Rear Facing Car Seat How Long
Hi, I understand by law you need to use a rear facing car seat until the child is over 15months old. Ive seen information saying preferably keep it rear facing until 4 years old. I was going to change ds to forward facing after 15 months old but now Im having doubts. What does everyone think on this?
My 3.5 is still rear facing and very comfortable. I’m keeping him there as long as I can
Thanks Bryan, the britax car seat I have rear faces until 13kg and and forward faces until 18kg Im not sure what age hell be when he gets to 13kg but I can leave him rear facing until then but would have to buy a new car seat if I want him there longer. Hes 15 months old now and around 10kg Ill have to weigh him.
At DDs 2 year check she was I think 11kg which was 50th percentile . You will probably get quite a while out of it rear facing as their growth slows. I wouldn’t turn it round yet if he is reasonably happy and fits it.
I second bending, my DS is only forward facing because he refused to go in the car. He hated not being able to see where we were going.He loves it now.
Thanks Bending. Ds is always around 50th too so maybe the rear facing will last him to at least 3. Im going to keep it rear facing for as long as possible because its so much safer.
My Kid Will Be Bored Riding Rear
Of course they want to see what is going on and rear-facing kids can see just as much than their forward facing peers albeit theyre seeing where theyve been instead of where theyre going but they wont know or care!
Once your child can sit upright unsupported, many convertible car seats allow you to sit the child more upright which will give them a better view out the back and side windows. If the vehicle head restraint is removable where your kid is sitting, you can consider taking it out to give the child a better view .
Guidance For Families From The American Academy Of Pediatrics:
- Children should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, up to the limits of their car safety seat. This will include virtually all children under 2 years of age and most children up to age 4.
- Once they’ve been turned around, children should remain in a forward-facing car safety seat up to that seat’s weight and length limits. Most seats can accommodate children up to 60 pounds or more.
- When they exceed these limits, child passengers should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they can use a seat belt that fits correctly.
- Once they exceed the booster limits and are large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use a lap and shoulder belt.
- All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.
Safely transporting children has come a long way from the days when would put a baby front-facing at age 1 and 20 pounds. Keep your child rear-facing for as long as their seat allows and check the label on your car seat to make sure your child fits the weight and height guidelines and that you are using the seat correctly.
Primary Children’s Hospital offers free car seat checks by our trained and certified car seat technicians to make sure your child is riding as safely as possible. If you’d like to make an appointment for a car seat check, or if you have questions or concerns about car seats, simply call us at .
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Child Safety Seat Tips For Baby
The following are some important child safety seat tips for your baby:
- Your infant or toddler should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat. Most convertible seats have limits that will allow children to ride rear-facing for two years or more. Don’t be concerned if your child’s legs bend at the knees or touch the back seat of the car when rear-facing this will not harm her feet or knees.
- Always put your infant in a rear-facing child safety seat in the back of your car. A baby riding in the front seat can be fatally injured by a passenger side air bag.
- The shoulder straps must be at or below your babys shoulders. Child safety seats have several pairs of harness slots so you can adjust the harness as your baby grows. Make sure you use the harness correctly by following these tips:
- The harness must be snug so you cannot pinch a fold in the harness material after buckling in your baby.
- The straps should lie flat in a straight line without sagging or twisting.
- The top of the chest clip should be positioned at armpit level.
Who Is The Evenflo Safemax All
The Evenflo SafeMax is an All-in-One car seat, accommodating children from birth through booster. Rear-facing it can be used for infants and young children from 5 40 lbs . Safety advocates recommend that children ride rear-facing as long as possible. Forward-facing, the Evenflo SafeMax All-in-One can be used for children at least one year old and 22 65 lbs . Finally, in high back booster mode this car seat can be used for children at least four years old and from 40 120 lbs .
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I Have Been Told To Leave My Child Rear Facing Until My Child Is At Least One Year Old What Do You Suggest
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children remain rear facing until they are 2 years old. The Evenflo Embrace car seat will accommodate a child rear facing up to 35 pounds. For children that do not meet the size limitations for this infant seat please see our Evenflo convertible or All in One car seats on this website which may accommodate a larger child rear facing.
What If My Child Wants To Forward
Your child will be adamant about not being strapped into the car seat in the rear-facing position. Our oldest son was never so upset to be restrained to a car seat as the second baby. The second child would scream, and we mean scream, for 30-40 minutes before he gave in and slept . Those were terribly long trips, but he eventually learned to sit in the car seat.
However, there are a few things you can do to help your child to get used to the car seat faster. These have helped us over the years, some more than others and that depends on each child.
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What Are The Safety Features Of The Evenflo Safemax All
The Evenflo SafeMax All-in-One car seat incorporates safety features designed and focused on occupant protection. The SafeZone Headrest is engineered with a combination of premium materials that are designed to absorb and dissipate crash forces, providing advanced protection where your child needs it most. An integrated steel frame provides strength to absorb crash forces, while the harness webbing helps limit head excursion and prevent ejection.
How To Keep Your Child Entertained While Rear
Rear-facing doesnt have to be boring! Older kids can ride quite upright so they can see out the side and rear windows. If theres a head rest blocking your childs view out the back window, you can usually remove it. By 9-12 months your baby knows youre there when you talk to them from the front even though they cant see you. So you can calm and entertain your child with songs, stories, and for older children games of I spy, all while theyre rear-facing.
Weve got lots of suggestions for great car seat & travel toys for babies & toddlers because sometimes we all get a little cranky when were bored!
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Myth #: My Child Is Too Big
Graco Grows4Me rear facing 4 years old
The lovely young lady pictured here is 4 years old, weighs 38 pounds, and is 40 inches tall. She is happily rear facing in a Graco Grows4Me, which is outgrown when the child weighs 40 pounds or is so tall that the top of their head is within one inch of the top of the shell. She still fits comfortably in this mode and has found a fine place to put her legs.
There are many other reasonably-priced car seats on the market that would fit her rear facing.
Chicco Fit4 3.5 years old rear facing
Even a child who is in the 90th percentile for height or weight can easily rear face past two years old at a reasonable price.
This 3.5 year old model has room to grow in the Chicco Fit 4. As you can see, shes found a perfectly fine place to put her legs while shes on the go!
What Is The Parentlink Premier Service That Is Included With The Purchase Of The Safemax All
ParentLink® PREMIER Service provides seat owners access to expert safety guidance. As part of the ParentLink® PREMIER service, seat owners will receive the following benefits: live video installation service, real-time chat support, a 2-year product warranty and an extended 10 year expiration date on the SafeMax All-in-One car seat.
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New Child Passenger Safety Seat Guidance Advises Kids To Ride Rear
- AAP Policy
- AAP Technical Report
The most dangerous thing that U.S. children do as part of daily life is ride in a car. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children 4 years and older.
Using the correct car safety seat or booster seat can help decrease the risk of death or serious injury by over 70%, and parents look to their pediatricians as a trusted source of guidance.
New evidence over the past decade prompted the Academy to update the policy statement and technical report Child Passenger Safety. The documents are available at and , and will be published in the November issue of Pediatrics.
The impact of the revised policy should be minimal, as the only significant change is the removal of a specific age, 2 years, as a criterion for when a child changes from a rear- to a forward-facing car safety seat.
Guidance for families
Pediatricians should be prepared to provide advice at every health maintenance visit to ensure that children are as safe as possible. The evidence-based recommendations call for the following:
Advice evolves
The recommendation for rear-facing car seats has taken some twists and turns.
In 2017, the journal Injury Prevention issued an expression of concern and later retracted the 2007 paper .
Dr. Hoffman, a lead author of the policy statement and technical report, is chair of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention Executive Committee.
My Child Wants To Be Forward
Even if your child’s legs are touching the seat back, or they cry when rear-facing, you should still keep your child rear-facing until they reach the rear-facing weight or height limit of the car seat. Most convertible car seats have rear-facing weight limits of 35 to 50 pounds, so most kids can ride rear-facing until age three to five. Some children never like sitting in a car seat, and they may cry. However, being properly restrained makes it more likely that a child will survive a crash to cry another day.
Many parents worry that their child will suffer broken legs or hips in a crash because the child’s legs touch the seat back or look cramped when rear-facing. In fact, there are more leg injuries when forward-facing, as the legs fly up and the feet go into the back of the front seat. As everything moves forward, compression forces into the hip and femur can break the leg of the forward-facing child.
Studies of real kids in real crashes shows that leg and hip injuries in rear-facing kids are very uncommon. When they do happen, it is in side impacts where another vehicle hits the child right where their leg is, breaking the leg. Rear-facing kids do not get hip or leg injuries from being scrunched up. In fact, during the instant of the crash, rear-facing kids become even more scrunched, with their legs pulling up into a cannonball position. This is not a cause of injury.
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Myth #: My Child Gets Carsick
Cleaning the car seat
This one is tough, its almost not a myth because we know there are a lot of kids that really, truly battle motion sickness. To any parent who has ever reduced the outer pieces of their car seat into a pile like this in order to clean puke from all the crevices: we feel for you. A car sick toddler is still extremely vulnerable to serious spinal injuries from forward facing too early, so we bring you some tips from seasoned vomit-warriors to help make your kiddo safe and less likely to lose their lunch.
If your child is prone to carsickness, consider carrying a lightweight basin with you or placing a towel over the childs torso to help minimize cleanup if all else fails.
What Type Of Car Seat Should I Use
Rear-facing car seat:
- All infants must use a rear-facing car seat. A rear-facing seat provides the best protection for your childs head, neck, and spine in a sudden stop or crash. Once your baby outgrows the infant seat, use a larger, rear-facing seat. As long as your child still fits within the manufacturers weight and height limits, they are safest using a rear-facing seat until 2, 3, or even 4 years old.
Forward-facing car seat:
- Once your child has outgrown the larger rear-facing car seat and is at least2 years old they can move to a forward-facing car seat with a 5-point harness. Keep your child in a 5-point harness until they weigh at least 18 kg and can sit straight and tall without moving out of position or unbuckling. This may be at 4, 5, or even 6 years old. If your child outgrows the seat before they can sit correctly, you may need a 5-point harness that will hold a taller, heavier child.
Booster seat:
- When your child is at least 18 kg and at least 4 years old, and has outgrown their forward-facing car seat with a 5-point harness, they may be ready to move to a belt-positioning booster seat. To safely use a booster seat, your child must be able to sit correctly. Keep your child in a booster seat until they safely fit the adult seat belt. For most children, this will be between 9 and 12 years old.
Seat belt:
If your child cannot sit like this for the whole trip without slouching, continue to use a booster seat.
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Myth #: Extended Rear Facing Carseats Are So Expensive
The Cosco Scenera NEXT is a budget-friendly option
This kiddo is rear facing in a Cosco Scenera NEXT that rear faces to 40 pounds and 40 and costs under $50. Even a seat like the Scenera NEXT will get most average kids past two years old rear facing. There are several other seat options under $100 that rear face to 40 pounds and 40 inches tall. You dont have to eat beans and rice for six months to be able to afford a seat that will allow for extended rear facing.
What If Your Child Doesnt Like Rear
This is a major concern to most parents and for good reason. When a child is crying and wailing, it becomes a distraction for them while driving. The chances of an accident are higher when parents are distracted, thereby risking the safety of the whole family.
Sometimes these tantrums have less to do with the car seat and more to do with the fact that your child is a toddler, and throwing fits is par for the course. However, rear-facing does not necessarily need to be boring. You can use a car mirror so you and your infant can see each other . Older kids can keep themselves busy with toys or look outside the rear window.
After some time, your child gets used to the idea that youre up front even though they dont see you. Besides, the safety of your child should always come first. Rear-facing car seats are usually comfortable so you have nothing to worry about.
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