To keep ds in a rear facing seat?

[Edenviolet]

Dh thinks so as ds2 (22months) fusses and cries a lot and dh thinks his legs are "squashed up".
He wants to turn the seat round so that ds can see more and might not get as upset in his car seat.

Dh said it won't make a difference and that he drives carefully but I pointed out that it might not be dh that causes an accident heaven forbid one happens and that it all depends where the impact is etc and so if rear facing is meant to be safer I want to keep ds that way.

Dh thinks I'm being over protective and has said he is concerned about ds legs being so restricted.

AIBU

DS was rearfacing until 4. Never had an issue and he was, obviously, much safer. Plan to do the same with DD. I don't get why anyone wouldn't, tbh. Why choose a less safe option, when you have the choice?

And they see plenty from the windows, we handed snacks etc back no problem, the legs weren't squashed (he's always been in the 90th centiles for height, too) and he never knew anything else, so wasn't fussed.

Makes me wonder if people are militant about sitting ff in trains, too? What's the problem with rear-facing? I don't get it.

YANBU.

Yes. The recaro does alter though and the back sort of pulls up to give an extra couple of inches headroom.

I also find it odd when people I know say erf seats are too expensive yet they own brand new icandys or bugaboos.

A pushchair wont save your childs life.

OP have you tried it facing forward? Just maybe your kid wants a view. If not then facing backwards it is. Our daughter was desperate to face forwards early on, oddly enough she hasn't been decapitated or spontaneously exploded either.

No safest rear facing even as an adult! Should be rear facing ideally to 4 if possible.

All mine have been in rear facing seats as long as possible.

dd1 was just under 4 when we turned her around (combination of getting a bit big for the seat and her getting ehr feet (deliberately) stuck meant we had to change her seat)

dd2 has only just come out of her 2way elite - she was 7 last week!

ds is still rf. he is 19 months, and not a particularly small child, and we only moved him out of his infant seat a couple of months ago. they last far longer than most people think they do. he's now ina BeSafe izikid, and will be for the forseeable future.

they have all been far more comfortable rf than ff. dd2 is already gutted that she is no longer rf, as the novelty of ff has worn off, and she has realised she is not as comfortable now her feet/legs are dangling.

dd1 has only recently started being less fidgety and more comfortable ff, and she is 9 now - finally her feet reach close enough to the floor to not be uncomfortably dangling.

Cake - yes that's exactly right :)

To the poster who said they see under 15kgs on booster seats - the driver of the car is actually breaking the law (although interested to know how you know the child's weight on sight )

I would support anyone using a carseat which is within the laws although if someone asked my opinion on turning their 9.1kg 6 month old forward facing I'd give them my honest view which is that they are too young.

However a friend's 10 month old, who is over 9kg and absolutely screams constantly when RF? Not judging her, not judging her one bit. I could not cope with driving when my child was so upset. Every family situation is different and while it's true that RF is safer, sometimes the remote possibility of an accident is not the only practicality to consider.

Rauma the OP's DS is 18lbs so not heavy enough to face forwards. Unusual for a 22 month old yes but not unheard of.

Thank you bertie and ken

The thought of having to travel backwards in a car omg

That's only because you're not accustomed to it.

We had a V-Class for DH's job for a while and both DDs travelled rear facing because it was so easy to turn the seats round. Plenty of friends and family had lifts during that time and happily used the seats rear facing too. No complaints of travel sickness.

I have the isi combo solids - ds is 3 and in 91st centile heightwise and has no problems with his legs etc - is is also higher than a ff seat so he has a fab view out of the window.

To be fair, I used to love sitting backwards as a kid in the boot of my dad's land rover but I feel sick if I sit backwards on a train now.

Interesting thread! Can I ask about maxi cosi? We got the family fix base with the pebble group 0+ with the intention of using base for the nxt stage pearl seat. Reading this is giving me second thoughts and wondering if we wasted money on the baSE. DS is 5mths but already 9kg and pebble only goes to 13kgs so we'll likely be moving him at least by a year I'd have though. I should forget the pearl now...go rf all the way? I checked website for maxi cosi and see they have new pearl that can rf or ff due to new regulations. I'd need a new base though. Or am I better to get a proven erf seat. Aso DS is very tall and I am genuinely wondering g oh he'll fit in rf hen toddler never mind 4yrs old....is feet already touch the car back seats!! Sorry for questions just confused reading thins. Only 5mth so not long since I looked at car seat info and feel I missed this info and so much is changing!

goldmandra so, if you were considering changing cars, and a V class was an option, it sounds like it would be a good way to keep DCs rear facing for even longer, because a standard car seat could be used, and yet still be rear facing. Is that right?

(I had to google a V class though!)

Fack,

Don't forget growth slows down hugely, I would be surprised if your dc outgrows that seat by 12 months

Sorry that was to feck

Yes. The seats can be turned around to rear facing. However it was an expensive vehicle and I hated driving it because it was so big.

Pookamoo technically not because most child car seats are not designed or tested for use on seats which are rear facing. The forces are different in a crash. A few are (Kiddy seats are) but most aren't, and even fewer are suitable for use on sideways travelling seats.

You have to check the individual manuals for each seat but I think maxi cosi seats are only to be used on a vehicle seat which faces the direction of travel, unless it's changed in the last couple of years.

Sorry, to clarify my post, rear facing harness seats only go up to 18kg, don't apply to belted boosters.

I mean rear facing ISOFIX harness seats

(Must proofread....)

lol I travel on trains frequently sitting backwards makes me feel sick. A lot of people who suffer from motion sickness find the same.

I know from discussing it with the parent. Yes it's breaking the law but not enforced. cos if you can't tell the weight from looking neither can a policeman.

Crispy, we've got the Besafe iZi Combo X3 isofix. There is no actual base as the seat is all one (quite heavy/substantial) piece. Also comes with a leg base as well. The seat would be too heavy to try and lift out of the base any way IMHO. DS very comfortable in it, always naps really well. Very high position so sees everything out of the rear window. I am very pleased with it (got it from Securatot and very good service) and plan to keep him ERF as long as I can.