What age did you forward face?

[febbabies2023]

I'm just curious to see when people started to forward face their children?

I see a lot of posts on 'mum groups' about how they'll basically keep their kid rear facing until they're 26, but virtually everyone I know has forward faced at about 2

For reference, my eldest is 3.5 and still rear facing. Youngest is 9m and will be for as long as I can too.
Eldest is 50th centile so car seat weights etc not really been an issue
Youngest is 99th centile so we'll see!

Just curious to see what the general population does :)

When my teenagers were babies, rear facing was only just being talked about. There was one parent at our baby and toddler group who had rear facing seats for her toddlers. We had already bought the best 'mainstream' seats available or we would have certainly invested in rear facing seats as long as possible. I have always personally done what I think is best for our family with the knowledge and finances we have.

Both children were RF until they turned 5 then moved them into a HBB. Like others have said, they knew no different, this was the rule in our car and no opportunity to protest. Definitely in the minority though - not a single other parent I know from nursery, school or otherwise had their children RF after 3.5 (majority turned them before they were 3)

We started FF when DS was two. I do a lot of driving on my own and found it really difficult with him screaming and not being able to communicate effectively with him. He is also very tall and was uncomfortable rear facing (he told me this!).

I do have a Nachfolger for when we travel which is rear facing, and I'm happy with that as I often feel it would be most dangerous when I'm driving a foreign car on the other side of the road!

Axkidd. Nearly 6.5 years but likely to need a new seat soon.

This is a good video.

End of reception so 5 for us. Had the Axkid and the two way elite. Moved into high backed boosters with the seat guides. I was confident he was going to sit correctly..he never moaned about being uncomfortable but once we had changed the seat in my mum's car he was keen to change the ones in ours.

When they started reception. So 4.5ish. Youngest is still rear facing as she's only 2.5.

My son was 4. We read up on it and concluded it was far safer so bought a car seat that rear faced until 4 years.

I don't know anyone else who did this and we got a lot of stick for it from family.

My son was 4.5yrs but 99th percentile so had outgrown his Axkid One, I ideally would have rear faced him till 5yrs.
My daughter is now in the Axkid at 2.5yrs old and hoping to get her to at least 5yrs as she’s not as high on the percentiles for weight.

Forward facing now at 3, he travels in a wheelchair. I hate it because the seatbelt system for wheelchairs isn't tested under a passenger weight of 22kg and he is years off reaching that.

My 3.5 year old is RF in a Maxway Plus. It's supposed to do kids until they're 6/7 but he's 99th centile so hoping he'll make it to 5. My youngest is 21 months and RF in a Joie 360. He'll move into the Maxway Plus when DS1 outgrows it.

4yr old and 2.5yr old still both RF and in spin seats. They've never asked to face forwards so I just never have done. Older one is teeny (9th centile) and likely to only outgrow the spin by height as she turns 5. Hoping she's reached the 15kg lower weight limit for a HBB otherwise we're in an annoying position of needing to find something to plug the gap. 2.5yr old is not teeny (50-75th centile) and so is likely to reach one of the limits earlier which is also annoying as I don't want him in a HBB before 4.5. Kids are expensive aren't they!

I'd say in our friend groups my kids are probably the only ones still rear facing. Maybe one other family I know who have Axkids but plenty have moved to HBB from age 3 or 4.

Until 4 years old using a Joie Steadi as the car was too old to have ISOFIX points.

It's a great seat and fits even in a tiny car so it is possible even without a big car.

Ds 12 months

DD (2.10) is still ERF and we plan to until she outgrows her Joie stages but she is 7th percentile so that with be when she starts school at 5.5/6

DS (1.1) has the same seat and is similar centiles so about the same for him.

from my baby class there are around 6 of us who are quite close and DD is the only one still ERF everyone changed to FF from 18 months or before, we have discussed ERF but they felt that was right for them.

4.5 and still rear facing. No plan to change it - he's always been around the 75-90 percentile on height and never complained about being uncomfortable. We often travel long distances and he'll happily still sleep in his seat.

We mainly travel day to day on 60 mph county roads, and also regularly on motorways. I don't think I could happily move him forward facing without a very very good reason and not think about how less safe he'd be in an accident. Just see no need to face him forwards when he's safer in rear facing up to 25kg.

DD was a little under 3 and a half. I'd hoped to wait a little longer but she was tall and outgrew her swivel car seat a bit earlier than hoped.

We got to 4.5 years old, and I was pleased with that! She’s 75th percentile for height so we did well to get that long I think

3.5 years, purely because on the spin I can't get my sore arthritic hands down the back of the seat to release the spin anymore 🙈

I really do agree with this

@autienotnaughty , us too - my sister had my nephew FF from around 15 months, which seemed to be the benchmark for my DPs. They think it’s cruel and borderline abusive to have DC2 in a RF seat at almost 4. My nephew is in a HBB already and is just a few months older . He looks very young to be using the adult belt, although is within the guidelines.

I am surprised some of the people on this thread do not turn the adult seats backwards too. Just in case.

I swapped dd to forward facing when she was 3. The old rear facing car seat broke, and I couldn't afford another one due to a massive change in our financial circumstances. She's 5 now, and wouldn't tolerate rear facing since she's had the luxury of ff for so long.

4.5 and still RF most of the time. I'll let him use the high back booster for school drop off, as it's 2 minutes up the road (I drop him at breakfast club and then carry on to work). He would prefer to FF all the time, because he knows his best friend does. He falls asleep often on longer journeys and I'm not happy with the position he slumps into then if he's in the HBB, so this is the compromise I'm willing to make.

I’m an adult and I prefer to sit with my legs “up” (cross-legged or folded up) - it’s what I find most comfortable and it’s the way I sit through choice whenever I can.

The rear facing seats that are suitable for older children are obviously designed and tested to fit children all the way up to the limits.

My own tall son is rear facing at 6 and is very happy. I don’t think anyone we know is even aware that he is RF as it’s never come up in conversation. It would be mental to make your child uncomfortable to make some kind of point. No one would actually do this.

Sitting forward facing and choosing to cross your legs or have them folded is extremely different to rear facing and having your legs pressed against the seat like this. I’m not even sure why you’ve compared the two