When to go FF?

[kellyroo3]

I'm a tad confused and need some advice on when to go FF. From reading some other posts a lot of parents are staying RF for as long as possible for safety concerns. However, I know of some friends who switched to FF as soon as their DD turned one and was over twenty pounds. Where can I go for information about this? My DS turns one this Saturday and I just need to get all the facts straight. Thanks for any help.

[Blue Jeans Mama]

http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

HTH

Cathy with Julian 13 Months Rear Facing

[kellyotn]

Pay special attention to the videos at the bottom of the 2nd site from the previous poster. Just imagine a 1 year old's big huge head whipping forward with the force of a crash. (Babies' heads are HUGE compared to an adult's!)

In a rear facing seat, the head doesn't whip forward violently. They are bascially cradled into the entire seat back.

Each month you keep a baby rear facing past the "1 year/20 pound" mark, you are allowing time to strengthen his/her spine. Therefore reducing the risk of grave damage to the spine in the event of a crash.

When you do forward face, using the tether helps reduce head excursion. Lots of great techs here can help if your car needs top tethers retrofitted. :-)

[DebbieJ]

1 year and 20 pound is the absolute bare minimum. It does not mean that you HAVE to turn your son forward then. This is a big misconception out there.

What car seat do you have? What is the rear-facing weight limit? Keep him RF until he reaches that limit (or becomes a screaming banshee in the car and must be turned so you all keep your sanity).

edited to add that ds is almost 20 mo and is happily RF in his Britax Marathon

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10029.gif

[kijip]

RF until the limit on the seat (30 pounds for many seats, 33 pounds for Britax, 35 pounds for many Cosco seats) is my preference unless the parents have a compelling reason. Reasons to FF before the limits on the seat might be kids that scream loudly enough to affect your ability to drive safely or having a tiny car when you must have a passenger in the front seat and that passenger's safety is compromised by being right up on the airbag! Or maybe not having air vents in a hot climate.

But when I realized my son was lighter than I believed, he went back RF in a jiffy! It really is safer.

[kellyroo3]

Thanks for the information. I will definitly keep him RF for as long as possible. I'll also be sure to pass this along to my friends.