MPV which is a "smaller" minivan and we are tall adults (5'9 and 6 feet). So, we will check the TrueFit again although I know it has bad reviews regarding the location for tightening the straps in a rear-facing position so I'm thinking putting it more upright will make that even worse. We're planning on trying a bunch of carseats next month when we head into the city. We're pretty limited in what we can buy here and I'd rather try them out than buy online.


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## butterfly_mommy (Oct 22, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ilovemyavery* 
The data is quite clear that RFing under 2 is 500% safer.

Do you have a link to the data? I am trying to convince DH to buy a truefit so we can RF DS till at least 2. He is in a Radian Priemer (purchased in May 08) is 12 mons old and 28.5 lbs, we are in Canada as well so our Radian only RF's until 30 lbs.

Thanks.


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## syd'smom (Sep 23, 2008)

Check youtube for carseat videos - there are ones with crashtest dummies showing the difference b/w ffing and rfing. There are also some heart-wrenching videos of families who lost little ones. All it took was one look at a video and dh told me to buy whatever I thought was best.


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## MacKinnon (Jun 15, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *butterfly_mommy* 
Do you have a link to the data?


Do you want the professional articles?

Here is a link to the article that appeared in '08 in the Journal of Pediatrics

This link to Rear-Facing Car Seats at carseat.org contains a lot of info and links at the bottom to other resources.

Here is a link to the Importance of Rear Facing YouTube video. Even if your DH wants the professional information, this video contains sitations and the crash test videos.

And finally, here is the link to Joel's Journey, a tragic story about a little boy who's neck was broken in a low-speed crash when he was forward facing at 18 months.


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## butterfly_mommy (Oct 22, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ilovemyavery* 
Do you want the professional articles?

Here is a link to the article that appeared in '08 in the Journal of Pediatrics

This link to Rear-Facing Car Seats at carseat.org contains a lot of info and links at the bottom to other resources.

Here is a link to the Importance of Rear Facing YouTube video. Even if your DH wants the professional information, this video contains sitations and the crash test videos.

And finally, here is the link to Joel's Journey, a tragic story about a little boy who's neck was broken in a low-speed crash when he was forward facing at 18 months.

Thank you so much.


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