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Original poster

Turning the car seat from rear facing.

45 replies

PeoniesandPretties · 23/04/2019 18:18

So my 9 month old baby keeps wriggling out of his harness in the car seat. Brought an anti escape harness, the only thing mothercare sell and that worked briefly but today he's twisted his shoulder out. I've realised he's trying to look out of the front window.
Previously he had a mirror attached to the head rest but that was what started the escapism!
Today, after pulling over on the motorway I turned him forward facing and he was happy as Larry.
However, gov law states turning from 15 months. My argument is, children are all different, so how can going on age be appropriate? I also think turning him is safer than pulling over on motorways to readjust straps etc.
Any help, advice or tips would be great. We have the joile 360 spin isofix seat.

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Smumzo · 23/04/2019 19:16

Mothercare were useless in my experience. Car seat safety centre were excellent. Hopefully the manufacturer can help you. In the short term I'd try buying a few new toys to hang on seat behind him to distract him. I used to rotate which toy it was every day from a bag in the boot. At that age DD hated rear facing but now at 2.5 she's fine with it. You've just got to push through the tricky bits.

Smumzo · 23/04/2019 19:17

And a mirror angled toward the road so he can see the world going by.

Lazypuppy · 23/04/2019 20:48

I have my dd on the front passenger seat rear facing so i can interact with he rand keep her busy. Also our car seat sits high up so she can see backwards out the window.

Shes happy at the moment (15 months) will leave her rear facing while she is happy, once shes not we'll turn her, hopefully we'll.get passed 2yo

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daffodilsare · 23/04/2019 20:56

The Facebook group Car Seat Advice UK is invaluable.

You could ask for advice on safe options to best secure your 9mo. But it's all rear facing advice because all the evidence says rear facing is so much safer.

FWIW my 18mo was getting out of his straps for a while. I managed to adjust and tighten them to make it harder for him, but it was just a phase that he grew out of. Keeping magazines for him in the car helped with distraction too. Although I appreciate your baby is a lot younger.

theplanetgalifrey · 23/04/2019 21:01

Mine was older when she turned but the escaping if anything only got worse when we turned her. So it isn’t a fix necessarily. Is there anyone you can borrow another car seat off to see if a different seat would fix it? I don’t have any experience of that one, but we had a Joie that was ridiculously easy to get out of and changed it for a Graco one that was much more difficult for her to get herself out of.

randomsabreuse · 23/04/2019 21:04

I had a lot of fun and games with DD about shoulders in car seat. She's narrow shouldered and fairly determined, plus concave waist means the tight belt has a gap...

I found the Britax 2 way elite works well for keeping her contained. Shoulder straps are closer together than cybex Sirona which helps a lot. Besafe Belt Collector helped stop her getting out too.

Make sure straps are super tight and no thick clothes underneath. Blanket for warmth only. Make sure you can see in mirror too, and discuss what you can see out the back.

Despite escape attempts DD is still happily RF at nearly 4.

teaandbiscuitsforme · 23/04/2019 21:39

If he's 9 months and getting his arms out, I'm pretty sure your straps can't be tight enough. You should only be able to fit 2 fingers under the strap.

Don't ask Mothercare advice. Try the Facebook group suggested or the In Car Safety centre as suggested.

Try the Be Safe Belt Collector

If he's high on the centile, change your 360 for a 25kg seat like the Britax Two Way Elite or the Axkid Minikid.

Please don't turn your baby forward facing for a long time yet. It isn't a case of parental preference/all babies are different; rear facing until at least 4 is the safest way for a child to travel. Mine are 4 and 2, no way they're forward facing any time soon. Google 'internal decapitation.'

SusieSusieSoo · 23/04/2019 22:11

What about the cybex car seats with the bar that comes down rather than straps? (Ds is 6, I saw them when I was buying a cybex high back booster for him 3 years ago so may not be the right age group for you just yet but worth a look maybe?

Sunshinegirl82 · 23/04/2019 22:14

The cybex sirona has a 5 point harness whilst rear facing. The impact shield is only used when forward facing.

PatricksRum · 24/04/2019 00:28

15 months is still too young to be forward facing!

40andnotfabulous · 24/04/2019 09:02

Gosh some of you are so harsh talking about decapitation! You do all realise that rear facing is only a relatively new option and I haven't heard of thousands of injured babies before that. It's all about minimising the risk though as now research has shown that rear facing for longer is better.

But Op I would say you should have another look at how you can tighten the straps (with my joie I have to make sure it's tight around the bottom/ tummy before I tighten the straps up around the shoulders or it's too loose), no coats or think jumpers and if you can't tighten after all that then I reckon another seat rather than go forward facing.

Good luck Op.

Teddybear45 · 24/04/2019 09:11

You should get those clips that prevent him from wriggling out. Can get from Amazon. A 9 month old isn’t big enough to handle being forward facing; all it would take is a bit of harsh braking to cause catastrophic injuries.

Ilovewheelychairs · 24/04/2019 09:11

My friend is an A&E nurse. She turned her children forward facing at 10 months as they didn't want to pay for an ERF car seat and because she said the only major injuries they see in A&E are from children who have not been in a car seat AT ALL. She said she had never seen any serious injuries from a child who had been hit in a decent car seat FF. Her decision, and not one I personally agree with, but just putting across another point of view.

megletthesecond · 24/04/2019 09:16

He's not wearing a coat or thick fleece in the car is he? That would increase wriggle room.

sar302 · 24/04/2019 09:26

We have the 360 spin. Our Houdini has slipped the straps a couple of times. Make sure that you've taken enough of the removable seat padding out, and that the shoulder straps are at the right level for him. Mine seems to grow about 2 inches at a time, (in spurts that often happen overnight) and every so often, we suddenly have to change a load of padding etc. And strap him down hard.

We've read about spinning him round to front face, as he's so long / tall now that he has to cross his legs in the seat, and I was a bit about rear facing making that much of a difference once it was legal for them to front face. But it is SO much better for them in the event of a crash, to be rear facing as long as possible. Our car has been hit twice whilst he's been in it. So even if it feels like accidents happen to others, it could happen to you.

teaandbiscuitsforme · 24/04/2019 09:32

40 It's not that people are being overly dramatic but in a forward facing seat, in the most serious of crashes, internal decapitation is a possibility. It is not when rear facing.

Sweden has the best car seat safety record and rear facing to beyond 4 is the norm. Children are more likely to die in forward facing seats where as the risk is much much lower rear facing.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U

Ultimately car seats are to prevent death or serious injury in a serious accident. Rear facing is the safest option for any passenger in a car (obviously not the driver!)

MaverickSnoopy · 24/04/2019 09:43

Just to add that the In Car Safety Centre are fantastic. They helped us get 3 seats in a row when we didn't think it possible.

I would definitely not forward face at that age. I know that in your situation it must feel frustrating considering that it wasn't that long ago that he could have forward faced by law, but we know more now that we did then. My now 7yo was rf until 4yo and my 2yo is still rf and will be for a long time to come.

Nuttyaboutnutella · 24/04/2019 09:43

Agree with the suggestion of Car Seat Advice Safety group on FB. They know their stuff!

Please keep your baby RF as long as possible, it's far, far safer. Also,my little boy is tall for his age and has been described as 'solid' quite a lot. He's still RF at age 2 as I'm not taking the risk with neck injuries etc, despite his size.

MamaTuska · 24/04/2019 09:58

The best way to get your question answered is to go to the 'car seat advice UK' forum on Facebook. I have seen numerous posts similar to yours and plenty of good advice. It is a difficult dilemma if your baby is unhappy in your rear-facing car seat or escaping harness. We end up buying more expensive Besafe car seat but no escaping from the harness as well as no crying in the car seat (the baby can see more as it is quite high). I have decided to preserve with the rear facing as if anything happened, I would not be able to forgive myself. In the end it is your decision.

cheeserolls · 24/04/2019 10:15

Good to see the government have caught up on reality of safety. My kids are older now but 10plus years ago I was v pro rear facing and was treated as quite the weirdo amongst my friends !!

The seats were so expensive and huge but it was the best money I spent at the time.

A friend of mine at the time turned her 6 month old FF for the 'it's more interesting for him' reason. He was then in a backless booster at 2. Such an odd approach to parenting!

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