Which is more dangerous... rear or forward facing car seat?

[Indadhanu]

Our car seat is a convertible one, and it says rear facing up to 9kg. Jazz is 8.5kg.

I said to Shel, we should leave her rear facing as long as possible, but Shel said - so why is there a 'weight limit'?

Does it become more dangerous to be rear facing once she's hit the 'weight limit'? Or is it ALWAYS more safe to be rear facing, regardless of weight?

I wasn't sure what to say to Shel... exactly why do they have the limit on there...?

[Olive]

forward facing is soooooo much more dangerous!! leave her backwards!!!

[Pandora]

not sure about the weight limit - DS outgrew it length wise so be had no choice but to turn him because the strap slots didnt go high enough.

[Indadhanu]

Lol, we are leaving her, just wondering why is there a weight thing on the seat???

ETA: Rayray, we will soon have that problem I think, but her feet aren't touching the car seat yet so its all good.

[~Trish~]

I think it has a minimum weight limit before you should turn it around because it wouldn't be safe for a small baby to be forward faced. Their little necks aren't strong enough if you had an accident. It is now recommended that you keep your child rearward faced until they reach 12 months of age.

[Liz]

yeah, rearward is much much safer. But it does become dangerous once they exceed the seats limit for rearward. Our seat they can stay rear facing until 12kg. But it does say you can turn them at 9kg.

We just turned Kayla recently, though she could have stayed rear facing for longer.

I also wouldn't turn a bub that can't sit up properly unaided. They'd have little to no head control in an accident (which is the main concern with forward facing even when older & heavier). The weight of their heads in relation to their bodies makes it very dangerous in a front impact.

[Pandora]

yeh thats it, the weight thingy is a minimum, not a maximum.
I hope they plan to make the seats long enough to keep the babies in them, rearward facing, til 12 months

[Liz]

It was one of the reasons we went with a convertible seat over a capsule. Coz I'd heard they grow out of capsules quite quickly.. and then what do you do, put them in a forward facing seat? Or get a convertible after the capsule anyway?

[~Trish~]

There was a thread started ages ago about why you should keep your child rearward facing as long as possible, it has a link to a YouTube clip about it. If you feel like reading it, it is HERE.

[Indadhanu]

Oh ok so the weight is a minimum? We got confused because it says rear-facing UP TO 9kg. Silly car seat!

[~Trish~]

Maybe just check with the manufacturer to be sure?

[Indadhanu]

Good idea Trish (another dill moment for me today). I wont turn her yet as she doesnt have 100% perfect neck control. Just confusing the way the car seat says!

[YummyMummyNat]

Forward facing is definitely more dangerous, that's why they tell you to keep baby in a rear facing seat as much as possible

[Liz]

Some seats do only go to 9kg for rear facing, I'd double check. If the shoulder straps etc still fit properly I wouldnt worry tho.

[Indadhanu]

i checked and ours says 9kg should be the weight limit... I'm not comfy with turning her... do you think we should we look for another car seat that does rear-facing to 12kg, or keep her in this one for another month or two...?

[Liz]

I dunno.. how are the straps on her?

[Gigi]

in australia, some car seats are made, to have baby rear facing up to 9kg, some to 12kg.

we bought one that said "rearfacing until 9kg". before she got to 9kg, i started reading the research that says "keep them rearfacing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE", watched the Youtube vid that shows you the consequence of a road accident with child in REAR facing seat, and in FORWARD facing seat. that convinced me.

In Scandinavia you can buy baby car seats that are built so the child can remain REAR facing until they're FOUR YEARS OLD! to be safe. that's what i really would like to have.

i have a very short child, she's 11kg now, and i've just turned her around to front facing. she is two, with excellent neck control now.

but i would still love to have her in a rear facing seat if i could. ($$$$).

i think the Australian safety standards are much lower than those in Scandinavia.

If i had a baby the age of your Jazz, i do think it would be worthwhile getting a seat that enabled her to be rearfacing until 12kg at least. she's much too young IMO to be turned around just yet.

[LuluHB]

I would definitely be getting a different convertible car seat so your DD can face rear for a lot longer yet - she is MUCH too little to be turned around. I have the Meridien and that is definitely rear facing up to 12 kgs.

FWIW, it is still preferable to leave your bub facing rear even if their legs are so long that they are crossed over against the seat. Broken legs are much easier to fix than a broken neck.