When do you switch your child's carseat to front facing.

amother

↑ Alyssum ↓

Thu, May 02 2024, 6:40 pm

amother Bergamot wrote:

My kids actually have their feet down most of the time.
I cannot imagine sitting in a pretzel is comfortable on long car rides. Keeping the legs in one position, especially folded, for a long time, is not comfortable.

You are an adult. They are flexible. It’s safe and comfortable.

amother

↑ Alyssum ↓

Thu, May 02 2024, 6:42 pm

amother Olive wrote:

I just switched my dd cuz her legs were so squished and she was so uncomfortable.

What were squished into? My 80th percentile 3 year old had no issue finding room for her feet.

amother

Clear

Thu, May 02 2024, 6:43 pm

My dh just turned the carseat facing forward for my 2.5 year old. I'm not thrilled about it but I can't fight him. In general he thinks all these rules are nonsense and people are "so anxious." My 5.5 year old is in a booster and I'm not thrilled about it either.

amother

↑ Blue ↓

Sat, May 04 2024, 1:33 pm

When dd was 6 and still rear facing (not a joke, she still fit so we kept her that way), she never complained about being uncomfortable. She sat with her legs in a pretzel or with her feet on the carseat and her knees up, she wasn't just in one position the whole time. But she was fine sitting backwards. Once she got too big at age 6, we turned her forward facing. She didn't move into a high back booster until around age 8. And then not to a backless booster until age 11. She still isn't tall enough to be sitting directly on the seat, the seat belt doesn't sit on her correctly yet (she is on the small side).

↑ Iymnok

Sat, May 04 2024, 4:49 pm

Since we got a car I've made car safety a conversation in our home.
DD will sit in the booster when she gets a ride from a friend. The friend might sit without a booster.
She is 6.
Many families here don't seem to care if their kid is even sitting. We talk about what the dangers are.
My younger kids know they Cant sit in the front.

↑ Rappel

Sat, May 04 2024, 4:53 pm

Iymnok wrote:

Boosters at 6 make sense. And seatbelts are essential

My question was for people whom keep their kids in baby seats up through first grade.

amother

↑ Blue ↓

Sat, May 04 2024, 5:00 pm

We live in the middle of a city, no carpools, and rides in other people's cars don't happen so often. At a certain age, they can sit in booster seats in a friend or relative's car (even if their friend or cousin isn't). When kids come in our car, they must be in an age appropriate seat (I don't make my friend's kids rear facing at age 6, but they must be in a car seat or booster appropriate for the age and size). We only had one incident of teasing about it from some cousins and we explained to them it is for safety and they shouldn't make fun and that was it.

amother

Blushpink

Sat, May 04 2024, 5:11 pm

Don't your rear facing kids get overheated? Or do you have another ac vent in the back? I kept my small kids RF until age 2 which was way beyond the norm here in Israel, and maybe would have considered keeping them RF longer but they would get all sweated up and sometimes heat rash from sitting rear facing with much less air circulation.

Also, ditto Rappel's question, my 7 year old should probably still be sitting in a car seat but I moved him to a booster because it would make him the laughingstock of his friends and classmates who generally are no longer sitting in a booster at all and complain when I make them sit in one when they are in my car. Is it that much more common for 6 and 7 year olds to sit in FF car seats in the US than in Israel?

amother

cornflower

Sat, May 04 2024, 9:18 pm

Can I ask a question to people who do long term rear facing? How many rear facing car seats do you have at a time? How do you fit them into your car? I have a baby (rf), almost 3 year old (ff) and 5 year old (booster for local and ff for longer drives). I couldn't fit 3 rear facing carseats in my car if I wanted to. I can get 2 rear facing in the middle row of my minivan, but it's impossible to get a kid into a rear facing seat in the back row, and when we had a sedan I managed to squeeze 3 carseats in by putting a ff seat between the two rf seats- but I couslnt have gotten 3 rf in.

amother

Marigold

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:21 pm

amother cornflower wrote:

We did it with 2 Dionos and one Chicco keyfit (infant seat)

amother

↑ Alyssum ↓

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:25 pm

amother Blushpink wrote:

It doesn’t get as hot where I live as Israel. But also they make an attachment you can put in to send air to the back of the car. And yes boosters are more common in the US but kids still complain. I tell mine it’s for their safety and they are going to stay safe in my car regardless of what their friends do. I also make their friends use my spare boosters when I drive them.

↑ Ema of 5

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:26 pm

Rappel wrote:

Question for all of you rear-facers:

Do your kids not get flack from their friends for being in a baby seat through age 6? How do you handle groups and carpool?

I turned my daughter around when I had to start carpooling.

amother

↑ Alyssum ↓

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:28 pm

Rappel wrote:

Boosters at 6 make sense. And seatbelts are essential

My question was for people whom keep their kids in baby seats up through first grade.

Kids move to convertible seats that have a 5 point harness. No one is in a baby seat at that age. Convertible seats were intended to be used through 6 years old. The instructions say so. What makes something a baby item? They were literally created it for this age.

amother

↑ Alyssum

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:30 pm

Rappel wrote:

Question for all of you rear-facers:

Do your kids not get flack from their friends for being in a baby seat through age 6? How do you handle groups and carpool?

My kids are proud to say it’s not safe to not be in a car seat or proper age appropriate booster. I told them to say I’d rather be alive and not injured. They know why they use it. Can you stop calling it a baby seat? There is nothing baby about it. The only baby seats are those that click on to strollers and no one over 1/1.5 fits in it.

amother

Jean

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:43 pm

I also wait until 4. I buy carseats for extended height and weoght. The kids have no problem with it. The only people who have an issue with it are adults who don’t sit in car seats and assume it is uncomfortable or can’t figure out where their legs will go. The kids sit comfortably and happily. Long leggs usually end up cris cross apple sauce. Siting backwards can prevent simple injuries. Especially whiplash which can happen with even little impact.

amother

Stone

Sat, May 04 2024, 10:58 pm

amother Firebrick wrote:

Are you keeping them in baby car seat till age 4?

Baby car seat?
The problem is that so many people now believe that an infant car seat (doona) is rear facing and when it's impossible to fit child in it anymore or have a baby put child in forward facing. Every family should own convertible car seats and after infant carseat child is switched to rear facing in convertible car seat.
Most children even very tall ones will not outgrow height and weight in rear facing car seat until age 4!
(Buy a diono!!! Or a few if you need)

amother

↑ Blue

Sun, May 05 2024, 3:42 am

I live in Israel and my kids get somewhat sweaty both ways, it depends more on the seat fabric than anything else. But they rarely complain about it.

I never needed more than 2 kids in car seats at a time. But they do make slim seats that can fit 3 across. Google it.