To ask if you would forward face an 11 month old baby

[NastyPeace]

Mil wants a car seat. She bought one I was not happy with without asking me. I've checked the ADAC and I would prefer an i-size isofix seat (basically the same as what I have) and have agreed to cover the cost difference as it is huge! Anyway, I'm half wondering, with the driving they are likely to be doing any impact would, hopefully, not be too bad. A forward facing seat would be cheaper and last longer but tbh I think I'd rather just go with my gut on this and not worry about the money element.

Wwyd?

Depends on child. Speaking as someone who gets hideously carsick if I travel backwards.

I did forward facing from quite young for DC2, about 10-11 months as rear facing was too upsetting for him and distracting for the driver (he would scream to the point of vomiting). More dangerous in my view.

I personally wanted a seat that had passed the rigorous Swedish plus test. No forward facing seat has. Make of that what you will.

The difference between these things is tiny. Where I live it's normal for people to switch babies round at about a year. Just recently it's become more common for people to wait, but it's not the law.

Carseats that are on the market are all much safer than no seat, whereas the differences between all of these variations are pretty insignificant.

@yorkshirepudddiing

Both of my kids rear faced till 18 months.

They are now 3 and 6.

We used age weight and size appropriate car seats for them both and regularly check they are fitted securely. They both suffer with terrible travel sickness and I don't think travelling backwards would help them.

I've never seen a 5 year old rear facing. Where on Earth do their legs go?!

Travel sickness is a bummer. My first suffered from reflux and travel sickness so forward faced at 14 months. Second didn't have any of those issues forward faced until aged 4.

My dd gets car sick and hates car journeys. I refused to forward face her until she reached 13kg which she now has. DH said I was being silly as both our older children forward faced before the( as was the norm.in those days.)

Anyway since forward facing she is no longer car sick and seems to be much happier in the car. She is 3 so I felt had rear faced for an acceptable amount of time.

I strongly recommend buying a revolving seat, they save your back when you’re opening the car, can be switched between rear and forward facing and the Britax one that I have lasts from birth until they’re 4.

@SinkGirl
Sorry I should have said! Between the two vehicles, we have a Britax Two Way Elite (£160 at the In Car Safety Centre) and an Axkid Minikid. They both fit in the polo, I prefer the minikid, but the TWE is lighter so easily moved between cars if both parents have tether straps in place.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.fatherly.com/health-science/physics-rear-facing-car-seats-kids/amp/

There is a big difference in safety between a toddler rf seat compared to a ff seat. Just because some people consider a car seat a developmental milestone.

P.s not judging those with children who have severe car sickness- it’s safer to keep the driver focused.

Whatever you do please get a seat that the person who will be fitting it (assuming it’ll potential be coming in and out of a GP’s car) can fit properly and that they know how to fit the child into it properly

It’s estimated that something like one in three children are either in a car seat that doesn’t fit correctly in the Model of car properly, that has been installed incorrectly or that they are not properly fitted into (straps incorrectly placed on their shoulders, not tight enough or with thick coats on)

[quote BeardieWeirdie]@SinkGirl
Sorry I should have said! Between the two vehicles, we have a Britax Two Way Elite (£160 at the In Car Safety Centre) and an Axkid Minikid. They both fit in the polo, I prefer the minikid, but the TWE is lighter so easily moved between cars if both parents have tether straps in place.[/quote]
Thank you! We’ve had an issue with our current seats because the rear seat slopes slightly so it’s really useful to know what others are using in the same car before spending loads on two!

Joie tilt is fab, and really affordbale- always comes highly rating in tests too.

If it’s recommended to keep them rear facing until four, where the hell do their legs go? Don’t they just scuff merry hell out of your car seats?

YADNBU. Can’t she take it back?

We kept our rear-facing for as long as possible.

Can recommend Joie Stages.

No way. Join the Facebook group called extended rear facing for advice on the safest car seats. The testing standards in the UK are appalling.

I don’t actually remember how old mine was when she went forward facing. When she got too big for the rear-facing, I think.

@MeridianB yes she is taking it back. She did say when she showed me that it I wasn't happy she'll return it. She was being thoughtful but didn't really know the new safety advice.

@mochachoco my understanding is that ADAC are some of the best safety tests in the EU. I'll also check out the Swiss one someone mentioned up thread. I'm not on FB.

If you're talking about the Swedish Plus Test, it's the best test, but be aware that they only test rear-facing car seats, and not seats that face both ways (like the rotating seats for example) so those seats will still be safe rear-facing even if they are not Swedish Plus Tested.

www.carseatadvice-uk.com/car-seat-testing.html

Once or twice a week I would definitely stay rear facing.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Yes I would because my baby got too tall to face backwards and had to be turned around before a yr

He was over a metre tall at 1 year?? Or do you just mean he got too big for the infant carrier seat. Obviously nobody is putting a 4 year old in an infant carrier.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

Yes I would because my baby got too tall to face backwards and had to be turned around before a yr

What an absolute load of bollocks.

Yes I would because my baby got too tall to face backwards

There are RF car seats on the market that fit 135cm tall children. That's an average height for a 9 year old and I've never seen an 11 month old who can't fit into any RF seat.

@Rotundandhappy

If it’s recommended to keep them rear facing until four, where the hell do their legs go? Don’t they just scuff merry hell out of your car seats?

They cross their legs, or you can remove the headrest of the rear seat to give them more space. My daughter seems to be pretty comfy and often falls asleep in the car, shes 3.5. If you didn't want your car seats to get scuffed you could get a cover to go over it.

@Goosefoot

The difference between these things is tiny. Where I live it's normal for people to switch babies round at about a year. Just recently it's become more common for people to wait, but it's not the law.

Carseats that are on the market are all much safer than no seat, whereas the differences between all of these variations are pretty insignificant.

Differences between decent seats might not be hugely significant (I would t include most seats that only do the basic testing as "decent") but between rear facing and forward facing the difference is quite significant. It's 5x safer rear facing.