do you really have to wait till the baby is one to have the seat face front?
Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at
4:45 pm
The doctor told me when she is one and over 20lbs, well she is 10 months and over 20lbs, why is it that they tell you to wait tilll they are one yr old too? Shouldn’t the weight be enough? Or does something automatically happen to their bodies when they turn one?
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YES!!! YES!!!!!
Keep your baby facing the rear of the car for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Most children should not be turned around even at age 1. Age 1 is the minimum.
YES, something happens to their bodies. The ratio of the size of their head to their spine is lower as they get bigger. With a bigger head than spine in a crash, your baby can suffer what is called internal decapitation — the brain separates from the spine. Sometimes it’s actual decapitation. I’ve seen the baby crash-test dummy tests.
The weight is NOT ENOUGH.
The age is NOT ENOUGH.
The weight only tells you what size of carseat to use.
The age is a stupid rule of thumb that some pediatrician (NOTE — NOT a car safety expert) came up with to quiet parents who complain about how hard it is to buckle a kid rear-facing.
Get a convertible car seat THAT FITS YOUR CAR (see http://www.carseatdata.org) and has a good rear-facing weight limit, like to 35 lbs. Keep your child rear-facing until she gets to that weight limit. Even if she’s three years old when that happens — my middle girl was three when I turned her and my youngest was two and a half. My son turned at 18 months because he hit the weight limit for the seat and I couldn’t find a rear-facing seat for higher weights.
In Europe, kids face the rear until they are four years old. It’s just SAFER. Don’t skimp on your baby’s safety. Keep her facing the back of your car for as long as possible!
my son was the same way, and i think at about 10 1/2 months i changes his car seat to front facing. he was over 20 lbs and that was the major thing. my doctor told me one year of age or 20 lbs. so i took the 20lbs and turned him forward, he has been much happier ever since in the car and so have I..
isnt it one year or over 20lbs whichever comes first? perhaps since your child is not 1 yr yet someone thought you should wait to turn her around.
my doctor said the same thing. The safest way for your baby is facing the back, however I had a large baby boy, he was twenty five pounds by nine or ten months and was 30 inches long, so I had to turn him around because he feet were smooshed up against the back of the backseat. I went dowm and bought him a car seat with a five point harness to hold him in nice and tight. goo luck
absolutely. not only that, but 20 lbs AND 1 year is the absolute minimum. the longer you baby rear faces, the better. you should continue to rear face to the weight limit of the seat. most newer convertible seats will rear face up to 30-35 lbs.
their head and neck muscles continue to develop with age. 1 is safer than 10 months. 2 is safer than 1. my son rear faced until he was 2 years and 31 lbs. even adults would be safer if they could rear face in a car.
I think one is a general guideline, similiar to how four months is when you start cereal, six months start veggies, walk at one, etc…they are all guidelines, not absolute rules.
That said, I DO think that children under the age of one support their head less and have overall less muscle control than that of a one year old child, so it may be less safe for them to face in a forward facing carseat. You have to do what is best for you, but make sure that you are 100% comfortable with your decision. If you were to get in a car accident and your daughter was hurt (while facing forward) would you be upset with yourself? If the answer is yes then you should probably let her face the back for awhile longer….
Good luck!
I changed my son’s carseat around at 10 months. He was much happier in the car then
Young children are more likely to suffer internal decapitation if they are forward facing. One year AND 20 lbs is very important. But like some others have said, try to keep them rear facing as long as you possibly can.
There is nothing magic that happens at age one. Ideally children should be rear facing as long as possible. It is the safest way for a child to ride. The main reason we turn our children forward at age 1 or 2 is because it is easier on the PARENT. A lot of things society considers normal is for the benefit of the parent, not the child.
So yes, if you turn your child forward you can see them easier, you can hand them things easier, they will be calmer because they can see you…. but if you leave your child rear facing till they are 2 or so, then they have a better chance of survival in a crash.
You should keep your child rear facing as long as possible even past one. Just change from the infant car seat. A small child’s spinal cord and neck is not as strong as an adults and forward facing too soon can be dangerous if in an accident. Now experts are recommend rear facing til at least 2 yrs old. Here are a few sites
http://www.carseat.org/Resources/633.pdf
http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/rear-facing.html
A video on it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8
Please keep your child rear facing as long as possible.
my daughter go to long for the newborn carseat and the next step was a frunt facing one. the dr told us as long as she is sucre in the car seat and is tight enought that she wont go anywhere shell be fine facing front she isnt fat and never was she is just tall that was at 6 months. she is now 3 and 361/2 inch long and between 30 and 35lbs. she was 4lbs 10 onces 17 inches long when she was born. she was fine facing the front. go with what u feel is best for ur child
While nothing ‘magic’ happens on their first birthday, a baby under 10 months old still lacks the muscle and frame strength to safely ride facing forward, no matter how much she weighs.
In fact, there is no reason you have to turn them at 20 pounds OR one year. Rear-facing is safest for anyone. (If someone could come up with a good system of mirrors, it would be safest for the driver to ride facing backwards.)
There is no rush to turn her. Keep her facing backwards for at least another 2 months … and if you can do it for longer, consider doing so.
Absolutely not. It is 1 year AND 20 pounds. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines state this.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/safetycheck/OccProtetcFor_Children1.pdf
It is also the law. Some states require children to weigh slightly more than 20 lbs. For those that think it is either 1 yr. OR 20 lbs. this is absolutely not correct. Check with your local/state law enforcement agency or fire department.
Please do not risk the lives of your children because it is more convenient.
The "one and 20 pounds" is a general guideline, but the reality is that your child is much safer sitting rear-facing for as long as possible. There are several car seats out there that will allow a child to sit rear-facing past the age of two. My son, who is 25 months, sits rear-facing. In some European countries, it is standard for children to sit rear-facing until age two or three.
They must be 1 year AND 20lbs. Both. But, the new recommendation is at least 2 and 30lbs.
The recommendation from safety experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics is to rearface (RF) to the limits of the seat which is 30-35lbs on all seats sold in the US. My 3.5 year old daughter still rides RF and prefers it over FF.
I have included several links with great pictures and videos of what happens to children’s necks when they are FF in a crash.
Most people are concerned about their child’s legs being scrunched or broken in a crash. There is absolutely no evidence that shows a child’s legs are in danger and I would much rather deal with a broken leg, than a broken neck.
Highly recommended convertible carseats are the Britax Decathalon, Boulevard and Marathon; Sunshine Kids Radian; Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; Cosco Scenera and Safety First Uptown. Stay away from the Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats only harness to 40lbs and most 40lb weight limit seats are outgrown before a child is mature enough for a booster seat. They also have very low top harness slots, so are outgrown by height at around 2 or 3 years old. The Graco Comfortsport also has very low top slots.
Yes – rear facing is safest. I use a rear-facing infant carseat that goes up to 30 pounds so I can keep my little sillypie facing that way for as long as possible (and am currently looking for carseats that I can have him RF for longer once he outgrows this one).