To keep ds in a rear facing seat?

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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

I would rather broken legs than a snapped spinal chord.. christ i would sit rear facing if I could. i don't understand the rush to face them forwards when their chances of living are better in a crash than rear facing.

Cos they is so big and growd up!

gamerchick, agreed. I do wonder if people realise that's the main risk.

Funnily enough I don't have any travel sickness from rearfacing seats in trains, but I get it (always have) from sitting in the back of cars. I spent most of my childhood car trips feeling nauseated. It's pretty grim, agreed. But the reality is that even if dd gets car-sick both my kids will rearface and get on with it, just as I had to, because a bit of nausea is better than a severed spinal cord.

Oridunda- that's the one I was looking at buying, thank you!

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

I have c&p'd this from the in car safer centre it sounds like its harness is ok rf until 25kg not 18

The Britax 2-Way Elite is approved from 9-25kg both rearward and forward facing with the integral 5-point safety harness. It is a versatile seat that can be used rearward facing to 25kg with 2-point or 3-point seat belt. It can be used forward facing to 18kg with 2-point or 3-point seat belt and forward facing from 18-25kg with 3-point seat belt only. When this seat is fitted rear facing, tether straps (supplied) must be used.

Out of interest and not wanting to derail but it is on topic, did some new regs come in last year that say you cannot use a ff isofix seat for a child younger than 15 months?

Would the two way elite be suitable for a 4 year old weighing 18 kg?

This has made me rethink dds car seat too. Spoke to dh and he said she doesn't need one but I'm wondering if its a good idea.

NeedsAsockamnesty, it's not that you can't, it's that it is safer. Under the age of 15 months, a childs neck/back are still unstable enough to be under serious strain/damage during impact. Extensive research has proved this to be true. So in order to preserve life, we are now keeping children rear facing until a minimum of 15 months. Extended rear facing is the preferred option though, for as long as humanly possible.

There are a few ff car seats on the market, which offer a front impact shield. These, on impact, allow the childs body to natually 'roll' so the wipelash action is minimised, and there internal organs are protected. Where as, in a ff 5 point harness, the childs body is restrained. Causing the neck to 'wipe' causing more damage. The 5 point harness can also cause damage to organs. However, these particular seats don't hold up so well in a car which rolls.

The new maxi cosi twoway pearl keeps the child rear facing until around 4 years old, but the one problem is that they have made it impossible to use it with the current family fix base. Which personally I think is wrong. But, the base doesn't have a way of rotating the seat, unlike the Cybex Sirona.

There also seems to be this myth that Isofix is safer. It isn't, it's just error free. If a car seat is properly fitted in the first place, then there's no real need for isofix.

Does anyone have two rear facing seats in a ford focus? We have one TWE but can't have two as we are constantly changing the drivers seat leg room (DP and I are a foot different in height!) plus my partner is 6'3" so not sure what seat I could put behind him, we don't have isofix.

DD is now in the TWE, and DS who is 4.3yrs is now just FF. Would like to get another RF if possible but not sure how to work it.

How old is Dd? To be honest, I would be thinking about keeping the youngest in the TWE, and your 4 year old in a good ff seat with decent side impact protection.

YABU

Although it's very easy to visualise and awful when it happens, almost no children are killed as passengers in cars. In 2012 (when for what it's worth almost all were forward facing) 4 of the 473 deaths of children aged 1-4 were as passengers in car accidents.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/mortality-statistics--deaths-registered-in-england-and-wales--series-dr-/2012/dr-table5-2012.xls

The base risk that these expensive seats are (possibly) reducing is very low in the first place. My opinion is that it's not worth making my child uncomfortable.

As many children under 4 due in the bath as die in cars. Perhaps we should all buy £400 bath seats.

That'd be die in the bath. Sorry

4 children dying, are 4 children too many

theonlyoneIknow we have a ford focus, a DD aged 4 in a TWE (she won't hit the weight limit for ages), DH is 6'6" and we know that if we ever manage another child we would have to change the car!

Well having looked into this the research seem very biased and nit whole conclusive imo and at over £300 for a erf seat I cam safely say I won't be using one!

The risks are minimal imo and I do very little motorway driving these days. Plus they are far too big to fit in my car when I also have 2 other kids in the back, one of whom still requires a booster seat. The eldest whinges already with an infant seat that he is squashed

I thought the isafe European regulations came into force in July 13 and that they actually state that you can't put a under 15 month in a ff isofix seat but they don't apply to existing belt fitted seats?

At least that's what the road safety officer at the car seat testing day told me

mymiricle

The britax two way elite is £220 you can fit 2 in the back of a vectra with another seat and it allows more space than most ff

I'd be looking for KSI stats - killed or seriously injured.

I admit, the regulations seem to be less than black and white. Especially when companies are still manufacturing ff seats for babies of 9 months+

Ultimately, as a parent, its up to us to make an informed decision. But I always stress to parents to do their research, read the reviews and watch the crash videos.

Where does a 4 year olds legs go if they are backwards facing?? Must be really uncomfortable for long journeys surely?

Don't get me started on booster seats either! My lanky 8 year old just does not fit into a high back booster. She even looks too big on just the booster cushion. What age can they safely just sit on the seat.

Their legs hang down, and tbh when you way up leg or head injurys, I know which I'd prefer. One is definitely easier to recover from.

12 years old

Bloody phone posted too early.....unless they exceed the max height limit