The WHO recommends children to be rear facing until 2. I plan to rear face longer than 2. She's 22 pounds and 18 months...and my car-seat goes up to 40 pounds rear facing. Also there is a height limit as well!
What age was your child flipped? My pedi says 2...some friends flipped at 1...
Lilah was 15 mos old when we turned her. I asked her ped before I did it to see if I was making the best choice and she also has a son 2 months older than Lilah. She said she understood the new recommendations but she switched her son at one year bcuz he was so tall...she said it was just a recommendation not something that had to be done and it was completely up to me since Lilah met the height and weight requirements there was no issues in her mind. Part of me was swaying that way anyway bcuz when Faith was younger there was no question as to what way, seems like they're always coming out with new things and Faith was just fine too :) honestly I don't think there is a right or wrong answer in this one..just do what u feel is right :)
ReplyDeleteMelissa
I wanted to keep B rearfacing until 2, but by 18 months he was a nightmare in the car. He would kick and scream and howl because he wasn't facing the way that we were. He likes to do everything like we do. So, I turned him. My anxiety just couldn't handle the freak outs in the car any longer.
ReplyDeleteWe flipped Aiden at oneish. He was super tall and he started to get scrunched up back there.
ReplyDeleteBetter broken legs than neck---this is a no brainer and I think most parents know it. Children are 75% safer. That is a huge number. Granted a screaming child is not good for road safety either so I understand why some choose to turn around earlier. Still I urge parents to reconsider when possible, especially if their children spend hours per week in the car.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest will be 8 in August. She knows she is too small to ride w/just a seatbelt & as long as she fits in her car seat she will continue to ride in it versus a booster. I don't know that any of her friends know she is still in a car seat but we've raised our children to not give a crap what others think and while I know sometimes this is hard? She knows that her safety in a car where she spends hours a day? Is not negotiable because she 'may' be teased. What lesson will I be teaching her "Oh honey it's okay we may be in an accident tomorrow but lets take you out of a seat that protects you from serious injury because Jack in school is giving you a hard time." Fast forward years down the line & she takes off her seatbelt while driving because others are teasing her? And it's just not cool to do? I'll pass. My middle child is off the charts for height and weight but continues to ride rear-facing at 28 months and will continue to do so. He does ride forward in the grandparents' car but he also spends less time there for shorter periods of time so rather than buy another seat, we've chosen to take the risk and keep in it. I understand that we all make these choices, I am far from immune from them. We weigh the risks and move forward. But I feel far too many parents are looking at these recommendations and scoffing at them rather than truly sitting down and reading through the stats and research.
It really isn't as big a deal as we make it out to be. Most kids survive being told to do things for their own good and it becomes the norm. I think it's like when seatbelts first were introduced and people didn't like to be told they should use them. It didn't matter *still doesn't* to many that it really would be the difference between living and dying. It's part of the American creed-our RIGHT to do what we want and not let anyone else tell us otherwise. Everything is made out to be part of our so-called helicopter parent way of being-which is far from the truth. Even the most freerange of parents know that car seat safety is important and not about safety hysteria.
I hate that this whole rear versus forward facing topic has become part of the mommy wars. It takes away from the general message which is "this is much better/safer for our children) not "Ooooh I'm a better mom because my 12 year old is rear-facing."
It's really factually safer if we could ALL rear face, that's just the reality of vehicle crash physics, so I intend to keep my children optimally safe as long as current technology allows. Right now, my daughter is 21 months and my son turned 4 yrs old last month. Both are still under the rear facing maximums for their seats and so they will remain in that position until they outgrow it.
ReplyDeleteThey both went through a phase at around 18 months when they didn't want to be strapped in PERIOD ("Hey, this freedom thing I just discovered is amazing!!") but we weathered through it and came out safe and sound on the other side.
My son now knows exactly WHY he is rear facing and though he has ridden forward facing a couple of times in other people's vehicles, he prefers rear facing because he wants to be as safe as he can be and have somewhere to rest his feet! :))