AAP AND NHTSA (!!!) now recommends RF to age 2 and 3!!!

[Joolsplus2]

People need to remember that these are recommendations. They aren't law (yet - right?? Correct me if I'm wrong.). Try your best to figure out how to keep your kids RF until at least age 2. If you just can't - then you just can't! And if you don't want to, then don't!! I don't get why people have to post angry comments about the new recommendations, which are based on statistical data. If a parent wants to turn their 1 yo FF, they do not need to go and bash the recommendations. Just feel comfortable with your own parenting decision. The whole point of the new recommendations is to increase awareness and up the number of parents who decide to keep their toddlers RF for longer due to the safety data.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I can't (in my head) scoff at those parents who don't want to keep their child RF for dumb reasons

Right, not law yet. That's where reality sets in and dampens my enthusiasm...everyone's paperwork (signs, recommendations, laws, labels on seats), are going to take some time to change. Sigh.

[Joolsplus2]

I think in some cars, it IS hard to do a RFing install except in the middle seat. True, RF is not technically required to be in the middle, but the reality for small cars with tall drivers is that middle seat is the only realistic option.



Regarding the other responses to this point in the thread, I really hesitate to tell another parent that their child WILL stop screaming eventually if left RF, and not turned FF. I have a wonderful, well-educated, maternally-intuitive safety-concerned friend -- she is a great mom in my book -- who sadly turned her kid FF soon after 1, because the kid screamed RF and was too distracting to the driver. I have no doubt that my friend knew her daughter best, and made the safest decision for her family at the time. She was always taking one hand off the wheel and twisting, to reach back and comfort the RF kid. Very unsafe.

I think some of the things that can be off-putting, when it comes to carseat-safety, is that advocates and experts either readily dismiss a parent's realistic usability concerns, or at least do not validate that it is a true issue for a parent. Thus the questioning parent feels defensive, the safety advocates' credibility for understanding the real world is diminished, and eventually the avenues of communication get shut down.

Nicely put, all true.

A lot of extended RF advocates complained bitterly when the new Britaxes came out a little shorter (to fit smaller cars better!) than the old ones (this blog shows how much more space it gives...http://carseatblog.com/6583/britax-m...-installation/), but my response was, so? If more parents are comfortable sitting in front of a huge RF seat, maybe they'll be inclined to just leave it that way! If you get into the car and eat the dashboard every time, you can't wait to get that seat FF. If you want mega super long RF, buy a Radian or something, there are other options out there, Britax doesn't have to be every seat to every consumer, right?

And yeah, the screaming. Normally it's a stage when kids are trying to develop their gross motor skills. If you can tell mom that some deep breathing will get her through it, well, this too shall pass. If she goes ff for 'now', well, it's fine to go back RF in a couple months, once this stage is over. There are also other things that can be done, like sitting them more upright, making sure they have lots of air circulating, aren't being blinded by the sun, have toys to kick to keep busy, etc.
But I hear you, I've watched people completely turn off listening to me when I push it, it's so hard to find just the right message to convey to parents I understand their concerns, but this really is what's safest. Sigh.