Confused about when to turn car seat around...

[Baby14]

I am confused about when we should turn DS's car seat around. He has just turned 1, is 10.5kgs and approx 76cm long. We had him in a capsule up to 9kgs and then switched him to a rear facing safe and sound.

My understanding was that it was safest to keep them rear facing for as long as possible and that we should turn him around when he hits 12kgs. Lately I have been getting LOTS of comments from people that we should have already turned him around and that it is dangerous to keep him rear facing because of his length?? (I thought the 70cm restricition was only on capsules?)

I have read the safe and sound user manual and it clearly states the seat is only safe rear facing up to 12kgs but I can't find a height restricition anywhere.

Am I doing the wrong thing keeping him rear facing?

[~Trish~]

No, you are not doing the wrong thing! Some countries leave their children rearward facing until the age of 4! You could always contact Britax (Safe N Sound company name) and ask them if you are worried about your DS's height. FWIW I kept DS2 rearward facing until he was 14 months old. I didn't care what anyone else thought, I felt it was the safest option for him

[feeb]

I left DS1 rear facing till 14 or 15 months, I only turned him as he was getting a new car seat at 18 months when DS2 was born.

I had many people comment on me being mean etc for not having him forward facing but I have watched the youtube clip on test dummies and wanted him rear facing as long as possible, DS2 will need to be turned earlier than DS1 due to weight as he is a bigger baby than DS1 was.

Our seat is also 12 kg rear facing and my guess would be DS2 allreaday 10kg.

[Fleur]

Pie is still rear facing, she's almost 16 months but only a bit over 10kg. She'll stay there as long as possible, it could be a while yet before she hits the 12kg mark. I think that most people's comments come from not knowing any better, I didn't until I saw a thread on BB with a link to the YouTube video.

[onthefly]

If he's really too tall for it - like his shoulders are above the top straps - then yes, but otherwise it's definitely best to keep him rear facing as long as possible.

[Arcadia]

My understanding is that the straps function differently, with the top two straps designed for forward facing and the lower two designed for rear facing (it has to do with their reinforcement). So I turned dd around when she went onto the higher straps.

Can you check with the manufacturer of your car seat? It would be worth getting some more info...then maybe we can pool our resources and make a sticky here on bb that explains the safest options.

[studymum]

My understanding is that the straps function differently, with the top two straps designed for forward facing and the lower two designed for rear facing (it has to do with their reinforcement). So I turned dd around when she went onto the higher straps.

Can you check with the manufacturer of your car seat? It would be worth getting some more info...then maybe we can pool our resources and make a sticky here on bb that explains the safest options.

This is how I thought it worked as well. As long as he fits in the straps that are designed for rearward facing. It should tell you in your manual.

[onthefly]

Yeah, I checked the manual and you're right. D'oh! I really should have read it more carefully before.

[feeb]

What do you mean about straps?????????

[delphmoon]

Wow- here I was thinking you turn them around at 6 months- my gosh Im a dumb dumb

[Lisa]

MY DD2 is 14 months and has one just turned forward in the car. She is rather tall for 14 months which is partially why we turned her around now. DS2 was about the same age when we turned him. DD2 is loving facing forward, but I stress about it so much. If I had my way, she would have been rear facing until 2 at the earliest.

[delphmoon]

It makes totally sense to keep them rear facing for as long as possible (why on earth did I think 6 months....)

[Sterla]

My DS is 21 months and he still rear-facing. He is slowly approaching 12kg, so we will be swapping him around soon, but we always wanted to keep him rear facing as long as possible.

[onthefly]

Re straps. For my carseat (and you'll have to check the instructinos for you particular seat) the very bottom strap hole is only for use in reear-facing position and the very top one is only for use in the forward facing position.

[Fleur]

Ooohhhhhh... better check my straps then

[studymum]

It makes totally sense to keep them rear facing for as long as possible (why on earth did I think 6 months....)

Heaps of people do now that the car seat laws say rearward to 6 months, most people don't get how big a child is to hit 9 or 12kg (depending on the capsule or seat). We have a 9kg capsule, DD1 outgrew it at 11 months, DD2 outgrew the length at 9 (she's off the growth chart). Same as when people tell me they aint wasting their money on a capsule to only use it 6 months

[studymum]

What do you mean about straps?????????

the harness

[SammyRo]

It makes totally sense to keep them rear facing for as long as possible (why on earth did I think 6 months....)

It depends on the car seat too - some only rearface until 8kgs, whereas others (even some of the newer style capsules) are up to 12kgs.

I was told that it doesn't matter how long they're legs are as long as they're head isn't over the top of the seat, so DD would have still fitted into DS's capsule at 22months.

Also the countries that rearface up to 4years or so have different car seats and different ways of anchoring them to the car, so I probably wouldn't do that with the Australian car seats.