Car seat position

[Trying4ababy]

Back passenger seat.

 

[amy19604]

I don't see how being in the front is more dangerous than the back, being in the front saved my first baby's life, i was stopped at a roundabout and a transit van came flying round the corner into the back of me. the back of my car was completely crushed in. if he'd been in the back he wouldn't be here today.
Anyway my now youngest goes in the back behind the passenger side as theres airbags in the front which i cant work out how to disable but id prefer to have him next to me when its just the 2 of us incase he cries.
No matter where you put them theres always risk of something happening, the main thing is to have them strapped in properly in the correct seat for their age.

 

[Thumper]

LO is is behind the passenger seat but I am going to check for Isofix points in the centre now as I always belived that the middle would be more dangerous. I know it can be for adults. Thanks for the info ladies
Oh, andwe plan on ERF too. We're saving already as they are expensive but they last so long and are worth the expense IMO. I don;t really care if LO is seeing the world backwards!

 

[mrsthomas623]

why is it bad to have the seat behind the driver?

I think it is just the least favorable because that side has a greater chance of being it. Where as the passenger side is only at risk when turning left (maybe right where you live ) or from merging traffic.

 

[MissMandieMitz]

Ours is behind the driver seat. We were told by a nurse from the nursery in the hospital that it was recommended to put the car seat on either of the sides and not the middle.

 

[Natsku]

I had never heard of ERF before I joined this forum but now I really want to get an ERF seat for when she outgrows her carrier one. It'll have to come out of my inheritance as we can't afford it otherwise but that way it can be like a present to her from her great-grandma.

 

[TiggerToo]

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...

Uhm, not to mention it's ILLEGAL....I can't think of one state where it's legal to put someone that small in a forward facing seat, especially since the AAP is now EXTENDING the rear facing recommendation (even though as an RN I wonder about the chance of blood clots - yes, kids can get DVTs - forming on long trips if the child is especially tall and bent in half in the seat, but that's another thread).

Car seat position, IN EVERY STATE IN THE UNION, is based on WEIGHT AND HEIGHT, not age. I just did a spot check of national car seat laws and pretty much every state says that if the child is less than one year old or less than 20 lbs, the seat MUST face the rear.

I'm sure someone else has already addressed this (and I'm too lazy, not to mention INCENSED, to flip through the entire thread), but she might want to check her state laws. I'd be interested to know where she lives (not that the law should make a difference, but I'm still curious).

I'm still horrified that we have NO federal, unifying, blanket law for this in this country, like they do in Europe (and I'm waiting for the Feds to get off the stick and have the nicer, easier-to-use LATCH type system they have over there; my BIL - DH is a Brit - has two kids and their car seats SNAP DIRECTLY ONTO THE FRAME OF THE VEHICLE instead of using straps. Takes them less than ten minutes to swap around car seats. How awesome is THAT?)

Also, most states have child restraint laws as Primary laws, meaning a cop can stop, ticket, and fine you on the spot FOR NO OTHER REASON than your kid's restraint is all wrong.

 

[vaniilla]

Lo goes in the rear passenger seat

 

[Gingerspice]

For those that don't want the expense of a true ERF, you can easily keep a child RF until they reach the 13kg limit. Most children outgrow the infant carriers due to height/length rather than this weight;
however, if you get a group 0+1 (birth to 18kg) then the seat is bigger so as long as they are within the weight limit, usually 13kg for RF, then they can stay RF. Then from 13KG the seat has to then go FF.
Beyond that, to then remain RF you would need a specialist ERF seat, but most babies can easily remain RF using a group 0+1 seat up to the 13kg limit, which for an 'average' baby on 50%tile they don't reach until approximate 26 months (girl) and getting the cross span group seat means as its meant to last until about 6 years old it will accommodate the height. To RF until over 2 years is still better than RF until a much younger age.

The only downside to this set up is that the seats are more reclined than FF seats so if your child is disliking the more laid back approach then using a group 0+1 for RF until over 2 years old may not be the best solution.

Also, I didn't know until recently but John Lewis does stock a ERF seat!

For those who are struggling with ERF though, look into the option of the Impact cushion design (Think there's only 3 available in UK - correct me if wrong:

https://www.kiddy.de/en/childrens-car-seats/9months-12years/kiddy-guardian-pro.html

https://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-cybex-pallasfix-2-in-1-moonlight/121371400/type-i/

https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs..._productId_802469_langId_-1_categoryId_165554

these aren't as good as ERF, but it is better than 'normal' harness FF due to less strained from having shoulders pinned and head flying forward in an accident.

 

[Gingerspice]

As for positions we have LO in passenger side middle row of seats. I can't help but feel a bit guilty though for when we have the next one, as you kind of have to decide which child is etter in a slightly higher risk position which seems a bit unfair!

Still a worse choice would be which children sit in the very rear of a lot of 7 seater cars as the 2 rear seats are within the crumple zones so when demonstrated on TV, they showed how a small goods vehicle hitting the rear of the 7 seater car actually meant the 2 rear children actually had their heads make contact to the vehicle that hit them. This isn't often made known to families when choosing a car. It all comes down to probability really though. The probability of actually being in the exact accident they did as this test is probably quite low in terms of all accidents known, and ts all about risk assessment processing for the parents to decide when it comes to choosing the best position/seat or vehicle for their family.

 

[CharlieKeys]

I have a Question, my mum just bought me a new carseat as he'd outgrown his size 0 one. Now in the instructions it says 0-9kg rf, 9-18kg ff..... now Stephen is just over 10kg but is only 8 months old... so do I RF or FF him?

 

[Gingerspice]

Unfortunately you should follow the weight guidelines, so if you do use that seat then as its limit is 9kg before having to go FF, then they would have to go FF.

Some car seats do overlap the weight bands though so look carefully as to whether it does actually HAVE to go round to FF at 9kg, or whether, it CAN go to FF from 9kg but could choose to keep RF until a different limit as specified in the manual.

(So some will say RF from 0 - 13KG and FF from 9 - x kg; but some then choose to avoid confusion by stating 0-9kg RF 9kf - x kg, when if you read the entire manual it becomes clear i can be RF to 13kg if chosen - but don't keep RF unless you can be certain it will perform safely if remained RF beyond the 9kg)

What car seat is it?

 

[msmissa]

I would still rear face him anyways.....it's a lot safer. Especially so young. Not only is it a weight thing, they need to at least be a year before FF

 

[CharlieKeys]

https://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wc...displayA_51_10751_-1_14569_125589_10001_14568 -- That's the carseat Gingerspice

I had it FF on the way home cause of the instructions but I felt so guilty and was panicking the whole way back cause I would rather RF him, but then I worry if I had an accident and he was RF and over the weight limit that could cause more damage....So I'm confused!

 

[CharlieKeys]

I would still rear face him anyways.....it's a lot safer. Especially so young. Not only is it a weight thing, they need to at least be a year before FF

Thanks I htink in the UK it's 9 months... so a little bit younger, but to me it seems too young if you get me?

 

[Gingerspice]

There is no minimum in the UK to RF too, only a guideline which is 9 months (not that I'm suggesting people should follow this as people should RF for a slong as possible).

I agree it is safer to RF, but if a carseat is not suitable to remain RF beyond its weight it is unsafe to keep RF outside of the weight limits specified in the manual as it will not perform correctly and so put LO at an unknown risk in the event of an accident.

The only option is to use a different carseat if you wish to keep LO RF and knowing the car seat would in fact perform as tested by the manufacturer

 

[msmissa]

There is no minimum in the UK to RF too, only a guideline which is 9 months (not that I'm suggesting people should follow this as people should RF for a slong as possible).

I agree it is safer to RF, but if a carseat is not suitable to remain RF beyond its weight it is unsafe to keep RF outside of the weight limits specified in the manual as it will not perform correctly and so put LO at an unknown risk in the event of an accident.

The only option is to use a different carseat if you wish to keep LO RF and knowing the car seat would in fact perform as tested by the manufacturer

Yeah, just re-read it. Definitely agree to follow the car seat guidelines as they're built for safety for those specific instructions. My bad lol. That's why I specifically bought our car seat to rear face up to 45 lbs

 

[pinklightbulb]

I have LO in the back passenger side