Car seat position

[skydragonfly]

I can really understand your desire to let your lo look forward facing but this is one thing that statistics back up. A head on collision at 20mph can render a 12 month old forward facing baby's head to internally decapitate, I dread to think of the damage a even younger baby could face. I watched the most dreadful training videos when working for Mothercare - they stay with you forever.

The most defensive skillful driving in the world does not take into account other road users. My only big accident was being hit from behind when I was stationary at traffic lights - apparently the man didn't see me and hit me at 30mph completely writing off my car. The impact from that gave me whiplash and muscular skeletal damage that caused my neck to swell like it had been inflated with a bike pump. The day after my accident my neck was as wide as my head. I'm a full grown adult with total neck strength.

 

[rjm09]

My sons been in a front facing car seat since 6 months old He doesn't need to spend his first year in life looking at things backwards. We usually keep him in back on the passenger side just so he doesn't kick the drivers seat. We have a couple classic muscle cars that we take to car shows every week and the back seats are pretty close to the front seats. As for the SUV, I usually put him in back behind the drivers side. An accident is just that, it's gonna happen or not. We can only try to prevent them with defensive driving. I have side curtain airbags that extend to the back,so i'm not worried about where the car seat is. It's just easier to get him in and out the drivers side, and i don't want to crawl half way in the vehicle to reach to get him out! Kills my back in the DD cars, glad we've got the SUV!

In the nicest way possible, i hope you realised how much danger you put your LO in...

I realize the controversy on the issue, it's a decision I made...i'm his mother.

He's in the 75th percentile for height, he was just too big to be putting him in the carrier backwards, I felt that was more unsafe.

He also constantly wormed around to look forward, whether in the car or in a shopping cart in a store.

 

[KatelynsMummy]

My sons been in a front facing car seat since 6 months old He doesn't need to spend his first year in life looking at things backwards. We usually keep him in back on the passenger side just so he doesn't kick the drivers seat. We have a couple classic muscle cars that we take to car shows every week and the back seats are pretty close to the front seats. As for the SUV, I usually put him in back behind the drivers side. An accident is just that, it's gonna happen or not. We can only try to prevent them with defensive driving. I have side curtain airbags that extend to the back,so i'm not worried about where the car seat is. It's just easier to get him in and out the drivers side, and i don't want to crawl half way in the vehicle to reach to get him out! Kills my back in the DD cars, glad we've got the SUV!

In the nicest way possible, i hope you realised how much danger you put your LO in...

I realize the controversy on the issue, it's a decision I made...i'm his mother.

He's in the 75th percentile for height, he was just too big to be putting him in the carrier backwards, I felt that was more unsafe.

He also constantly wormed around to look forward, whether in the car or in a shopping cart in a store.

I understand that your his mother and it was your decision, but there are bigger rear facing car seats you can get that would be much safer. I cannot imagine the damage that would be done to your baby if someone crashed into you, just because you wanted him to face forwards. The guidelines are there for a reason, and IMO 6 month is FAR to young to front face, no matter how good a driver anyone is.

 

[CharlieKeys]

My son is in the 98th centile for height and weight.... he's still rear facing and he still fits in his car seat that's for 0-1yrs.


OOps pressed send before I'd finished!

I don't think weight or height has anything to do with it, it's more to do with the danger you pose to your child's neck/spine/any other body part. Like Katelyn'smummy said - you can get car seats that suit larger babies that are still rear facing

 

[MrsVenn]

I think the other poster is from the USA.. they won't have the same guidelines as in the UK. Am I correct rjm09?

 

[AriannasMama]

Arianna has always been in the middle of the backseat and now that she's in her convertible seat the WHOLE backseat is taken by it, lol. Anyone ever wonder why things for babies are so giant when they are so small? lol

 

[rjm09]

Ladies, my son is almost 2, this is an issue over and done with. I appreciate all the concerns though, accidents happen, and I can only try and prevent them. We have been accident free, and have been myself for the past 11 years.

 

[bathbabe]

And in the US its a year and 20lbs. So doesnt matter how you look at it, its wrong.

 

[bubbles123]

My little man still fits into his infant seat and he's 15 months now and he's no where near the weight limit of 13 kg and his head is no where near the top. It doesn't matter what they look like in the seat, as long as they're within the weight limit and their head is not over the top, you should keep on rear facing for as long as you can. When I go on a train I sit in rearward facing seat all of the time... can't say it has much impact on my journey. I can still look out of the window just fine.
Whether to ERF is a personal choice but to worry about whether or not the child can see much isn't really a valid reason to FF IMO.
And OP the middle seat is safest when ERF due to the protection from side impact as others have said. I'm not sure about FF though as there would be no protection from flying glass etc when FF. My LO's ERF seat is behind the passe ger seat on the left side, away from traffic (we're Uk)

 

[CharlieKeys]

This away from traffic thing confuses me.... Only because if you drive on the motorway/dual carriageway and you're in the middle or the outside lane then LO is still facing traffic.

 

[AriannasMama]

Its one year by law in the US but 2 is now the recommended age, our carseat rear faces up to 40lbs and I plan on keeping her RF until then. Also Arianna is in the 75% for height and is rear facing Why risk it just cause he likes to look around?

 

[bathbabe]

This away from traffic thing confuses me.... Only because if you drive on the motorway/dual carriageway and you're in the middle or the outside lane then LO is still facing traffic.

You would both be travelling in the same direction so any impact is seriously reduced x

 

[skydragonfly]

The middle seat is still the safest either forward or rearfacing. Bubbles honey, what infant seat do you have? I'm curious because my little fella's head is about at the top of his Maxi Cosi carrier and he is now 20lb at 20 weeks old. I was going to get a erf but if there is a carrier that could keep me going for a bit longer, they are so handy for shops and school runs etc.

I had been accident free for 12 years when I was hit by a uninsured, unlicensed driver. I thought I was more or less invincible because I considered myself a safe driver.

 

[msmissa]

My little man still fits into his infant seat and he's 15 months now and he's no where near the weight limit of 13 kg and his head is no where near the top. It doesn't matter what they look like in the seat, as long as they're within the weight limit and their head is not over the top, you should keep on rear facing for as long as you can. When I go on a train I sit in rearward facing seat all of the time... can't say it has much impact on my journey. I can still look out of the window just fine.
Whether to ERF is a personal choice but to worry about whether or not the child can see much isn't really a valid reason to FF IMO.
And OP the middle seat is safest when ERF due to the protection from side impact as others have said. I'm not sure about FF though as there would be no protection from flying glass etc when FF. My LO's ERF seat is behind the passe ger seat on the left side, away from traffic (we're Uk)

I was just curious what you ladies do. He outgrew his infant seat so quickly. He got to be too long for it and was sticking out over the ends He is still rear facing in the back seat but he is now on the passenger side away from traffic due to me not being tall enough to really reach him in the center seat. My husband was always the one to do that, but he's deployed so moving him seemed the best solution But anyways, I was curious because my friends asked where LO sits and why I moved him

 

[AriannasMama]

^^ Thats my problem too. Her convertible car seat is SO tall I can't really reach her, but I would like to keep her in the middle for safety.

 

[msmissa]

^^ Thats my problem too. Her convertible car seat is SO tall I can't really reach her, but I would like to keep her in the middle for safety.

I would have too, but like I said, my OH isn't here to help me get him in and out, and I don't feel it's very safe to climb UP and into my car to get him in and out. I don't want to risk slipping and falling with him in my arms, iykwim

 

[peanut56]

As several others have said, the back middle is the safest place in the car for a baby.
We have a small SUV, and LO is in the back middle. We have a convertible car seat for when she outgrows her infant seat, and that one fits in the middle as well. I think if I couldn't have her in the middle, I would probably put her behind the driver's side.

 

[kmac625]

My sons been in a front facing car seat since 6 months old. He doesn't need to spend his first year in life looking at things backwards. We usually keep him in back on the passenger side just so he doesn't kick the drivers seat. We have a couple classic muscle cars that we take to car shows every week and the back seats are pretty close to the front seats. As for the SUV, I usually put him in back behind the drivers side. An accident is just that, it's gonna happen or not. We can only try to prevent them with defensive driving. I have side curtain airbags that extend to the back,so i'm not worried about where the car seat is. It's just easier to get him in and out the drivers side, and i don't want to crawl half way in the vehicle to reach to get him out! Kills my back in the DD cars, glad we've got the SUV!

I won't bother repeating what the other ladies have said about putting your son ff at 6 months, however airbags are actually quite dangerous for babies and small children, so that's not actually a safety feature.

We have Clara in an ERF in the middle backseat of our car, but once she goes ff she'll be behind the passenger seat because that's where the clip for the top of the seat is located in our car.

 

[mrsthomas623]

My little man still fits into his infant seat and he's 15 months now and he's no where near the weight limit of 13 kg and his head is no where near the top. It doesn't matter what they look like in the seat, as long as they're within the weight limit and their head is not over the top, you should keep on rear facing for as long as you can. When I go on a train I sit in rearward facing seat all of the time... can't say it has much impact on my journey. I can still look out of the window just fine.
Whether to ERF is a personal choice but to worry about whether or not the child can see much isn't really a valid reason to FF IMO.
And OP the middle seat is safest when ERF due to the protection from side impact as others have said. I'm not sure about FF though as there would be no protection from flying glass etc when FF. My LO's ERF seat is behind the passe ger seat on the left side, away from traffic (we're Uk)

I was just curious what you ladies do. He outgrew his infant seat so quickly. He got to be too long for it and was sticking out over the ends He is still rear facing in the back seat but he is now on the passenger side away from traffic due to me not being tall enough to really reach him in the center seat. My husband was always the one to do that, but he's deployed so moving him seemed the best solution But anyways, I was curious because my friends asked where LO sits and why I moved him

I have Nolan in the same position now that he is so heavy, I kept bumping his head trying to get him to the middle position. Basically, the middle is safest, followed by passenger side then drives side I believe. Don't worry too much about it, people with more than one kids have to put them behind the seats.

 

[kmac625]

My sons been in a front facing car seat since 6 months old He doesn't need to spend his first year in life looking at things backwards. We usually keep him in back on the passenger side just so he doesn't kick the drivers seat. We have a couple classic muscle cars that we take to car shows every week and the back seats are pretty close to the front seats. As for the SUV, I usually put him in back behind the drivers side. An accident is just that, it's gonna happen or not. We can only try to prevent them with defensive driving. I have side curtain airbags that extend to the back,so i'm not worried about where the car seat is. It's just easier to get him in and out the drivers side, and i don't want to crawl half way in the vehicle to reach to get him out! Kills my back in the DD cars, glad we've got the SUV!

In the nicest way possible, i hope you realised how much danger you put your LO in...

I realize the controversy on the issue, it's a decision I made...i'm his mother.

He's in the 75th percentile for height, he was just too big to be putting him in the carrier backwards, I felt that was more unsafe.

He also constantly wormed around to look forward, whether in the car or in a shopping cart in a store.

Ok, this is bothering me so I changed my mind and I have to say something. The 75th percentile for height isn't that tall really. My dd is at the 85th percentile for height and she didn't outgrow her infant seat for length until 8 months. Also, it's illegal to put your baby ff at 6 months, so it's too bad you were never pulled over as maybe the hefty ticket you would have received would be enough to convince you that it's a bad idea. Lastly, if he was able to worm around so much then I don't think you had him strapped in properly in the carseat because I know when Clara is strapped in all she can do is turn her head from side to side and move her arms and legs, but her body stays put.