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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be considering a front facing car seat

155 replies

Wilf83 · 04/10/2014 15:28

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.

OP posts:
LittleBearPad · 04/10/2014 23:19

Which reviews are consumer based primarily though and will mark down seats for issues that may not be relevant to all people, only by looking at the detailed reviews can you see this. Our erf seat was marked down for being heavy. We were never/rarely going to take it out the car so this wasn't relevant.

Workstresshelp · 04/10/2014 23:31

Ds (19 months) is forward facing but in a cybex pallas. It's a lovely seat and pretty close to as safe as rear facing from what I've read. It feels like we'll get plenty of use out of it and he loves being able to look out the windows.

quietbatperson · 04/10/2014 23:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pico2 · 04/10/2014 23:40

Workstresshelp - in what way is that seat close to as safe as a RF seat?

Bulbasaur · 04/10/2014 23:48

When rear facing seats are as affordable as the front facing ones, we'll get one. But for now, they're either scaremongering to get more money or companies are exploiting a new safety study to get more money.

Hopefully in a few months when DD outgrows her infant seat, the prices will have lowered. As it is, I think her rear facing seat is meant to hold the maximum weight limit until it's legal to face forwards.

I do hope it becomes law, because then companies will have to lower their prices since it's no longer a luxury.

Everydaysanadventure · 04/10/2014 23:52

Only on Mumsnet do you find so many RF advocates. In RL I only know 1person who erf and I know a lot of people with children under 4.

I considered it for my DS but as PP mentioned the biggest risk factor with erf seats is that they can be difficult to install correctly.

As our car seat regularly moves between 3 cars including our parents cars I was not confident that a potentially badly fitted rf seat was safer than a correctly fitted ff one.

I am happy with the decision I have made.

Workstresshelp · 04/10/2014 23:54

Pico - as I said, from the stuff I read before I bought it, it had similar test scores to the rear facing seats - particularly when looking at internal decapitation. I'm certainly not saying rear facing isn't better if you can but my overall impression from reading round it was that there's not a huge difference. It's up to people to make their own choices and do their own research of course.

Not saying I couldn't be wrong. I'm no expert but I did look into it when deciding.

SetTheWorldOnFire · 05/10/2014 00:03

I have been involved in 4 car accidents in my life, 3 of those were cars going in to the back of the car where I was passenger/ driver, 1 was a sideswipe. How frequent are each type of collision,does anyone know? My experience is obviously anecdotal, but I would guess rear shunts are far more common than full frontal collisions.

DS1 was rear facing when someone drove in to the back of us and it always occurs to me that he was facing the 'wrong way' for that particular collision, I am just grateful it wasn't higher speed and he had no ill-effects.

HazleNutt · 05/10/2014 07:06

Rear end crashes only make up 5% of the total amount of car accidents, and usually occur at far lower speeds than frontal ones. 75% of all crashes are frontal and the remaining 20% are side impacts.

As for installation, we have a Sirona and I can't even imagine how this could possibly be installed incorrectly.

43percentburnt · 05/10/2014 07:28

We bought rear facing. Lots of people mention:
'he can't see out of the front windscreen', nope but he can see out of the side and back and it's hard to see round the back of the passenger seat anyway. Plus it's really easy for the backseat passenger to chat to him as they can look at one another.
'Dont you want to see him when you are driving' err nope I want to see the road ahead of me. We have a mirror to check he is okay.
'Isnt he in an uncomfy position' err no, he sleeps in what I would consider uncomfortable positions, children sit cross legged on the floor for hours each week at school, I would consider that uncomfy but they seem fine. I used to read for hours curled up next to a radiator, behind a sofa. Or in a den under my bed/a clothes rack etc. kids are just more flexible and supple then most adults!

Fitting and moving between cars is time consuming but easy, it uses isofix.

Price is the real issue. But we decided to get a cheaper pram and an expensive car seat, I know people who have spent £300 plus on a pram, a car seat was more important to us than an expensive brand name pram.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 05/10/2014 07:35

Even in a rear ended crash, the car and carseat are still travelling forward, therefore the force is reduced. In order to emulate a front end collision and it be as dangerous, would be to be reversing at well over 30mph and be hit from.behind at at least the same speed.

Im.another one who is confused at the claims of rf being installed incorrectly - a seat is a seat. You buy it, learn or be shown how to fit it, and practice. I dont understand how they are any harder ti install.

packofbaloobas · 05/10/2014 07:38

If there is a risk of installing rf incorrectly then surely you just take the time to ensure you install it correctly? My rf seats are isofix so really its hard to get it wrong.dh dosent have isofix so uses the 2 way elite, very straightforward to install correctly. Ive never had a problem rf.they were happy out.ds2 wasnt happy initially in the 2 way elite but I knew it wasn't because of rf as he was fine in his rf infant seat.after adjusting the angle a bit he was grand.he is still rf at 3, and will till 4ish, like his older siblings.

mrscog · 05/10/2014 07:46

There are some cost effective options coming on the market now - the Joie stages is a well regarded seat and is about £150 iirc.

I agree with those who say it's a risk assessment you need to make based on your personal circumstances, and what the bulk of your drive was made up of. If you rarely leave the city they're less needed than if you're rural unclassified but fast lanes like us.

LittleBearPad · 05/10/2014 09:16

There's no greater risk of installing a rf seat than a ff seat surely. You read the instructions and do what they tell you to do in both cases. Our sirona was as easy to fit as our maxi-cosi easy fix base.
Why is it so important for a toddler to see where they're going. Dd looks out the back window and the rear window. She sleeps brilliantly and we can see her in the mirror.

SnottySundays · 05/10/2014 10:33

The Which stuff about ERF seats being hard to fit is rubbish, they really aren't. Loads of them are isofix these days and I fail to see how that changes.
Besides they dont't take up that much more room than a properly fitted FF seat. Lots of people don't leave enough room between a FF seat and the seat in front.

Itsfab · 05/10/2014 10:43

larrygrylls - you are talking absolute bollocks. I take NO risks with my children. You tend not too when they are very precious and two have died. You have no idea what car I drive or what seats we have bought so you are talking absolute bollocks and should be ashamed of yourself. Not that you will be.

"something has a certain profile......." makes no sense at all.

SnottySundays · 05/10/2014 10:56

Itsfab Thanks sorry to hear about your children.

I agree - although there is risk in everything, if I can reduce that risk I do. So my DD is rear facing because it is much safer. When I found that out, and had watched the videos, and read about how they actually do the safety tests, there was no way I could then put her in a FF seat with the knowledge it was not as safe.

There are far too many rumours around about ERF seats that simply aren't true - leg room, uncomfortable for legs, view etc. My DD is comfortable (love her seat, Be safe izi combi x3), she'd tell me if she wasn't. She has plenty of leg room and a great view. I get a running commentary on it! But most of all, she is as safe as I can make her. And that is the most important thing.

bouncinbean · 05/10/2014 11:14

I'm sure when I was researching the main thing I came away with was that all car seats are very good at preventing death and serious injury. But what is still an issue is whiplash type injuries and it is these that are eliminated when someone is rearfacing. It's the way that a car stops travelling and it impacts the spine.
So yes it's ok to forward face, but its then a choice whether you want to spend further to reduce injuries that aren't life threatening but can be debilitating.
I hate the judgements that seem to go with this decision. I was sneered at for spending the money and keeping my daughter rearfacing as a waste of money, by someone that spent a fortune on her daughters pram, has a wardrobe of clothes for her and her daughter that is enormous yet says that she won't spend that kind of money on a car seat because it's a con by manufacturers to get more money. I just have to ignore her but it does grate...

Itsfab · 05/10/2014 11:45

SS there are also comments about broken legs but I suspect it is extremely rare that a child died because of a broken leg but suspect all would die of a broken neck.

It is really offensive of someone to say you take risks with you children when they don't know you and have no basis for their accusations. I have reminded myself that LarryGrylss is not someone whose opinion matters to me so I will ignore them.

We have three children and have bought eleven car seats over the years. One because of a woman crashing into the back of us at high speed and one to replace one perfectly safe and reliable first stage seat but there had been improvements in the time between baby 1 and 2 so of course we were going to buy the improved seat.

But you know, I am taking risks Hmm.

lozster · 05/10/2014 12:04

To the pp who said that Which is mainly consumer based - that's not true for their car seat reviews. They are crash tested then scored on a variety of measures. I may take issue with some of the measures (eg ease if installing) however the consumer reviews are separate to the which tests and so e times offer contradictory opinions. For example which scores impact shields highly - 8 people have reviewed and said their child can get out. As a general principle, Which reckon that the more stage specific, the better the seat. I chose the highest scoring front facing. The score wasnt far off the rear facing. I couldn't afford two rear facing and feared that going in forward would make it difficult then to get him in reverse. I know loads of people say kids are ok with the leg position but I just can't afford to buy then have to repurchase. The brand Joie being mentioned rings a bell as not scoring well in Which.

lozster · 05/10/2014 12:06

Should say that Which allow you a one pound trial - I cancelled mine yesterday so can't go back and check.

lozster · 05/10/2014 12:10

Star girl - talking about buying two for two cars not for two stages at once. Like many people, we have two cars and one of us does nursery pick up, the other drop off. No way would I be taking a seat in and out and leaving it with my son at nursery. Now that really would be a recipe for incorrect fitting

stargirl1701 · 05/10/2014 12:59

Gosh, that is what we do. We both had training by the store and by the police officer who offers it where we live. We swap the seats between the cars on a daily basis.

We wouldn't trust the grandparents to fit them, mind you!

SnottySundays · 05/10/2014 15:53

Itsfab as I understand it, there are actually no reports of broken legs from children using RF car seats, but plenty from FF car seats... But you're right - you can live with a broken leg. It's difficult to live with a broken neck.

passmethewineplease · 05/10/2014 16:26

We've just got a joie stages on offer for £109, rear facing car seats dont have to cost the earth IMO.

The hauck varioguard is another that isn't too overly priced.

There needs to be more on the benefits of rf tbh, I didn't know about it when I had my first nearly four years ago. Only recently.