Baby in forward facing car seat

Winnie

Hi, just wondering when are you supposed to put baby in a forward facing car seat. My son is 8 months old and weighs roughly 10.3kg (22.7lbs). He is also quite long and his legs are running out of room.

Ayla

There are many studies showing that the longer you keep the baby facing backwards the safer they are...don't be in a hurry to face them forward. In fact, if these studies are to be believed (which I think a valid argument) then we should have our kids facing backwards until age 4+ years.

I've come across some links, I'll look for them & post them here if I can find them again.

As far as the concern that they're being squished...have you seen your babe sleep with their head down on their chest without getting a crink in their neck (unlike adults who would be in pain for days?). That's b/c babes have much more flexible joints & softer bones, so having their legs folded would not cause them any discomfort at all.

Edit: here are some links anyway:
http://www.newparent.com/parenting-101-featured/top-5-myths-rearfacing/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090574/One-seven-parents-children-risk-placing-forward-facing-car-seats-early.html

Oh, if you don't read any others, this one summarises it all:
http://rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php

TooManyDogs

Check the manual for your seat too. It will probably have a weight limit for rear facing. Mine is 12kg so finally at 22 months my little girl got turned around, she hasn't stopped chattering since

Winnie

just checked manual and its for up to 13kg and 12 months so i guess we will get another 3 or 4 months out of it

uck51js9zml2yt

Winnie wrote: »

just checked manual and its for up to 13kg and 12 months so i guess we will get another 3 or 4 months out of it

The top of the head should not be above the top of the seat

goldenhoarde

Beatrice Aggressive Custard wrote: »

The top of the head should not be above the top of the seat

was just about to post this advice but Beatrice Aggressive Custard got there first. if in doubt bring him to mothercare or the like to get fitted. We did for our son and they told us he was fine for another while in the one we had as his head was not above teh top of the seat

keano_afc

We bought a new rear facing seat for out one year old recently. As has already been posted, most reasearch would indicate that having them sit rear facing is safer.

-Corkie-

keano_afc wrote: »

We bought a new rear facing seat for out one year old recently. As has already been posted, most reasearch would indicate that having them sit rear facing is safer.

Certainly I had a thread on this recently and got the same advice. The day we were looking at them a couple purchased a forward facing seat for their 4 month old..:eek:

January

-Corkie- wrote: »

Certainly I had a thread on this recently and got the same advice. The day we were looking at them a couple purchased a forward facing seat for their 4 month old..:eek:

Do you know it was for the four month old then and there? Maybe it was on special offer and they decided to buy it then... or did they install it into the car and take the four month old off in it, cos if they did there would have been a call put in to Garda Traffic Watch if it was me who witnessed it...

-Corkie-

January wrote: »

Do you know it was for the four month old then and there? Maybe it was on special offer and they decided to buy it then... or did they install it into the car and take the four month old off in it, cos if they did there would have been a call put in to Garda Traffic Watch if it was me who witnessed it...

The mother was admiring our small woman and the mothers were chatting. I seen the father putting the seat in the car but it was only after that my wife told me that the child was four months old.

quad_red

keano_afc wrote: »

We bought a new rear facing seat for out one year old recently. As has already been posted, most reasearch would indicate that having them sit rear facing is safer.

Where did you get it?

Anyplace I've asked they look at you like you're a weirdo when you ask for a rear facing 1-2-3 size seat.

vibe666

Winnie wrote: »

Hi, just wondering when are you supposed to put baby in a forward facing car seat. My son is 8 months old and weighs roughly 10.3kg (22.7lbs). He is also quite long and his legs are running out of room.

we're in a similar position, except our 8 month old is 12.5kg now and as tall as a some 2 year olds. he's already filling 18-24 month clothes and finding a rear facing baby seat is going to be a challenge.

i was in the blanchardstown branch of halfords and the woman in there who sells the baby seats is the child seat trainer for halfords in ireland, so she knows more about them than pretty much anyone else you'll find.

iirc she said they can currently get 3 different rear facing seats in for children up to 4 yrs (although none in stock, but orderable), but i didn't have either my wife or baby with me and she only works for a couple of hours around lunchtime during the week, so we haven't made it back in yet to see her again and get the little bugger measured up to get one.

my wife tells me there have been some very recent studies showing that it is a lot safer to have children rear facing up to 4 yrs, but that there aren't a lot of bigger rear facing seats on the market yet to cater for it although tony kealy and halfords do both have them available (probably just to order tho) and i couldn't find any on their websites the last time i checked, so you'd probably have to go into the stores for them to order.

uck51js9zml2yt

quad_red wrote: »

keano_afc wrote: »

We bought a new rear facing seat for out one year old recently. As has already been posted, most reasearch would indicate that having them sit rear facing is safer.

Where did you get it?

Anyplace I've asked they look at you like you're a weirdo when you ask for a rear facing 1-2-3 size seat.

murphys in rathcoole . we got the be safe izi x3. its rear and forward facing.

quad_red

Beatrice Aggressive Custard wrote: »

murphys in rathcoole . we got the be safe izi x3. its rear and forward facing.

Wow. €425 is expensive. And it appears to be only isofix. Mmmm.

the magician

got a seat from here for our little boy when he was 10mths and was too big for a stage 0.
http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/.

we bought the britax 2-Way Elite. it can be forward or rear facing, and also used as a booster when the child is older.really happy with it.

think it cost around €260 delivered with a 2nd set of tether straps , so the seat could be easily moved between cars

uck51js9zml2yt

quad_red wrote: »

Beatrice Aggressive Custard wrote: »

murphys in rathcoole . we got the be safe izi x3. its rear and forward facing.

Wow. €425 is expensive. And it appears to be only isofix. Mmmm.

its forward facing with seat belt. my son is 18 months but 3 foot tall and is still over rear facing. it also has an adjustable head support as he gets taller.
you could also check out carseat.se in Sweden and incarsafety in the north. both ship here.
best thing is to try it out in the car.
its expensive but Will do for a long time and more importantly keep junior safe.

I think tony kealy has it too.

How Strange

I was 100% sure I was getting a rear facing seat for our son who's 15 months but the Britax scored very badly in which? tests because of the difficulty of installing them properly.The one tony kealys sell got 45% and was a don't buy.

Based on the poor scoring that the rear facing Britax received we're going for a forward facing. We're even more restricted because not a lot of seats are compatible with our car. It's different if you have isofix but we don't.

uck51js9zml2yt

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/technical-rear-facing.html
http://www.carseat.se/

These 2 companies gave me a lot of practical advise on choosing a rear facing seat. They also ship to Ireland.

I eventually got the Be Safe Izi Combi X3 in Murphys, Rathcoole for the sake of a small difference in price and the hassle it would cause if i had to send it back for any reason.

I've not had any problems in the year Ive had it and at 18 months and 3 feet tall, junior is happy(and safer) rear facing.

I also was on another parenting site where parents offered those looking at these seats the opportunity to call to their house, see the seats, try them out and talk to them which was invaluable in deciding. Some had bought from Belfast and Sweden and had seats not available here.

quad_red

How Strange wrote: »

I was 100% sure I was getting a rear facing seat for our son who's 15 months but the Britax scored very badly in which? tests because of the difficulty of installing them properly.The one tony kealys sell got 45% and was a don't buy.

Based on the poor scoring that the rear facing Britax received we're going for a forward facing. We're even more restricted because not a lot of seats are compatible with our car. It's different if you have isofix but we don't.

That's also our concern

No isofix here either. Dunno what to do now.

Called Kealys and Murphy's and neither had rear facing non-isofix toddler seats. Kealys actually said they wouldnt be stocking them in future- customers would have to have them ordered specially. But that's a bit of a bummer cos you want to be sure it's gonna fit (although we've a skoda superb that is quite roomy in the back).

Tried calling the incarsafety place in Belfast but they don't answer their phone.

uck51js9zml2yt

quad_red wrote: »

How Strange wrote: »

I was 100% sure I was getting a rear facing seat for our son who's 15 months but the Britax scored very badly in which? tests because of the difficulty of installing them properly.The one tony kealys sell got 45% and was a don't buy.

Based on the poor scoring that the rear facing Britax received we're going for a forward facing. We're even more restricted because not a lot of seats are compatible with our car. It's different if you have isofix but we don't.

That's also our concern

No isofix here either. Dunno what to do now.

Called Kealys and Murphy's and neither had rear facing non-isofix toddler seats. Kealys actually said they wouldnt be stocking them in future- customers would have to have them ordered specially. But that's a bit of a bummer cos you want to be sure it's gonna fit (although we've a skoda superb that is quite roomy in the back).

Tried calling the incarsafety place in Belfast but they don't answer their phone.

try emailing them. he could just be busy.

How Strange

I emailed Simon from incarsafety and he replied very quickly and was very helpful.

It's the issue of fitting the seats properly that swayed me. We've taken our car seat out loads of times for various reasons and it's easy to refit however if you don't know how to put a seat back in properly it's as good as useless.

We've got a 12 year old focus and as we're very limited in choice we've decided on the maxi cosi priori.

If it was compatible with our car I'd get this seat. It scored very high in the which? tests and have read lots of good reviews about them.

http://www.murphysprams.ie/Car-Seats/Group-1-2-3-%289kg-36kg%29/kiddy-Guardian-Pro-2-
Black/8839

How Strange

Sorry I messed up the other link and can't edit it properly on my iPhone because the text is tiny

http://www.murphysprams.ie/Car-Seats/Group-1-2-3-%289kg-36kg%29/kiddy-Guardian-Pro-2-Black/8839

quad_red

How Strange wrote: »

Sorry I messed up the other link and can't edit it properly on my iPhone because the text is tiny

http://www.murphysprams.ie/Car-Seats/Group-1-2-3-%289kg-36kg%29/kiddy-Guardian-Pro-2-Black/8839

http://www.which.co.uk/baby-and-child/baby-transport/reviews/child-car-seats/kiddy-guardian-pro-2--group-1-/customer-views/

The reviews don't sound good!

How Strange

quad_red wrote: »

http://www.which.co.uk/baby-and-child/baby-transport/reviews/child-car-seats/kiddy-guardian-pro-2--group-1-/customer-views/

The reviews don't sound good!

Yikes!!!

LilMrsDahamsta

quad_red wrote: »

The reviews don't sound good!

To be fair though, Which seem to regard rearfacing non-isofix seats as the devil's work. They don't take any account of the reality that many people, ourselves included, have cars that are too old to have isofix. This makes it very difficult to use their reviews as a guide to purchasing this type of car seat. In particular, they list many of the more readily available models from Britax and Volvo as "don't buys" due to the fitting process. For me, this makes little sense. There are detailed instructions and videos available online to assist with the initial installation, as well as store personnel if you buy from a shop, and after that its really just a matter of checking it remains secure regularly. I've only had the (non-isofix) base of my infant carrier out of the car three times in nine months, so its not as if installation is something I'd need to do frequently or under any sort of pressure of time.

quad_red

LilMrsDahamsta wrote: »

To be fair though, Which seem to regard rearfacing non-isofix seats as the devil's work. They don't take any account of the reality that many people, ourselves included, have cars that are too old to have isofix. This makes it very difficult to use their reviews as a guide to purchasing this type of car seat. In particular, they list many of the more readily available models from Britax and Volvo as "don't buys" due to the fitting process. For me, this makes little sense. There are detailed instructions and videos available online to assist with the initial installation, as well as store personnel if you buy from a shop, and after that its really just a matter of checking it remains secure regularly. I've only had the (non-isofix) base of my infant carrier out of the car three times in nine months, so its not as if installation is something I'd need to do frequently or under any sort of pressure of time.

A fair point with other models but people here are complaining that the children are learning to push the secure bar out and put themselves into an unsecured situation.

How Strange

From what I've read it's the seats secured by seat belts which are the least safe because it's do hard to fit them again yourself.

I think if you've isofix, which most modem cars have as standard, then one car seat is as safe as the next.

vibe666

How Strange wrote: »

From what I've read it's the seats secured by seat belts which are the least safe because it's do hard to fit them again yourself.

I think if you've isofix, which most modem cars have as standard, then one car seat is as safe as the next.

from reading elsewhere where parents have been in contact with swedish companies in regards to the proper fitting of child safety seats, belt tethered bases seem to be considered to be marginally safer in tests than isofix.

also, i seem to remember reading that the recent Which survey was sponsored by mothercare so i'm wondering how impartial is really was, as mothercare don't (currently) sell any rear facing child seats at all, and that would be a more than a little disappointing given the reputation Which has.

we certainly won't be relying on them for good advice on buying a rear facing seat anyway. we will however be giving serious consideration to buying from incarsafety and getting them to fit it if we can find the time to get to belfast during the week to get it properly fitted.

uck51js9zml2yt

vibe666 wrote: »

from reading elsewhere where parents have been in contact with swedish companies in regards to the proper fitting of child safety seats, belt tethered bases seem to be considered to be marginally safer in tests than isofix.

also, i seem to remember reading that the recent Which survey was sponsored by mothercare so i'm wondering how impartial is really was, as mothercare don't (currently) sell any rear facing child seats at all, and that would be a more than a little disappointing given the reputation Which has.

we certainly won't be relying on them for good advice on buying a rear facing seat anyway. we will however be giving serious consideration to buying from incarsafety and getting them to fit it if we can find the time to get to belfast during the week to get it properly fitted.

I would have said isofix was safer as the seat was directly connected to te cars chassis.

On another note..not all seats are the same. You need to take head support and padding into account.
You should also look at whether the headrest is adjustable. it is on the besafe izi.

uck51js9zml2yt

vibe666 wrote: »

from reading elsewhere where parents have been in contact with swedish companies in regards to the proper fitting of child safety seats, belt tethered bases seem to be considered to be marginally safer in tests than isofix.

also, i seem to remember reading that the recent Which survey was sponsored by mothercare so i'm wondering how impartial is really was, as mothercare don't (currently) sell any rear facing child seats at all, and that would be a more than a little disappointing given the reputation Which has.

we certainly won't be relying on them for good advice on buying a rear facing seat anyway. we will however be giving serious consideration to buying from incarsafety and getting them to fit it if we can find the time to get to belfast during the week to get it properly fitted.

I would have said isofix was safer as the seat was directly connected to te cars chassis.

On another note..not all seats are the same. You need to take head support and padding into account.
You should also look at whether the headrest is adjustable. it is on the besafe izi.

How Strange

Jez you'd need a phd to figure it all out! Maybe I'm very naive but I always thought which? surveys were independent.

I'd strap my son up on the roof if I thought it was the safest place so I might email Simon from incarsafety again and get his opinion on rear facing seats in light of the which? survey findings.

uck51js9zml2yt

there was a piece in the mother and baby magazine in this weeks independent which referred to the growing opinion that rear facing is safer.
its not rocket science. if you crash your head goes forward with whiplash. if a baby is rear facing it goes into the seat which absorbs the movement of the body. a forward facing child gets whiplash and due to poor neck muscles gets injured.
people think forward facing is important for developmental skills when there is no evidence for it and it only puts the child at risk.

vibe666

How Strange wrote: »

Jez you'd need a phd to figure it all out! Maybe I'm very naive but I always thought which? surveys were independent.

i'd always thought so too, but apparently not this time.

i'll see if i can get my wife to dig it out as she showed it to me originally.

edit: she says they also have it up in the mothercare window that that it was a which survey 'in conjunction with mothercare".

the bottom line is that mothercare are making a big deal out of this supposed survey and child safety, yet you can't walk into a mothercare and buy any rear facing seats for anyone over 12 months/9kg despite what all the current safety information says.

and it's not like it's a new thing either, it's been that way in sweden for years, but the rest if the world only seems to be waking up to the blatantly obvious now.

vibe666

Beatrice Aggressive Custard wrote: »

http://www.carseat.se/

These 2 companies gave me a lot of practical advise on choosing a rear facing seat. They also ship to Ireland.

some very interesting reading on that site.

if anyone is unsure of the benefits of a rear facing seat, you should have a read of: http://www.carseat.se/rearfacing/safety-benefits/

How much safer is rear facing? Research has shown rear facing to be 500% safer up to two years of age. Do benefits disappear after that? Not at all. Rear facing is always safer, even for adults like you and me. Benefits decrease with age as our children develop fragile head, neck and spine. Rear facing at ages 3 or 4 still offer large benefits which the Swedes have shown in real life.
500% may sound like a lot but numbers can be hard to grasp. In 100 collisions of rear facing kids, 8 rear facing children will die or become seriously injured. 92 will walk away fine. In 100 collisions with forward facing kids, 40 will die or become seriously injured. 60 will walk away fine. Those are large differences which help to save lives.

i have no intention of being killed in a car crash, but if the worst did ever happen, i'd die a lot happier knowing that my child would survive and i'll do anything i can to make sure that happens.

our baby is already too big for this, but if it comes out by the time we have our second child, i'll be queuing up to buy one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-eMoMA_lIA

How Strange

I think I'll email Simon from incarsafety again and ask him about the model he recommended and refitting etc if we had to temporarily remove it.

Have to say I'm quite disappointed with which? as I always thought they were independent and on the side of the consumer.

Incidentally, we had a forward facing seat in our hire car in Tenerife recently and our son was no happier or more content being able to see out the front of the car. I know that's an argument lots of parents make about keeping children rear facing until 4. He still screamed his head off in boredom and frustration.

How Strange

Btw that cocoon seat looks amazing.