To front face DS at 15 months in his car seat?

[monstera16]

My DS, currently 13 months, absolutely hates the car seat and we can't seem to stop the screaming. We have tried everything - toys, videos, some one in the back, mirror, no mirror, happy song, snacks, nap time trips, new car seat.

He will scream and scream and get himself all worked up and will only stop once you have got him out of the car.

I am fully aware of the guidance to rear face as long as possible, but it's got to the stage where we are now distracted driving and potentially risking an accident through not being fully focused on the road.

So my aibu is, am I being unreasonable to try front facing once he hits 15m to see if this helps control the screaming? (He meets the height and weight requirements)

We have the Joie 360 spin if that helps.

My child is the same age as yours and if I were in your situation I’d try turning the seat to forward facing. My little girl started walking this week and since she’s becoming more mobile she really doesn’t like being strapped into a car seat or her pram. Often when I drive I end up handing her toys from the front seat, putting music on, talking to her, trying to find the dummy she threw away then wanted again, giving her a snack as a last resort etc etc. So essentially half my concentration is on settling her and the other half is focused on the road so definitely not ideal. While she’s rear facing now and we plan to keep her rear facing until 3, if she was as distressed as your baby I would think turning the car seat to front facing is safer than distracted driving and hopefully less stressful for the baby too.

If you're basing your decision on level of risk alone, it's safer to seat your baby in the back of the car, front or rear facing, over putting the rear facing seat in the front.

Both mine were forward facing from about 15 months. Driving while stressed out by a screaming child is much more risky than using a forward facing seat.

They are 4-5 times more likely to be killed in an accident while forward facing. Please do not advise people to make dangerous choices with their children, just because you did. There are always other options to try before going for the most dangerous option.

This isn't true. Rear-facing in the front seat, with the airbag turned off, is safer than forward facing in the back.

Please try every possible option available to you before turning them forward facing. Even screen time. It is so, so much more dangerous for them to be forward-facing. It is not worth their life, if you have an accident.