Will the rear-facing requirements change soon?

I kept my two middle kids rearfacing as long as the seats then available allowed. For my small daughter it *did* get her all the way to 4 yrs... but for my 'big' boy it didn't quite get him to 3 yrs. They were each 33/34ish pounds when they turned around.

For those that asked *how* 'big' kids rearface with long legs... take a look at these pics: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx

If you look at each pic individually you can see the kids legs. They tend to 'criss-cross' over the buckle or lay their legs up on the seat... just the same sorts of things little, flexable kids do with their legs any other time. It would be uncomfortable for an *adult*... but the kids are quite comfy!

ETA: With my oldest I turned him at a year because I didn't know better... my youngest is 2 yrs old and still rearfacing. He will be for a *long* time to come... he is very small like his sister was/is.

ETA: You *don't* turn a booster seat around... or any seat that isn't designed to rearface. However, you also don't put a kid in a booster seat till you have to... every step 'up' in carseats in a step down in safety. Even adult racecar drivers stay in nice safe 5 point harness seats... that is why experts recommend a *minumim* of 4 yrs and 40 pounds before putting a child in a booster. {Reedited to tone down the rudeness... my apologies.}

ETA: The folks that sell the seats often have lower safety standards than those that do the math on crash results. *Safety* experts recommend a minimum of 4yrs and 40 pounds.

For example on this page run by certified car seat experts:

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

You find the following quote:

"Many booster seats have a minimum weight of 30-33 lbs. However, a booster seat should not be the next purchase when the child outgrows a convertible seat. A child is safest if they remain in a harnessed seat until they reach at least 40 lbs. A combination seat should be used after the child has grown too tall for a forward-facing convertible, but is not yet heavy enough (40 lbs) to move into a booster."

And that seat you have? It says right on your link that it is *not* to be used as a booster seat until 40 pounds:

"Forward-facing harness booster for children 22 - 40 lbs.; Belt-positioning booster for children 40 - 80 lbs." http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_024W89279...

You can see that according to this your son needs to be *harnessed* in that seat until at least 40 pounds.

(I hope you don't mind... I have editted my edit above because I was rude. I am sorry for my attitude there. However, the information I'm giving you *is* correct. I was just in a nasty, rotten mood and said things very badly. Again... I am sorry for that! I hope you can forgive me.)

ETA: <grin> So good to hear! Once you get the terms pounded into your head it is hard to remember that some people still don't use them 'by the book'. I was just worried about your little guy! I personalize things like this too much!

I'm also from Australia and I had no choice but to turn the car seat to forward facing when my son was 7 months old. The car seats and laws here are different to Europe and the US. It's worrying actually. The car seats currently available here can only be safely rear facing until the baby is about 8kg. But if the baby is long (as was my son) it's not safe or practical to even keep them rear facing for that long. Hopefully laws here and car seat manufacturers will catch up with the other countries.

My daughter is just shy of a year, but we intend to keep her rear facing until she hits the 35lb limit of our car seat (height limit is 49" so I doubt that will be an issue) - I am pretty sure she will at least be in her 4th year when we switch her since she's only 20lbs now, if she's not actually turned 4. I know some people think it's extreme, but I figure that it's an easy thing to do to keep her safer. I also know some people think their kids legs are "too long" to rear face, but my daughter is 30" already and while she does have to fold her legs up, she isn't uncomfortable.

I do hope they change the laws to make extended rear facing the norm.

ETA - for those who wonder how kids sit, they sit "Indian" style! I have seen the way my daughter sits when left to her own devices and I can't imagine anyone thinking that Indian style could be uncomfortable for her after witnessing that.

The AAP is about to change the age in which a child should be rear facing. As of right now they say 1 year. Now they wan't to change it to 2 years. There are car seats out there that will sit your baby rear for up to 40lbs or so which is the average size of a 2 year old. We plan on keeping my son rear facing for as long as possible even if it means spending a little extra money on a good car seat that does that.

http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/ful...

This is a great question, I was wondering about it (my babies are not due yet) but I think about this kinda stuff. Can someone PLEASE tell me this: How does a 4 y/o sit rear facing when the pics I've seen their legs hang off the end of the car seat and when they face forward there is room for the legs to dangle, but what do they do when rear facing? I don't get how it works...someone help! I'm confused!

With my oldest I turned him when he was 13 months old because I had to wait for an appointment with DMV to have his car seat put in. By then he was more than big enough and getting him in and out was easier. Well when my twins were rear facing I had to load them up from the trunk of my van so I was happy when they were old and big enough to be turned around. It was so much easier to get them in once they were forward facing but they were about 14 months when we turned them. Again I had DMV install the car seats.

i don't think it's extreme. when it comes to your child's safety and life it's not extreme. my sos stayed rear facing until two and we just switched him because the rear facing limit on his seat was 36 inches and he is that.

growing legs and feet have nothing to do with it. there is no danger to cramped legs. like i said my son is two and much bigger than little ones who are year old who have parents that said they were "too long" my son knows how to bend his knees or even criss cross them

here is the US babies have to be at least one year AND 20 pounds. my son was not even legally allowed to turn at 12 montsh because he was only 19 pounds. I still kept him that way though. when people asked me why he was still rear facing, I said why not? it's much safer

My little brother is almost 6 and is still in a 5 point harness seat.

if it means my son will live in a car accident i couldn't care less if his legs were crossed or had to be bent

My daughter is only 8 months, so we have a long to to go. I plan on keeping her rear-facing, until she hits the height and/or weight maximums. If it's four years old, then she'll be rear-facing till she's 4. My SIL actually said to me "don't you think she'll like it better facing front?", because my daughter doesn't like to be in her car seat. I think her safety a whole lot more important then her wants.

I don't think 4 years old is extreme.

Rear facing is the safest way to ride in a car, regardless of age.

I plan on keeping my son rear facing as long as physically possible.

Wow, the Australian laws are so different!!! We switch to forward facing at 6 months or 8kgs. They are looking at changing the laws to making it rear facing until 1yr old or 11kgs. My son is 10mths and I still keep him rear-facing & you'd be surprised at how many mother's question me about why I don't have him facing the front! So to 4yrs - is a huge stretch!!!