To turn or not to turn...

[Missy]

Callum was 9kg+ and Ive heard that they shouldnt turn untill after 9kg.

[kmh]

When I had Madison we changed her car seat just before she hit 6 months she was 8 kgs then, but If i new what I know now I would of held it back a little, With Charlotte I have a S&S car seat that I can change her at 12 kgs, She is 8 months old today and is only 7 kgs, so I wont be changing her for a long time.
Also with booster seats there is a new one on the market called Secure, it hooks up to the car, as well as having the space to hook up a HR harness, Its a great car seat, but it carn't be used until 14 kgs.

[ChrissyT]

Some important info...

Q: If my baby can hold his/her head up can they can be turned to face forward?

A: Even babies who ‘appear’ to have strong neck muscles and good head control are susceptible to the risks of forward-facing prematurely. 'Head control' is not a good indication as to whether or not to turn a child to the forward-facing position.

Q: If my baby's feet are touching the back of the vehicle seat, do they need to be switched to forward-facing?

A: No. Rear-facing car seats are not a safety risk if the baby's feet are touching the back of the vehicle seat. There have been no documented cases of rear-facing children breaking their legs, hips or feet because of their feet touching the back of the vehicle seat. There have however been many documented cases of head and spinal cord injuries because children were turned to the forward-facing position prematurely. Even if the child's legs did break, it is much easier to repair broken legs then it is to repair broken necks and ruptured spinal cords.

Q: Wont this positioning of the legs be uncomfortable for my child?

A: It's highly unlikely. This positioning of the legs is not uncomfortable for young children who naturally prefer to bend their legs anyway. How many children do you see sit with their legs straight out in front of them and not bent? While this may be very uncomfortable for an adult, children are very flexible and often get in to all kinds of positions that are totally comfortable for them, but not for us adults!

Q: Because my seat says I can forward face from 8,9,10kg that means that my baby is ready to be turned, right?

A: No, that is not right. Weight is not an indication of whether or not to turn your child to the forward-facing position. These weight limits hold no relevance as to how your baby's spine, skeleton, muscles and vertebrae have so far developed, they are merely entry level weight limits.

Q: But having my child forward-facing is easier for me because I can see them so does this mean it's better?

A: Everyone has different circumstances and they really need to weigh up the pros and cons. However, what's convenient, doesn't always mean it is best and doesn't change the fact that an infants body is still incredibly undeveloped compared to that of an older child or adult. If your child has remained rear-facing for how ever long so far, then try your best to keep persevering till the very bare minimum of one year of age.

PC is playing up, I will be back tomorrow to put where I have quoted the infor from.

[*Efjay*]

regarding the harness I dont know if after the past few months she would cop to having a harness back on ???

I have Glenn in the same Seat Caro with a H harness & I call it a racing car harness. Maybe your DD will like the idea of a fancy new race car seat belt?

[Rouge]

Just an update...

Seth is over 12 months now and is still reward facing and happy

*hugs*
Cailin

[*Efjay*]

Just a question too,
Does anyone know if its safe to keep the seat rear facing if the child needs to be in the higher shoulder straps? Isla is only 4 months & 7kg but I would need to adjust her should strap hight in the next month I would say, but the seat says to only use the higher position for forward facing.... this is the same seat that both boys where too tall for by the time they were 2 even though the seat is for up to 4yrs (18kg), neither are 18 kg but both are too tall for the seat.

[blackbird]

FJ - as I mentioned in a previous post, we have a Meridian. I had to have the baby insert taken out and the shoulder straps moved to the higher position over a month ago as Angus was too big and too long for the newborn setup. It was all done to fit him by an accredited installer. I can't remember which seat you have - maybe call a fitter accredited by the RTA and check with them.

[*Efjay*]

I am not even sure what seat I have Isla in. Its either a mothers choice or IGC. One of the run of the mill grey seats. Not one of the big flashy ones.

[Rach75]

I'm the same in regards to the insert but I had a look today and I willl keep using but lift it up a bit it works fine

[*Efjay*]

Another thing, what about this "LATCH" system I am reading about? I am pretty sure the 2 middle row seats of my Kia Carnival are fitted with these lower anchor points. I wonder if & when AUST seats will come with teathers to use this system.

[*Efjay*]

Well I am happy to report that my seats are fitted correctly. They had a free car seat safety inspection thing at the hospital when I took Isla for her needles so I decided to see how good I am, as I have always been happy with my abilty to put the seats in. They were very impressed!

They also answered my question about keeping Isla rear facing beyond the seats recomended 9kg limit & they said that yes, once she hits 9kg she needs to be turned. So now I am going to work on DH to let me get a newer seat that the limit is 12kg rear facing on.

[Tanya]

I'm having trouble getting Bonnie in and out of the car seat as it is...
The anchor belt for us attaches to the roof of the stationwagon and you have to manoeuvre bub underneath how can we minimise this and keep bub rear facing?

[*Efjay*]

Tanya is it possible to come in from teh front seat & place bonnie in to her seat that way so your actually lowering her in to the seat inbetween the anchor strap? KWIM?

[Tanya]

Hmmm... dunno Fiona, will give it a try next time we go for a drive. It's just so frustrating!

[Ozziehoffy]

Tanya, was the seat fitted by ambulance service? I had to get mine refitted as it just wasn't correct when DH did it (I could tell just from looking it wasn't) so I got them to check it and I mentioned I didn't like it as much as the capsule. The ambulance guy showed me the best and easiest way to get Oskar in and out of the seat and now I love it. I do have to loosen the anchor strap - you may have to do the same. I wasn't doing that and that's why it was more difficult than it needed to be.

[*Efjay*]

I've never been keen on the idea of loosing the anchor strap. It would be so easy to forget to tighten it back up. But if thats how you need to do it then I would suggest making a reminder of some sort, like maybe a post it on the dash saying "Did you tighten the strap?" so you remember each time you set off.

[Janie]

I loosen the anchor strap, the guy who installed the seat showed me that as part of the instructions for getting DS in and out. I would hate to forget to tighten it, but really, it's just as much a habit as doing up the seatbelt bit.