To forward face 15 month old

We switched ro forward facing at this kind of age (when we had our oldest the law was different, so 15 months felt quite old to do this back then!!)

We bought seats which had impact cushions rather than traditional strap restraints- at the time they were really highly rates by which? as having the cushion across the front significantly lowers the forces which the child carries compared with a 5 point harness.

For us I did have friends who were rear facing evangelists so I was aware of the impacts even though extended rear facing was virtually unheard of- however we had a screaming child who was just catatonic in the car. It was a no-brainer for us that having them forward facing and quiet made travelling so much safer than driving along whilst stressed and distracted about what was happening in the back of the car. I don't think people who haven't been through similar really realise the impact on the driver of having these kind of distractions.

I forward faced my son at 2 for the same reason. And it has completely changed his travel sickness from every car journey to once in 3 months. (We moved house when he was two to somewhere reliant on a car. When he was only in the car twice a month when I visited my mum being sick didn’t seem so much of a problem. I was also sitting in the back with him, so could react quickly to him being sick.)

But the moment we moved and he started being sick every day I turned him to FF. The risk of a crash is much higher with me distracted by him crying and then throwing up. Sorry you are getting such a beating on her OP. Think those posters have never had to drive with their child being sick constantly.

These threads just make you want to overhaul the maths curricula don't they 🙈

There's just so much scare mongering about this topic. With how passionate people get about it you'd think there's are thousands of children being very seriously injured and killed on the roads every day.

There aren't. A properly fitted forward facing car seat is safe. A rear facing seat is safer in certain scenarios. It doesn't mean ff is dangerous.

It's not like you're throwing your child unrestrained around a banger racing track.

A friend's little girl used to be sick on every journey longer than 20 minutes, they couldn't even leave their village without dealing with vomit. Her GP was able to prescribe something from age 2 for longer journeys that did help (but didn't solve the problem). Friend's car just constantly smelt of vomit.

Internal decapitation is incredibly rare and vanishingly unlikely.

You could speak to the GP about medicine?
My son was sick very easily, at car journey over 10 minutes. We kept him rear facing and he naturally got better and fully outgrew it around 4. We FF him at 5.

For me it was never worth compromising on safety in case of a crash. But you have my sympathies. I couldn't ignore the statistics. I think it's very unlikely they would choke.

We were prescribed something at about that age which we used on long car journeys. Moved on to kwells at about 3yo.

You say that but there was a thread a few months ago where op was outraged that her 13 year old son was not rear facing when she gave her y9 child's friends mother his car seat. She was just incandescent with rage that her son's friends mum had put her child at risk.

She gave the mother of her child's friend who is in year 9 a rear facing car seat.

I'd usually advocate for rear facing as long as you possibly can,
But tbh, if she's being sick whilst you're driving there's a risk, I'd assume if you felt she was choking then the panic would increase the risk of an accident also.
I think you also need to think of the damage that being sick regularly can do to her oesophagus and teeth.

Just do all you can to minimise the risks as much as possible to her when travelling which you are, because you have different factors to take into account than most parents.

Second the suggestion of the Cybex Anoris - we have one and it’s brilliant. There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I would forward face a 15 month old in a standard seat, sorry OP. We bought one as a solution to a fitting issue, but I would really recommend in these circumstances too - but maybe with a waterproof mat over the shield just in case as I don’t think the cover for that bit is removable!

I doubt children would care what car seats their friends are in. Not everyone drives to school anyway.

Some people prioritise their children's car safety, I don't get why you should have a problem with that. Not the choice you make for your children, fine, but don't criticise others for putting safety first.

Your 2 year old is over 125cm tall? 🤔

Have you read the reason why it's safer to rear face? You don't need to be in some huge crash for your child to die , just one that makes her head be thrown forward with some force. That includes very sudden braking . The weight of her head will snap her spine. That's why they rear face untill their bones are properly developed

With regards to travel sickness, I had it terribly as a child and still have it bad enough as an adult that I've said sayonara to many travel dreams, I won't even look at a coach and sometimes get it whilst playing video games or watching telly. I hate it. People think it's just nausea but it's a whole body sensation it's awful.
People think it's a good idea to travel with an empty stomach in case they are sick, but that can be a mistake. travelling hungry makes it much worse. Give your child a dryish sort of snack before travel. Make sure she does not get hot at all. Remove air fresheners from your car and everyone traveling shouldnt wear scents. Bring rich tea biscuits with you everywhere you go. New car smell can be a trigger, so keep windows open if that's a problem.

Rear facing is safer but you’ve got it tough here OP because I do not know what I’d do in your shoes. Unattended vomiting, risk of aspiration and the distraction of that while you are driving potentially multiple times a day seems like a greater danger to me to be honest. I’m surprised posters are being so dismissive of that.

Have you looked at the Cybex Anoris OP?

It's forward facing but has recently been awarded fantastic results by ADAC.

Rear facing still pips it in safety testing but they created it with little ones like yours in mind.

Not cheap but it's maybe worth it for the peace of mind until she gets a bit older.

@rebecca100

It's not very very unsafe. It's marginally less safe. Lease keep it proportional. Those of us with older kids forward faced, in my case dd was in 60mph accident and her well fitted ff seat saved her life, well fitted being key. I'm far from criticising extended rear facing but keep comments accurate,

@Jk987

Not looked at the stats myself but I know front passenger is least safe seat in the car. Chances are a rear facing baby front passenger is more at risk than a front facing one on back seat.

Try rear facing in the front passenger seat first. This helped DSD’s motion sickness particularly if we opened the window.

It's not very, very unsafe. Perspective is needed. The consequences of a crash are worse than rear facing. A crash is no more or less likely to happen.

My 14 month old is still rear facing but I'll probably turn her around soon. My motion sickness is so much worse when I'm travelling backwards.