Forward facing car seat - Can I put DS in it now?

[Practicalpet]

My ds was 8 months on the 20th May and weighed in last week at 19lb 12oz can I put him in a forward facing seat - or should I wait until he is 9 months?

I had heard it depends on weight (need to be 20lbs) and back strength. The people at the local council roadsafety place said to me that my little one needed to e able to sit up on his own for at least half an hour without toppling over before he went into the next seat. She said that as long as they still fitted in the old one it was safer to keep them in it as long as possible as most accidents involve stopping quickly, which puts a lot of strain on babies neck if they are facing forwards.

If you aren't sure you could always take your LO and car seat to your local council road safety dpt and ask them to have a look, they seem better than shops as they aren't trying to sell you anything iykwim!

you need to wait until he is at least 20lbs, regardless of his age I'm afraid. The minimum weight for forward facing is 20lbs. My ds is 23lbs at 8 months but I am keeping him rear facing for a bit longer as he is safer that way.

Message withdrawn

your lo is only too big for the seat if his head is over the back rest as it is ok if their legs are over the front.

Yeah I'm with pitchounette I went to mothercare when my DD was 18lbs & almost 9 months (2 1/2months ago) and they said because she was long and her head was over the top of her rearfacing car seat she needed a forward facing one earlier

if this is any use?

Wow - Thanks ladies for the quick responses! I will check in the morning but I don't think his head is over the top of his infant carrier so i'll leave it till the 9 months/20lb mark.

See www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/buying.htm