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Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

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Original poster

Rear facing up to 4 yrs old or forward facing with a view?

33 replies

MyNameisAmy · 05/09/2015 20:56

Dear All,
So I'm lost in the depths of review madness. My heart tells me that my 14 month old, 75cm tall, 9.6kg little boy wants to look forward and interact. My husbands head, thanks to Which magazine, is now adamant that little fella has to face backwards till the age of 4. Any ideas?
Thanks for all comments,
Amy

OP posts:

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PennyHasNoSurname · 05/09/2015 20:59

Rear face him. It is safer. View rear faci g is good (both side windows and the whole back window), forward facing they mainly look at the back of your seat.

I watched some crash test videos of forward vs rear facing and couldnt unsee it. Rear facing it is. DD is 3y and 10m old and has only been turned forward this week (as her head has gone over the top of her rear facing seat as she is mega tall).

Rear face. Safety over views always.

SoftSheen · 05/09/2015 21:02

Your husband is right. Rear-facing is far safer for young children. In a head-on collision, a child in a forward-facing seat risks internal decapitation. Google it!

DriverSurpriseMe · 05/09/2015 21:06

It's tricky, I know. I personally think the debate is rather more nuanced than "forward facing car seats are death traps". I had to weigh up the risks vs. benefits. Car journeys were virtually impossible when my toddler DD was rear facing. She'd scream bloody murder. When she was forward facing things were easier. She could see us and see out of the windows.

We also don't drive very much and rarely go on long motorway journeys. Again, that made me feel OK about forward facing.

You'll find that people are very, very black and white when it comes to car seats on MN, so if you're looking for a range of opinions, you probably won't get them.

Hufflepuffin · 05/09/2015 21:08

My DC is 13 months and will be rear facing until 2 at the very least, we got the 2way pearl as he can forward face in it eventually. I'm hoping to keep him backwards for as long as possible really! He doesn't know the difference and he likes looking at us in the mirror.

Whatabout · 05/09/2015 21:08

My 27 month old weighs just 10kgs, he's rear facing with a mirror and he can see out of the window and is fine. His proportions are still out of kilter he has a big head and a tiny body. I don't know how long we will keep him rear facing but for now it's safest and that's it.

Laquila · 05/09/2015 21:10

I believe rear-facing is safer (and my two-yr old will likely rf til 4) but you'll get plenty of people on here telling you their 12-mth olds are ff and absolutely fine...

swashbucklecheer · 05/09/2015 21:15

I would love to know how a 4yr old could possibly still sit rear facing? My ds who's just turned 4 last week has a height of 101cm would be sitting with his knees round his ears in a very cramped position! In theory I understand the reasoning behind rear facing for that long but have a long child and a small car and it's impossible.

BertieBotts · 05/09/2015 21:25

It's not impossible, they cross their legs and the seats are much bigger remember. Sometimes the seat does have to brace against the front row seats, so you should place them behind the passenger to minimise driver distraction. It is harder in a small car but it's not impossible.

My long legged six year old was incredibly uncomfortable last week on a long journey in his forward facing high back booster because his legs were just dangling free and obviously don't reach the floor. After several hours of driving they were going to sleep! :( Poor kid. We ended up putting a suitcase in as a sort of footrest which helped but then he moaned about it the rest of the time.

We did not rear face to four because there just weren't that many options when he was growing out of his baby seat but I would not rush to forward face. I wouldn't be happy doing it before 15 months really and would prefer to keep them RF until 18 months or two if possible.

BertieBotts · 05/09/2015 21:27

Click on Brio Zento here for a picture of a girl who looks about four, and the Maxi Cosi Mobi for a view with lots of leg room for a child.

BertieBotts · 05/09/2015 21:27

Oops here: rearfacing.co.uk/gallery.php#pics

poocatcherchampion · 05/09/2015 21:29

Rear facing definitely.

I don't really care what they think of the view given their seats probably saved their lives in a recent crash we had, but they enjoy telling us what is coming up behind and they watch us in the mirrors.

bringmelaughter · 05/09/2015 21:33

They get a great view resurfacing. ERF seats aren't like the baby seats, they are much higher so the child gets a great view out of both side and back window. With a good mirror on the back seat they also chat away and interact with people in the front two seats.

My 3 1/2 year old loves his be safe izi plus and will be in it till age 5 or 6 as it goes up to 25kgs. Loads safer and no issue with boredom, etc.

pickwickcrocus · 05/09/2015 21:35

DD is nearly four and is still happily rear facing, we will keep her that way for as long as possible.

She is very inquisitive but doesn't mind at all being r/f, it's just the way it is in our car. She has been f/f in grandparents car a few times but understands that is just for that car and sits very happily in her seat. She is average height and her legs rest up against the back seat mostly. She has never complained about not having anywhere to put her legs or being uncomfortable r/f .

AliceMum09 · 05/09/2015 22:28

This 4 year old doesn't appear to have her knees up around her ears. It says she's 108cm tall.

I don't get the reasoning that you have to turn your child to face forward so they can have a view. A view of what exactly - the back of the driver/passenger seat (unless they sit in the middle of the back seat)? With rear facing they can look out of the side window and out of the rear window and also see you with the aid of a mirror on the headrest.

My 3 year old is RF in a Britax Multi Tech II and will remain so until she is at least 6. She is very petite, on the 2nd centile for height and 9th for weight, but I have an 'average' DD1 who at almost 7 years old (weighing 23.5kgs and standing 118cm tall) sometimes still asks if she can use the seat. On long motorway journeys she sometimes uses the Multi Tech II while DD2 goes back in the Britax First Class that we have (she's still under the 13kgs weight limit for rear facing in it).

swashbucklecheer · 06/09/2015 10:37

Alice that child isn't in a small car. I'm not disagreeing with the principle behind rf it's just not practical fitting seats like those into a small car. Thou if someone want3d to buy me a bigger car I wouldn't say no!

EsmetheWitch · 06/09/2015 10:42

I was recently in a car crash where I was quite serious injured. My DD was in her rear facing seat and was unharmed. The ambulance driver said that the seat had saved her and he often sees a very different outcome.

It's easy to think of all kinds of reason to put your child in a front facing seat but waiting could save their life.

TeaPleaseBob · 06/09/2015 11:19

My daughter is rear facing at 27 months old and will be for as long as possible. She is a nosey child and is perfectly happy rear facing. What do you think they see forward facing that's any different? They would be facing a seat back. Read facing they are still able to see out side windows, out back window and if you use a mirror they can also see driver and out the front window. My daughter comments on things around is from all sides so she definitely is not stuck without a view.

As others have said extended rear facing seats are not like infant seats, they are comfy and high enough for children to see our windows.

AliceMum09 · 06/09/2015 12:05

Here is something about rear facing seats in smaller cars www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.613923375418182.1073741908.282362311907625&type=3

I have seen pictures of a rear facing seat in a Totota Aygo - you can't get much smaller than that!

captaincake · 06/09/2015 20:14

My DS is rear facing with a view. I have the be safe izi isize and he can see loads out the sides and back window. He seems very happy with it. In DH's car we have the britax dual fix and he can't see anything really because it's so much lower. DS doesn't like it as much so we now have a DVD player for him in DH's car and he's fine in there now too. I'm with your husband.

BertieBotts · 07/09/2015 00:22

To be fair, if your DS is 9.6kg at 14 months you should get loads more mileage out of the baby seat which is in fact more practical anyway as you can stick it on a buggy if you need to.

Although if the issue is comfort then a larger ERF seat would be worth looking at. You wouldn't have to use it right up to four years old but I'd keep going if you have the means :)

BertieBotts · 07/09/2015 00:22

Esme and poocatcher Hope you are all okay now.

Sockattack · 14/09/2015 09:18

Esme and poocatcher stories like this make the endless advice and campaigning I do worth it.

OP I have a very bright nearly 4 year old. I'm investigating a new seat for her which will keep her rear facing til 6. Her view is great- we just adapt the rules for I spy and yellow car game when we are out!

Velvet1973 · 15/09/2015 10:06

My exceptionally nosey and huge 15 month old has a cybex sirona that we intend to use rear facing until he's 4. As others have said they're very comfortable and they see so much more than forward facing. We have a large mirror in front of him so we see him and he sees us and interacts perfectly well.
The legs argument is just pointless in my opinion as I've yet to meet a child yet who sits in any seat for any length of time properly much before the age of about 10. They sit crossed legged, legs over the sides of the seat, legs up the back of the seat etc as that's what they find most comfortable.

poocatcherchampion · 24/09/2015 06:19

I've just come back to this thread - thanks for the well wishes. The thought that something could have happened doesn't seem to go away with the passage of time - it is scary stuff steering a hunk of metal around other hunks of metal going at high speed when you stop to think.

Rainuntilseptember15 · 24/09/2015 06:42

That's interesting that Which is suggesting this as didn't they used to be quite negative in their rf tests? My 3 year old seems happy in his britax two way, though it does annoy me not being able to check him - can anyone suggest an example of these mirrors some of you use? Thanks

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