When did you move your LO into their forward facing car seat?

[AlmondFrangipani]

I know all the advice but just wondered when everyone actually did it. We've got a 10kg 9 mo who hates his rear facing car seat. Tempting to change him into the other seat but holding out as long as poss!

Rear facing seats are outgrown once the top of the head reaches the top of the shell, due to the recline and the way their head would be thrown up and back in a crash, so last even less time than a ff.

Rf seats are actually outgrown when the head is an inch or so above the seat back, And they don't last less time than a ff seat, as mine has lasted 6 years so far. (one child). It is the Britax two way, which has a high back.

I understood that in a forward facing seat the child could be further over the back than in a rear facer, as in an impact the child is thrown up and back when rear facing so their head could go over the back of the seat and be whipped back unsupported - at least this is the case for seats that are reclined while rear facing like the Tilt.

DS got too tall for his infant seat when he was about 16 months, so we had him RF in a Britax First Class. He went FF at around 2; I wanted to keep him RF but was under lots of pressure from family members who thought he must be bored and uncomfortable. I wish I'd stuck to my guns. He could have stayed RF until he was 3, when he reached the upper weight limit the seat in that position (13kg).

DD is nearly 19 months and still in her Cabriofix. She's tiny, just 9kg, but will move into the Britax First Class soon. This time I'll keep her RF until she's too heavy, family be damned!

People have their 4yr olds in rear-facing car sears? Seriously? How on earth do you communicate with them? Don't they hate it? Goodness, I've never seen that.

I found car travel became much easier once we had ditched the blasted rf baby seat.

Same way you communicate with other passengers in the back seat. I can't see forward facing passengers when I am talking to them either as I am keeping my eyes on the road!

Toffee mine is only 22 months, but yes, we'll keep him rear facing as long as possible. We have a mirror on the head-rest of the back seat his seat is sitting on so that if one of us turns around from the front, we can see him & he us.

DD is 3yo on the 97th percentile for height and in a RF Britax two way elite. I do find it takes up more space in the car, the passenger side seat can't go all the way back so for travelling we have a FF we take with us to fit rental cars. For the RF we have a mirror so we can see DD and of course it doesn't make a difference for talking to her (I appreciate it does make a difference to parents with hearing difficulties though). It is also actually easier to pass her things as she is closer to me in the passenger seat.

I for one I am grateful to MNers who post about RF because I had no idea about the safety advantages before reading about them on here. I had bought a car seat because I had, very naively, thought that if something was a safety product it would adhere to the highest requirements.

I'm in France and no one knows about RF here other than British ex-pats. I have had numerous questions about my RF, what it is, what is wrong with DD to be facing that way, etc. and a friend was stopped by the police to check what she had in the car...ironically in a country where you often see completely unrestrained children in cars!

My DD hated being in a car seat period as a toddler (DHs car wasn't a volvo so at that time FF was really the only choice for it) - so that wasn't a consideration either way. By preschool age she'd got more civilized and could understand a simple explanation of what happened if you stop suddenly in a car. (she could even get what happened to a helium balloon which is quite entertaining)

DD is rear facing in a klippan kiss 2 at 2 and a bit years. She's happy enough in it, still falls asleep in minutes so must be comfy too. She does think she's the mutts nuts in the forward facing, cheap at £50, Britax Prince that I got for in my mums car though.

I found it difficult, because I was adamant that she would stay rear facing for as long as possible, but didn't want to drop another £300 odd quid on another RF seat for mums car. DM will drive DD once a fortnight, if that, but the crash stats are still the same IYKWIM. I wish I'd known about the Tilt 6 months ago or I would have bought it instead at £80odd. That's a bargain.

"People have their 4yr olds in rear-facing car sears? Seriously? How on earth do you communicate with them? Don't they hate it? Goodness, I've never seen that."

We just chat with our voices. It's not that hard!

DS loves it. He gets a great view out of the side and back windows, far better than if he was FF and staring at the back of the driver's seat.

The baby seat is completely different to a proper toddler RF seat.