baby carseat....when do you change them to the forward position?

[Nai]

We kept DD rear facing until 12 months old (after seeing the crashtest videos) as we felt it was better to have her safe than "able to see". She knew no different so we kept her rear facing as long as possible. The best investment was one of the rear vision mirror things from Coles for $12 that we could see her in without turning around.

[Doing my best]

Hi,

Although the recommendations for some seats are for 8 kgs, there is no way I would turn bub around if there is not good head control. we aren't going to have this worry, as we have a tiny tot of 6.4kgs at 6 months.

A friend of mine has a 3 and 1/2 month old that is bordering on 8kgs, and is going to turn her bub around as it is easier for her(this is her 3rd child, so suppose she is informed, and she shrugged off my concern), but I was holding her DD the other day, and she doesn't support herself at all.

But as a parent it is your decision. Tell your MIL that although you appreciate her advice (just to keep the peace as I do), you aren't comfortable turning around yet..

[Spring Angel]

DH just turned the seat around and I'm heading out for one of those mirrors so I can see DS and he can see me. I feel so much better

Thanks for all the info in this thread.

Spring xx

[Janie]

Glad you're feeling better Spring........you're a great mummy

[Spring Angel]

right back at ya Janie

[Nai]

Spring, you won't know how you lived without the mirror thing It comes in 2 parts - one for next to your rear vision mirror and the other to attach to the side window next to bubs. Once bubs is forward facing you just use the one next to the rear vision mirror.

I can check on DD all the time while I am driving without having to turn around - it makes things so much easier and safer!

[Ozziehoffy]

I saw that video when it was posted here last time... sure is an eye opener and that is the EXACT reason we didn't turn Oskar yet. He's 13 months and still rear facing and will be until we HAVE to turn him. He doesn't seem to have a problem with vision, he actually sits his head onto the side of his seat a bit so he can see out the opposite window..(does that make sense?) lol. I have a little mirror as well so I can see when he goes to sleep I reckon that they should pass some more stringent laws on car seats and how long they are used for and in what positions.

[Gigi]

i saw that YouTube video sometime last year, so glad i did.

i had been hearing "turn the seat around when baby hits 8kg" - but something in my gut always - well, didn't sit right with that, so i felt much better about my gut instinct after seeing the YouTube video.

it annoys me that such important safety issues - which could mean the difference between your child being in a wheelchair the rest of their lives - or not - is given such scant regulation in Australia.

My bub is 18 months old now, a bit short for her age, weighs about 10kgs i think, and we still have her rearfacing. I need advice how to KEEP her rearfacing. We have a baby carseat called "Turn a tot" which is labelled to have a baby rearfacing until NINE kg, not 12, like some other brands do. I want to get help, to keep her rearfacing as long as possible, but as the official line here is the "8 kg" thang, i don't know where to go to get help about this.

I have no problem being thought of as "difficult" or "weird" for doing this, no MIL or mother around to say anything about it to me, i just want my bub to be safe, we're in traffic often and there are heaps of idiots on the road, something about becoming a mum has made me so much more aware of potential for road accidents.

Just not sure what to do now.

the only place i can think of is the Red Cross Child Safety Centres - what do the rest of you do as your child gets bigger (but you still want them in a rearfacing seat).

we are on one very low income, but if i could buy one seat that would keep her rearfacing until she was 4 years old (which is what they do in Sweden), i would make the $$$$ sacrifice to do that. The only seats i've heard of that do that, are ones that people bought in Sweden and brought back to Australia.

[starbright]

Hi Everyone

I'm new to this forum today and have been trying to locate the video that TANSTAR posted but am having no luck.......is someone able to help me??

Cheers

[SammyRo]

we are on one very low income, but if i could buy one seat that would keep her rearfacing until she was 4 years old (which is what they do in Sweden), i would make the $$$$ sacrifice to do that. The only seats i've heard of that do that, are ones that people bought in Sweden and brought back to Australia.

Over here, there are only seats going up to 12kg rearfacing. You have to be careful about importing a seat from Sweden because from what I understand they fit in differently to the cars - I think they have something called Isofix - which is only in newer, european cars over here, so without this, you couldn't fit one of there car seats safely into a car that didn't have the isofix.

Unfortunately, from what I understand, bevause the regulations are only to 6months or 8kgs, manufacturers realy won't make car seats that go much higher - because they'll say they don't have the market for them. And I suppose thats partly true as something like 80% of car seats are incorrectly fitted.