Car seat - when to turn?

Ok, I know this question has been asked a million times but......

WHEN is it ok to turn the car seat from rear facing to front facing? I know that safety is priority here, so I want to know what others did?

My friend just turned her little man and he is 6 months, I thought that this was way too early but she tells me no, it's ok. I'm dubious about that.

DD isn't keen on the car, sometimes she's fine, other times (like last night) she cracked it BIG TIME. As much as I'd love to turn the car seat now, I really want to do what is safest.

So when is safest?
Thank you all.
Sue x

i think it is legal once bub is 6 months old and meets the weight requirements of the car seat for the forward position.

safety wise, it is best to keep them facing rearward for as long as they meet the weight requirements for the rear position for the car seat.

In Europe they have a greater range of car seats that face rear for longer than is available here in Oz.

Do you have a mirror for your little one? It is one of my favourite baby purchases! I can see her and she can see me.

Hey Kate,

Yeah, I do have a mirror and agree, it was the BEST money ever spent so far. We have one that plays music and she loves it. Sits and chats to herself!!

I actually think that she gets car sick, poor bubba. I know that DH and I both suffer travel sickness really badly.

Anyway, thanks!! Am just trying to weigh up the pros and cons - again, with my main priority being safety!

Sue xxxx

I think it's safest to go by weight combined with some good judgment and common sense IYKWIM? Ours is reward facing to 12kg but I think DS will be 3 before he hits that lol. We turned him at 15 months, probably could have done it earlier but he is on the smaller side for his age so thought it best to wait a little longer. Now we have turned him he does enjoy the car a lot more as he can see everything. IMO 6 months is a little young, babies should have good head control and be able to sit up well before you turn them (as in a few months of doing it confidently).

I agree with Allycat06, I think you go on a combination of things. I know with my bubs I waiting until they were sitting independently and had very good head control, and of course they met the weight requirements. But my bigger indicator was the control they had of their heads.

Must say my youngest much preferred the car when he was turned around, think it was because he knew his older brothers were facing the other way and he felt different.

Rear-facing is safest for as long as possible. In Europe, children are even able to be kept rear-facing till 4 or 5 but obviously, seats here would not accommodate this. The seat I have can rear-face till 12kgs (height permitting) and I'm planning to keep DD this way till we reach that point -- she is currently 18 months and around 10kgs so we will see how it goes. Its not as though she knows any other way, that's just how it is -- I can work around it to make her happy, safety is a lot less flexible imo. I made up a little 'handbag' for my DD (since she loves going through mine) with a wallet that has fake money, cards, some 'keys' etc etc so that keeps her occupied for car trips, your little one might not be old enough for that yet but the basic concept is saving something special for the car only, long trips I try to time for a nap.

Yeah, I time longer trips with a nap too.

As I say, she's generally ok, am just wondering and safety is my main priority!

Thanks everyone!
Sue xxx

Two answers to the questions ;).

Legally - 6 mths

Safest - for as long as possible rearward facing!

Thanks so much guys! I'll be leaving her rear facing for a while longer I think!

Sue xxx

From memory, in Victoria it is 6 months or 8kg, whichever comes first... Mind you we decided to wait until after DS turned one (even though he reached the 8kg mark way before that). By that point he was walking well and I knew he had the strength in his spine iykwim? Personally I wonder if I should have kept him rear facing longer (he still hasn't reached 12 kg which is the limit for our seat), but at the same time I do find it so much easier having him face forwards. I think if you're wondering about safety etc and why you should wait longer than the minimum time/weight allowed then it's worth doing a search on youtube, there a couple of videos that show the impact a colission has on a little ones neck (they aren't fun to watch, but put things in perspective)...

It's recommended to leave them as long as they are under the weight requirements for rearward facing. You can get car seats that go to 12kg rearfacing, which usualy takes them until at least 12 months.

That said, I turned 'early', about 7-8 months. Would have liked to have left her rearfacing for longer but Jazz was a boofer, and her seat only allowed to 8kg rearfacing and at the time I didn't realise that this was quite a low weight and there were others that allowed a higher weight.

In Sweden it's recommended to 4 years, but they also have specially designed car seats that go up to 25kg rear facing.

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I actually think that she gets car sick, poor bubba. I know that DH and I both suffer travel sickness really badly.

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You can buy a car sick strap which you attach to your car to "ground" your car ;) Check out Super Cheap or something and see if you can get one. That may help with that.

Re: turning, both my youngest didn't get turned til after 12 months and they had just about reached the 12kg rear facing limit on the seat. The Safe N Sound seats have the highest rear facing kg in Australia which is why we went with that even though dearer than some other brands.

Leash... I love how high they go in Sweden... I think it's absolutely awesome, particularly when you watch that video which shows how much of a difference it makes!

Keep it rear facing as long as you can MUCH safer. Bubs turned early are 4x more likely to die in an accident:(

What the other girls have said!!!

We managed to keep DS facing rearward until he was 12 months old and I was sad and worried about turning him even then. Like Leasha, I got a 'low' weight seat because I didn't realise at the time I could get a seat with a higher weight for rearward facing and I wasn't thinking that far ahead to be honest. He wasn't even walking then :( I still worry about him facing forwards now and he is 18 months old.

I have read some articles/studies that suggest that children are at much higher risk of spine/neck injuries in car accidents until sometime between 3-4years :o Their heads are disproportionately heavier until then compared to the rest of their bodies and their neck strength in particular (exact age depends on each child), so when they are thrown forward in an accident they are more likely to hurt their necks.

It's safer for everyone, even adults, to ride backwards. I wish we had access to the seats they have in the UK.

again, what everyone else said - rearward facing as long as possible
our boys were nearly 1 before we turned them, well past the "weight/age" limits

I have only just turned DS and he is 15 months and 11 kgs, despite coping a bit of flack about not turing him earlier (easily ignored!).

I would have happily left him even longer but we had to turn him so we could fit one of DF's mates in the front seat of the car (and he is a bigggg guy)!! :)

Yep agree with the others.

DS1 was turned at 9-10 months under advice from the paed, he suffered from reflux and in the rearward facing position had trouble clearing his mouth. He was about 8.5kg and our seat only does 8kg. But I would have preferred him rearward longer.

DS2 was about 14 months and we turned him because he hated rearward and would strain his neck just to see forwards lol. We have a Prado so I'm happy to have him farward facing, he was 8.8kg when changed.

Our seat takes DD rear facing until 12kgs. She's 18 months old and still rear facing as she hasn't hit the weight limit yet.

Yep same here, my youngest 2 were rear facing beyond 12 months & I only turned when it got so difficult to put them in due to the back arching & fighting not to go in that I was scared I was going to hurt them trying to battle with them to get the straps done up. I would have to push their bum down while getting the straps on & Man those kids are strong! My oldest was turned as soon as he hit 8kgs (about 5 months). Which at the time I thought was great but makes me shudder now. My Second was turned at that 8kg mark too but I think it was earlier then 5 months but im not sure I just remember him being so big & hard to get in so we turned... Glad I have a bit more sense and a larger car now.

That's a good point about not wrestling them into the seats cause that's dangerous and hard work too. I think first kids are easier to leave rearward longer cause they don't know any different. By the time there's a second or third child (usually) they can see the older sibling facing forwards so know that it's an option. (And struggle earlier).

I am still kicking myself that I didn't get a larger weight seat. DS is still only 10.1 kg and I reckon we could have definitely made it to 2yrs+ before he hit 12kg :( I could get a larger weight seat for the next bub but they will see DS facing forwards so I think I'll have similar issues to Effjay.

Please remember to follow the weight limits though. A seat is designed to only hold a certain weight rear and forward facing, and can damage the seat and be harmful to a child in an accident. Yes some people will say that is only a recommendation and they can theoretically hold a higher weight, but its recommended for a reason. Try and find a seat with a high rearfacing weight. I think Safe'N'Sound offer some really good choices.

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Please remember to follow the weight limits though. A seat is designed to only hold a certain weight rear and forward facing, and can damage the seat and be harmful to a child in an accident. Yes some people will say that is only a recommendation and they can theoretically hold a higher weight, but its recommended for a reason. Try and find a seat with a high rearfacing weight. I think Safe'N'Sound offer some really good choices.

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Ours is a Safe'N'Sound, meridian I think. It allows for rear facing to 12kg, and forward facing up to 18kg, by memory. We chose it because it will last us a long time, and we liked the idea of DD being rear facing for as long as possible. It's a great seat and one that the installer recommended too.