Is It Best to Turn Car Seat Around Face Forward at Age 1?

Hi K.. My daughter is 21 months and still rear-facing. I believe it is safest to keep them rear-facing until they reach the weight limit of the individual car seat. My daughters legs do hit the back of the seat but she just bends them. When I asked the paramedic who installed my seat if I should be worried about her legs hitting she told me it is easier to fix a broken leg then a broken neck! I will be keeping her that way as long as I can!

I was always told that 1year of age their seat gets turned around. Then my one friend sayed that it will tell you in your carseat manual. You can always check with your doctor or stop and ask a police officer. They have changed the rules so many times. And so many kids are not being put into their seats the right way. Dose your daughter feet touch the back of the seat when she is seating face back?

Isn't she too long to keep the seat rear facing?

My son is 3 yrs old so know every year guidelines change...he was in the Britax Roundabout and was less than 24 pounds but there was very little room for his legs at one. The guideline was one and 20 lbs.

You got a lot of good responses. Check out this link for the benefits of extended rear-facing...

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

You can keep them facing backward until they don't want to face that way any longer, or if their feet are hitting the seat. I turned my son around at one because he was so fussy. The state trooper who installed my carseat said to keep them facing backward as long as possible.

K.,

Here is a link to Children Hospital of Philadelphia. http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=...

CHOP has been studying child passenger safety for over 5 years and their study results are shared all over the country because it is such an extensive program. The website gives you info and video info on how to install car seats and what type of car seats are best.

With regards to car seat installation, there are car seat techs all over the place, the state police run program usually once a month at their barracks and if you check with you local Safe Kids affiliate they may have some other car seats check set up. If not call 1 800 seat belt or check safekids.org to find info.

Enjoy your little girl!

Rear Facing is the SAFEST way for a child to ride in a car. I plan on keeping my daughter Rear Facing until the weight limit is reached

Hi K.,

With both my girls I turned them forward facing once they were both 20 lbs and 1 year old, I'm attaching a link w/the basic carseat guidelines.

Hope this helps.

S.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/AreYouUsin...

It is absolutely safest to keep her rear facing as long as possible. My kids don't turn around until they max out the rear facing limit on the seat. For more information - the kid safe coilition says... www.usa.safekids.org

"

Q. When can I turn my infant forward facing?

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently revised their recommendations to say that children should ride in rear-facing child safety seats as long as possible. They also maintain that children should be a MINIMUM of 12 months old AND weigh at least 20 pounds before they face the front of the vehicle. Until that time, their bones and ligaments are not developed enough to withstand forward-facing crash forces. The rear-facing position reduces the risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal collision, since the safety seat's shell supports the neck and spreads crash forces across the entire back. Most infant-only seats have a limit of 20 or 22 pounds, but most current convertible safety seats have rear-facing limits of 30 pounds or more. These seats provide better protection for children, even beyond their first birthdays. "
UPDATE to address Kim's comment --

Q. My son's feet are touching the back of the vehicle seat. Should I turn him to face front now?

At one time, a few manufacturers were concerned about the potential for leg injuries. At this point, we are not aware of any documented injury cases resulting from that situation. We are, however, aware of many documented neck injury cases from turning children around too early. As a result, most manufacturers have softened the related warning in recent versions of their instructions.

Hope this helps!

I agree with everyone who says to keep your baby rear-facing as long as possible. I was in a serious car accident 2 years ago with my two children (ages 2 years and 5 weeks at that time). Using the latch car seats and having them facing the correct direction in the proper car seats saved them from serious injury. The accident was beyond our control (we were stopped at a red light and hit by a driver talking on a cell phone), but having my kids as safe as could be inside the car was my responsibility. Now, my daughter is big enough for a booster seat, but I am keeping her in a convertible seat until she is too big for it (nothing is safer than a point harness).

I was told that when their feet touch the rear seat that this could cause damage in an accident and that their necks are stable at age 1 to be turned around.

Hope this helps!!

M.

it is said that the carseat is safest in the rear facing position.

unless your child is longer than the seat, then it is not safe anymore. (if her feet are dangling over the edge)

if she doesn't meet the height or weight requirements yet, you can keep her in the seat rear facing, until she does.

the one year mark is just a guideline because most children meet these requirements by the time they are one.

this is what my doctor said when i asked about my daughter, only she was too big for the seat before she turned one and i had to turn it around at 9 months.

Since your daughter is 1 and 24 pounds she should be facing forward. Once they hit 1 year and weigh 20 pounds they can face forward.

from what i remember you go by the car seat. if you have one of those that you use forever read the label if you have the one that you use just for rear facing go to the store and read the labels on the front facing ones and see what they say. my daughter is 4 1/2 and her grandparents have her in the right seast but in the wrong straps. they dont like to listen to me but i am hoping one day they get pulled over with her. or her dad finally pipes up and says something. but anyways just an example. read labels it really depends on carseats