Rearward facing car seat beyond 12kgs?

[Life is Good]

We are looking at getting a second car seat for our boy and I was wondering if anyone knows of a car seat that a baby can remain rearward-facing in beyond them weighing 12kgs? I have been doing some research and the car seats available all seem to have a limit of 12kgs for the rearward position. Our boy is only 6 months old but already weighs 10.2kgs so he doesn't have much time!

I desperately want to keep him rearward-facing for as long as possible, but unless I can find a seat to accommodate his weight I may not have a choice but to front-face him. This is stressing me out and I really hope I can find a solution - he is just too little to be facing the front

Thanks a lot.

[Saffi]

Could you still face him rearwards in the existing convertible seats even if he is 12kgs or greater? I suppose his length in addition to his weight might also determine if he can sit comfortably while still facing backwards.

[Life is Good]

Thanks for your response, Saffi. As it happens he is also in the 99th percetile for height, but that is not really my concern. Kids in Scandinavia remain rearward-facing until the age of four. They just fold their legs and deal with it! My concern is, instead, that if I leave him rearward facing when the seat specifies a 12kg limit that I will be compromising his safety in another way - perhaps they have not been designed to support additional weight in that position etc. So if I cannot locate a seat with a higher weight-limit then I will have to start calling the companies and asking those kinds of questions. Hopefully someone here will have encountered a similar issue and can advise me instead

[suse]

Australian seats are not designed for extended rear facing and should not be used past the recommended weight limit. The Swedish seats, which do support extended rear facing, are not approved for use in Australia because they use a different tethering system and Australian standards require all seats to be bolt tethered. Many European seats (including ERF seats) use the Isofix latching system which is actually safer, ironically enough. This system is available in many cars sold in Australia, particularly those of European make, but cannot be legally used.

Don't get me started...

Short answer is, no, you cannot legally rear-face your child once he/she reaches twelve kg in weight.

However, if you can get a doctor to authorise the use of a non-standard ERF seat under medical grounds, then it can legally be done. A doctor may provide such authorisation. Usually this is for the opposite reason, a baby younger or smaller than the minimum age will be allowed to sit forward facing, usually if severe reflux is an issue and aspiration a legitimate concern. There is no precedent (as far as I am aware) for medical authority to be used as a loophole to allow extended rear facing. But even though your son is very young, he is still older than the minimum legal age for forward facing, so a doctor may not find that there are medical grounds sufficient to warrant this unless he has a specific medical condition making forward facing unsafe.

[Life is Good]

Suse, thanks for such a definitive answer - even if it wasn't the one I wanted I am really scared to turn him - it is so annoying that Australia hasn't cottoned-on to such a major safety risk! As for medical grounds, we would be hard-pressed to find a reason as he is perfectly healthy and a very big, strong boy - so not really an option. I guess that all we can do is try and find the safest front-facing seat out there and hope and pray for the best You have been so helpful, thanks again

[suse]

My pleasure, even if it wasn't the answer you'd hoped for. Perhaps talk to your GP, find out if they are sympathetic. Can't hurt to try!

[Shanti]

Sambo - I know exactly how you feel. My DD weighs the same as your DS although she is twice his age (12mths) now, I do not want to change her to forward facing anytime soon and would prefer her rear facing for quite some time until she's at least 2yrs of age, at least.... but unfortunately we don't have a choice here in Australia... it's not right is it? It doesn't seem fair.

I wrote to the manufacturer of our seat (Britax) recently and asked about it all and they said unless the government changes legislation there is nothing they can do (apparently).
it sucks.

where to from here? How do we get this changed??

[Bloom]

This doesn't really help Sam, but FYI several mothers in my mothers group have imported and installed the ISOFIX car seat that allows them to stay rear facing for quite a while longer (not sure on specific details - sorry). Yes, they don't meet the Australian Standard, but are actually supposedly safer. They are technically illegal, but which police officer is going to figure out that you've got a European carseat. (I wouldn't get one seeing as they aren't legal and I'd wonder what would happen if I did have an accident). Anyway, I'm hoping they'll change the standard soon... This doesn't help you at all though... hugs!

[alioops]

I am actually quite disgusted that Australia's standards are so low!! I had to search for ages to find seats that went to 12kg rear facing without spending a fortune. SNS just aren't in our budget. I would not have a problem with all of my kids rear facing now. I think too many aussie mums are keen to turn their babies around because it is seen as another milestone.

I actually looked at the capsule designed for the P&T but it is illegal here, even though it is safer than the SNS ones. I think if enough mums petition the transport departments and the federal government about child safety being brought in line with other countries because rear facing is safer.

Sambo - His gains will slow down so you may even get another 2 months out of his current seating.

DD3 will still be in her capsule at 15 months if she continues on her current percentile.

[Life is Good]

Ruth and Alioops, thank you so much for your replies.

Ruth, as tempting as getting one of those ISOFIX seats is I, like you, am not about to head down an illegal pathway. I think that as amazingly safe as those seats are, if they are not a recognised standard in Australia and don't have the necessary industry and governmental support, then they just cannot be a good idea or sustainable venture. Let alone if you had an accident, as you said.

Ali, it really does upset me that, for a first world country, something this important has not been on the government agenda - they are so worried about our aging population and yet they aren't doing everything possible to try and protect our children! I will get off my political soap box now! Having said that, by world standards we are actually pretty well-off and I therefore try and keep things in perspective. I have just been back to South Africa to introduce our boy to my family there. There you will be driving along the freeway and see kids in cars, standing on the mother's lap whilst hanging off the dashboard - all while dad is driving at 140km/h! Those who can afford it, have a proper car seat but, and get this: there are no anchor points in the cars (even luxury vehicles)! You simply run the back seatbelt around the rear-facing carseat and clip it together where the straps meet. So basically you have a strap running under/through the seat and the transverse strap is running across the back of the seat. I nearly had heart failure when I saw this and, needless to say, we didn't spend much time with the boy in the car! I cannot see how a seat like that can be stable and balanced in the event of a side-impact collision! It isn't a consolation, really, but makes me glad that we don't have set-ups like that here!

Anyway, I digress. I hear you on hopefully getting another 2 months out of the rear-facing seat, but his height comes into play too. He is in the 99th percentile and it already too tall for the rear-facing straps. So it really is becoming a bit if a trade-off...while it is safer keeping him rear-facing, it cannot be safe that the straps are ill-fitting

Anyway, we have just bought a Maxi-rider AHR for him and we are going to swap him around this weekend. He will probably love it - us a little less so...

Thanks again guys and thanks for listening to me whinge x

[gillicia]

My little boy is now 20months, but he too was a BIG baby, reaching 12kg by 10 months. I looked into whether we could keep him rear-facing over the 12kg limit, and all sources stated that the product had not been tested past this limit, and therefore was not deemed 'safe' to do so.. hence he was turned well before He was truely ready.

It ceretainly does seem rediculous that in this country with such 'supposedly' high standards, that something so important (and adequately proven) could be overlooked. We are definately well behind the rest of the 'developed' nations when it comes to our infant vehicle safety.

[Salsa]

I am actually quite disgusted that Australia's standards are so low!! I had to search for ages to find seats that went to 12kg rear facing without spending a fortune. SNS just aren't in our budget. I would not have a problem with all of my kids rear facing now. I think too many aussie mums are keen to turn their babies around because it is seen as another milestone.

I actually looked at the capsule designed for the P&T but it is illegal here, even though it is safer than the SNS ones. I think if enough mums petition the transport departments and the federal government about child safety being brought in line with other countries because rear facing is safer.
.

Which brand did you find that went to 12kg but was cheaper??

I only know of SNS and I have spoken to them too about the higher weight range- said they couldnt do anything till govt changed rules. Crazy. This govt is so backwards and slow about so many things

[gillicia]

hipod is also from the same manufacturer as SNS, (which from memory of from britax - the company that do the extended rear facing seats in the US - so you think they could make them here too ) anyway, the hipod are almost identical in structure to the SNS, just different coverings, and the stabliser bar, and a couple hundred dollars .

[alioops]

Hi-pod and Cargo are the same, just the different stores sell them. Target sells Hi-pod and Big W sells Cargo. We got the Cargo one simply because Big W had the sales when I was looking for 1 for Em. From memory it was a bit over $200.

[Tinks]

My sister is having the same problem as you. Her DS is way too long for his rearward facing car seat. She called Vicroads yesterday and explained how big her son is and asked if she is able to turn him around for his own safety. They said YES! They explained that if the baby is too long or too big for a rearward facinging car seat and you feel as though it is dangerous you can, by law, turn the childs seat around.