To be considering a front facing car seat

[Wilf83]

I'm a ftm & only just heard that a rear facing car seat are the safest. All my friends with 3 year old+ have always had front facing seats after their baby car seats so to me front facing from 12 months is normal but now I'm thinking that it would be really reckless of me.

This is the first time I've faced this problem. Are the comments addressed to Larry addressed to larrygrylls, because all I asked was about what they could see

Forward facing seats under age two have been shown to have a risk of internal decapitation during an accident. For that reason, my dd will remain rear-facing until she grows out of our current seat, which goes up to 40lbs rear facing and 70lbs ff. it's just not worth the risk.

DD is still rear facing at 4, but the size of an average 5 yo. I spoke to her today about turning round (while driving, you can have conversations). She isn't keen as she has a mirror that faces my rear view mirror and she thinks she won't be able to see me as well if she turns round. She happily chats about passing trains, fields and ambulances, so I think she can see plenty.

We have a Britax 2 Way Elite. It can face forwards or backwards and can be used as a booster with the main seatbelt only when forwards facing.

No brainer for us after researching the safety of rear facing in comparison with front facing. DD is 3 (tomorrow) :) and is still in rear facing and the baby will go in rear facing too once he outgrows his baby car seat.

We bought Kiss Klippan when DD was about 18 months old, it was the only rear facing around at the time and it was actually £50 cheaper to buy from Switzerland (including delivery) than it was from the UK . We were in a car crash last year and had to replace both car seats, you can now get the same one in the UK, it was still about £350 (whereas I think a forward facing for a similar age/size child can be about £80 in Halfords).

Our friend bought her rear facing (different make) from Mothercare and it swivels to the side so you can get them out easier, similar price I think and there are magnets about the shoulders on the seat which the straps stick to when you are getting the child out.

I think there are a few out there now in comparison with the 2 years ago we bought ours.

Sorry! My comments were for larrygrylls, not LarrytheCucumber.

There are risks with everything, that's why we do research. As I said, inner city where you never go above 30/40, completely different to rural. You make the decision best suited to you.

As for how much they can see, don't they usually look out the side window when ff anyway?

and we have no problem having conversations and DD seeing out of both side windows and the rear (plus she can see the driver in the mirror attached to the rear head rest too). She unfortunately she can see when I am eating chocolate

We couldn't get rear facing to suit our needs. My boys only travel in a car four or five times a month anyway.
I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

Dd is three next month and is still comfortably rear facing, however she is behind the passenger seat which is quite far forward. Her current seat would be too large to fit behind the driver's seat in our Kia Ceed and still allow my 5ft7 DH to comfortably drive so not sure what we'd do if we had two toddlers.
DD is high up so can probably see out of the windows better than in a standard forward facing seat. She can see the driver via her mirror and we always chat away in the car.
YWBU not to consider your options and just get a forward facing seat because that's the norm in your friend circle.
YWNBU if, after considering all of the information and practicalities, you decided that rear facing will not work for you.

We borrowed a friend's britax 2 way elite and DS hated it. He screamed and screamed and actually got an arm out trying to turn around and could possibly have climbed out had he been given enough time.

For this reason, we choose forward facing. He now loves going in his car seat and is readily happy in the car.

It was just too risky for him to be rear facing because he could hurt himself and even if he didn't, he's a massive distraction to whoever is driving which is more of a crash risk.

We also don't often go on motorways and he's not in the car that often anyway as I prefer to walk when possible

Do you know how many children under 5 die each year in the UK while driven in car seats?

One or two. That is it

The risk is minimal and completely overstated. There is as much chance as going for a walk in the woods and being killed by a falling tree. I hope you all wear a helmet when walking under trees?

Same here losta my sister actually crashed her car due to dd screaming so much she lost concentration and dd was out for two days it must be very unnerving travelling backwards not being able to see anyone or even out side

Which.co.uk has lots of car seat reviews. They test at 40mph with a front-on collision and for a sideways collision. You can get a month's trial membership for £1.

They have a section on rear facing seats. In theory, they are safer. however, in practice, some are very good, some are very poor. They find that they are often difficult to fit.

As well as safety in a crash, the which reviews examine how easy it is to fit the seat correctly and how easy it would be to use the seat incorrectly.

We ended up getting the kiddy phoenixfix pro. There are several similar seats that have an impact shield. We tell the children it is a table. If we crash, their heads will bang into this shield which is designed to minimise the risk of injury.

Although impact shields are pretty controversial too! Lots of arguments for and against.

just one or two kids a year, thats it

Bet their parents arent that blase about it.

Dd2 (5 in nov) and ds2 (2) have the two way elite. Ds has always been rear facing but dd was ff from 2.5-4 when we got the two way elite and she hasn't minded at all. Her seat is positioned a bit differently to ds and she has leg room.

how many children are injured though? Hundreds? And a rear facing seat could mean the difference between a slight and serious injury.

We have an erf seat and although I'm happy with the choice safety-wise, they are not the most comfortable for the front passenger. I think Scandis tend to drive big cars, but if, like us, you have a small car with no isofix, your choices are very limited. The one we have just about fits, but I wouldn't want to do a long journey in the front passenger seat. It would be impossible if we had two children. A lot of people can't afford/don't want a big car, so they may not have the choice of erf.

Children under 15 in 2011:

21 deaths
315 serious injuries

makingthelink.net/child-deaths-road-traffic-accidents

we bought an extended rear facing (erf) car seat for our dc. dc is 3.6 years old and is tall too. they are comfy in their erf seat and dont know any different. the erf seat is designed for dc to use until 6 years old.

Does mean less room in the drivers seat though as the seat takes up more room, so my corsa had to go.

Our 7 month old dd is very tall for her age and has just about outgrown her Pebble. Today we went to Mothercare and bought the next seat. We wanted erf and looked at the Cybex Sirona, Britax 2 way & Maxi Cosi 2 way Pearl. We bought the Pearl, even though it doesn't rotate for easy access, unlike the other 2. It's bigger, and the head support extends higher. I'm guessing that this may be because it's not suitable from birth, unlike the other 2.

It's a lot of money, especially as we had to buy a new, 2 way isofix base (Family Fix one only fits the old ff Pearl). But, worth it, I think.

deraila Which erf have you got? I didn't realise you could get one that lasts to age 6. Damn Mothercare.

Just read the Which report and chose a Britax front facing. As threeunder3 says, the main risk identified with rear facing is incorrect fitting. The main issue with impact shields seems to be (from comments left by public reviewers) that kids can get out of them. I need two car seats and I am often surprised at how many mums on here seem to not blink at seats costing £350 plus. Surely a good number must need two? £700 ?

Uhhr, just chipping in to say: car seats exist in order to make it safer for your children in the car, and to reduce the risk of serous injury or death in a collision. That's what they're for. So suggesting it's hysterical to get worked up about safety when talking about car seats is a bit absurd really.

I mean I'm sure that for many kids it'd be even more fun to just use the normal seatbelts, or not be strapped in at all, because hey it's not a big risk you'll get in an accident, right?

You need to buy two at the same time though (unless it's twins!). We bought the Maxi Cosi Group 0+ seat then the Cybex Sirona when DD1 was 16 months. DD2 is now in the infant seat. We'll need a new seat for her next year. So, a £100 car seat in 2012, a £370 car seat in 2013 and then another in 2015. Predictable, therefore easy to budget for.

£350 in one go is out of my price range. We have a Britax baby seat (about £100) and then bought a Kiddy seat (forward facing) that was £200 but should last until DS is out of car seats entirely.

We will probably spend another £200 on a (rear facing) toddler seat for DS2 when he outgrows the baby seat, but by the time he is out of that one he can go into DS1's Kiddy seat.

So £500 in total for both kids. It is a huge amount of money, but I suppose over 2 children and about 10 years it will work out to £25 per child per year.