How long did you rear face your child's carseat?

[justhat]

We live in Tucson now, so cold is rarely a problem, but when we lived in DC we did take their coats off in the car. We only had street parking, but we installed a remote starter in the car so I could turn it on from the house (when we were parked close enough anyway) and warm up the car. Then they'd either walk from the house to the car without the coats on, or if it were really cold or a far enough walk, wear the coat then take it off in the car. They'd put them back on when we got to our destination.

As far as the baby, I got her one of the Cozy Covers that goes over the top of the carseat carrier (shower cap style) and just dressed her in normal clothes, put a fleece blanket on top of her legs, then zipped up the cover and velcroed the face flap. Once we got in the car I opened the little window, unzipped the bottom, and took off the blanket. She was always way more comfortable than my oldest, who wore a snowsuit because I didn't know any better.

 

[justhat]

I know that the studies are saying otherwise, but this is the image I just cannot get past. That does NOT look at all comfortable or safe to me. I cannot imagine my DD riding like that and not pitching a fit about it at 4. I KNOW she would be horribly uncomfortable, based on the way she has always chosen to sit. I just cannot see this being comfortable for a child. I guess it is safe if the studies are saying it, but it is just so counterintuitave to me that a kid with his knees in his face like that is not going to get hurt in a crash. I am glad he seems to have no issue with it!

I get what you're saying, but odds are your 4yo wouldn't have pitched a fit because she wouldn't have known any better. My son turned FF when he was 27 months and about 35". So he wasn't as tall as the kid in those pictures (I assume anyway, as he looks bigger), but tall enough. He never put his legs straight up like the 2nd photo, mostly crossed them. He did sometimes keep them up with his knees bent like the top photo, or sometimes drape them over the sides, well, on one side anyway, as his sister sat directly on the other side of him and she would have nothing to do with his leg in her lap!

When we did turn him FF though, he was actually quite annoyed and wanted me to turn him back RF! He complained that all his toys fell and he was uncomfortable sleeping. I didn't turn him only because of my own laziness of not wanting to mess with the seat outside in December in DC (we didn't have a garage). By the time it was spring he had quit asking so I didn't even think about it.

Oh, also, my oldest always used to ask to sit in her brother's RF seat when he wasn't in it. So we turned him at 27 months, so she must have been about 4.5yo. She was just under the RF limit for his seat and barely made it by height so I'd let her do it and she always loved it. Not sure if it was just cause he had something she didn't, or the novelty, or it was truly more comfortable, who knows.

 

[superme80]

DS is 2 and still rear facing. Not sure when I will turn him around. I feel much safer with him rear facing.

 

[Colleen27]

My son is almost three around 28-39 inches and around 39lbs. We live in Michigan where its pretty cold, so we are rather bundled this time of year. Do you all take your childrens coats on and off when getting in and out of the carseats? He would fit so much better in his seat, and hasn't maxed the weight limit, its a struggle to get buckled with it on, but another step to take the coat off, plus its freezing. (Of coarse worth the struggle i'm not complaining) Just wondering what other Moms do.

It is safer to take them out of their coats and snowpants to be in the car. To be honest, though, I leave mine in their coats for about 90% of our driving during the winter. We live in Michigan too and don't have a garage or a remote start, so the van is COLD when we get in. Plus most of our everyday driving is under 5 miles round-trip so it's never really running long enough to warm up much. For longer trips, I put DD2 (the only one still in a carseat) in her spring/fall corduroy and fleece jacket, because it is thin enough not to compress and because it isn't uncomfortably warm when we've got the car's heat running.

 

[jodifla]

It is safer to take them out of their coats and snowpants to be in the car. To be honest, though, I leave mine in their coats for about 90% of our driving during the winter. We live in Michigan too and don't have a garage or a remote start, so the van is COLD when we get in. Plus most of our everyday driving is under 5 miles round-trip so it's never really running long enough to warm up much. For longer trips, I put DD2 (the only one still in a carseat) in her spring/fall corduroy and fleece jacket, because it is thin enough not to compress and because it isn't uncomfortably warm when we've got the car's heat running.

Also, if you are dropping off your kids in a car line at school, there's certainly no time for everyone to put their coat on in the car before getting out.

P.S. Our new car has a remote start, and I love it!

 

[jodifla]

I get what you're saying, but odds are your 4yo wouldn't have pitched a fit because she wouldn't have known any better. My son turned FF when he was 27 months and about 35". So he wasn't as tall as the kid in those pictures (I assume anyway, as he looks bigger), but tall enough. He never put his legs straight up like the 2nd photo, mostly crossed them. He did sometimes keep them up with his knees bent like the top photo, or sometimes drape them over the sides, well, on one side anyway, as his sister sat directly on the other side of him and she would have nothing to do with his leg in her lap!

When we did turn him FF though, he was actually quite annoyed and wanted me to turn him back RF! He complained that all his toys fell and he was uncomfortable sleeping. I didn't turn him only because of my own laziness of not wanting to mess with the seat outside in December in DC (we didn't have a garage). By the time it was spring he had quit asking so I didn't even think about it.

Oh, also, my oldest always used to ask to sit in her brother's RF seat when he wasn't in it. So we turned him at 27 months, so she must have been about 4.5yo. She was just under the RF limit for his seat and barely made it by height so I'd let her do it and she always loved it. Not sure if it was just cause he had something she didn't, or the novelty, or it was truly more comfortable, who knows.

Kids at 4 will certainly start to notice that everybody else at preschool is not rear facing.

 

[jodifla]

I understand, and I can assure you that it's most likely she can rear-face without being too cramped for a good long time yet.

Here are just a few pics from the CPSafety album, all of MUCH older kids in one of the seats with the shortest bases...as you can see, they all do just fine with their legs.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/JanaeRA.aspx

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/JennaM.aspx

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/Quinn.aspx

And this is my kid. A friend stopped by with a new Radian, and for fun we tried out my ds in it. At the time he was about 4.5 and about 38lbs. In my car he was already riding forward-facing because my seats all had 35lbs rear-facing limits and he had reached that a while back. He was perfectly comfortable and happy as you can see...

Wow....these pictures look so uncomfortable, and unsafe. In the case of the child's legs being extended, it would certainly seem the legs would hurl forward in severe crash, snapping the back.

 

[tlbwriter]

Wow....these pictures look so uncomfortable, and unsafe. In the case of the child's legs being extended, it would certainly seem the legs would hurl forward in severe crash, snapping the back.

It may seem that way, but statistics indicate this doesn't happen. No matter what it looks like, it IS safer, according to every measure.

(and how adorable is that little boy, anyway?)

We also have to remember that these are children, not adults, and stop applying our own standards of comfort. Kids like to put their legs up on things (or am I the only one who liked to stretch out on the floor and put my feet up on the TV?) Kids are comfortable sitting "criss cross." Many kids are happy and comfortable sitting RF even when you might think they wouldn't be. Now, if your kid howls because he's uncomfortable, then extended RFing probably isn't going to work for you. But don't assume your child is uncomfortable just because YOU would be uncomfortable in that position.

Also, just for comparison's sake, when I see FF kids with their feet dangling, I think about how very uncomfortable that would make ME. I can't stand it when my feet can't touch the ground (and as a short person this is often an issue).

Kids at 4 will certainly start to notice that everybody else at preschool is not rear facing.

Yes they will. Your kids will ALWAYS notice kids whose lives are different and presumably better. They'll notice who gets to stay up later than they do, who gets to eat at McD's more than they do, who has a dog, who has a DS, etc. I, personally, don't like to make parenting decisions based on what "everybody else" is doing. When my DD was 4, she noticed that one of her best friends at daycare wasn't in a carseat at all. I can assure you that this had absolutely no impact on my parenting decisions!

 

[Bren's Mom]

How tall was your child in that picture?

Best guess, about 40-42".

And for PrincessMom...I get it, I do. I think what many of us are trying to say is that because the research/facts are SO clear about how much safer RF'ing is that we want to encourage parents to do it as long as possible.

If someone has a super chunky monkey kiddo who owns a 35lbs rear-facing seat and their baby hits that at 18 mos and they can't afford another seat. Hey, that's ok. You did it as long as possible, 6 months longer than the bare minimum. Yay!

If someone has a super petite kiddo (ilke my niece) who is 25lbs at age 3 and her parents decide to turn her even though she hasn't hit the weight limit because being rf'ing is becoming a social/emotional issue with the child...that's ok! Again, it was as long as possible for them. Way longer than the bare minimum.

I just want parents to be aware of the safety benefits and to TRY, rather than dismiss it. For as long as they can.

 

[Bren's Mom]

(and how adorable is that little boy, anyway?)

Awww... thanks!

And to address the coat question, we do several different things. When we're running errands and doing a lot of in/out of the car he wears a quality, warm fleece jacket and leaves it on. That makes it easy on both of us, and faster.

When I pick him up after school (at after school care provider's home) he wears his jacket out, gets in the car, removes the jacket and buckles in. Yup, he does this every day even though we live exactly 15 houses away. Sometimes he pulls the coat back over himself if it's super cold.

For long trips he wears regular, comfortable clothing and if we stop he gets a jacket on before getting out. So he isn't overheated in the car.

Fleece is the very best thing for car seats and cold climates. It's warm without being bulky.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I understand, and I can assure you that it's most likely she can rear-face without being too cramped for a good long time yet.

Here are just a few pics from the CPSafety album, all of MUCH older kids in one of the seats with the shortest bases...as you can see, they all do just fine with their legs.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/JanaeRA.aspx

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/JennaM.aspx

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/Quinn.aspx

And this is my kid. A friend stopped by with a new Radian, and for fun we tried out my ds in it. At the time he was about 4.5 and about 38lbs. In my car he was already riding forward-facing because my seats all had 35lbs rear-facing limits and he had reached that a while back. He was perfectly comfortable and happy as you can see...

Excellent! Thank You

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Awww... thanks!

And to address the coat question, we do several different things. When we're running errands and doing a lot of in/out of the car he wears a quality, warm fleece jacket and leaves it on. That makes it easy on both of us, and faster.

When I pick him up after school (at after school care provider's home) he wears his jacket out, gets in the car, removes the jacket and buckles in. Yup, he does this every day even though we live exactly 15 houses away. Sometimes he pulls the coat back over himself if it's super cold.

For long trips he wears regular, comfortable clothing and if we stop he gets a jacket on before getting out. So he isn't overheated in the car.

Fleece is the very best thing for car seats and cold climates. It's warm without being bulky.

We live in a super cold area and I use the Bundle Me. It's a pain int he butt to bring her seat upstairs everyday but at least it saves more time than putting her jacket on and off. The Fire Department told us no jackets.

 

[justhat]

We live in a super cold area and I use the Bundle Me. It's a pain int he butt to bring her seat upstairs everyday but at least it saves more time than putting her jacket on and off. The Fire Department told us no jackets.

We had a Bundle Me with our 2nd, but then I was told that since it goes under the child as well as over, that it wasn't as safe at the shower cap-style Cozy Covers. I don't know how much there is to that as I have never looked for studies, but wanted to throw it out there.

 

[justhat]

Kids at 4 will certainly start to notice that everybody else at preschool is not rear facing.

Maybe, maybe not. My son is 4yo and he has absolutely no idea what his friends ride in while in the car. In fact, if you offered him a dozen cupcakes to tell you what kind of carseat his friends are in, or what direction they face, he couldn't tell you. Some might have carseats (I know one has the same as he does, but my son doesn't know that), some might be in boosters, some might be just free floating in the car. He has no idea, and honestly, I have little idea myself as I don't stare in the cars. The only one I know about (mentioned above) is because his mom and I had a discussion about driving for field trips for our older daughters and uninstalling his carseat came up. FWIW, that particular mom also has her 6yo harnessed in the same Frontier I have my 6yo in. Seems we have the same taste.


And thinking about it, my 6yo has no idea what her friends ride in either. She did go home with 1 friend and she brought her booster and the friend had a booster, but other than her, I don't think she's ever seen her friends in their cars. Well, not closely enough to see what kind of restraint they are in at any rate. I did drive 3 of her friends on a field trip last month and out of the 4 field trip kids in my car (including my 6yo), 2 were in some kind of seat. It's a mixed age class of 6-9yos and the other kid who had a booster was 6yo like my daughter. The 7yo and 8yo didn't bring anything. Not sure if they use one in their own cars or not as I didn't ask. But neither of them thought twice about the kids who were in boosters.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Kids at 4 will certainly start to notice that everybody else at preschool is not rear facing.

So.... my kids know they are safer - DS *10* is usally still in a *backless booster* DD *7* is in a harness seat and will be for at least another year. So being cool is more inportant than being safe it sounds like that's what you think.

 

[Bren's Mom]

So.... my kids know they are safer

Yup, mine too. He's 5.5 and he gets it. We've had talks about how mommy's work is important, because not everyone knows how important car seats are for keeping kids safe. When car seats are mentioned he'll pipe right up that you have to ride safely in a car seat! He's fine in his harnessed seat. He knows that many of his friends ride in boosters, and that everyone's family makes different choices and that's that.

 

[mrsr2ro]

Random thought --and not sure if this is the place to post this, and not trying to add fuel to any fire but how do you all feel about school buses?

I'm one to lean toward the safer end - my DS6 is in the Graco Nautilus which is 5 point to 65lb. I actually think it's easier for him to do the 5 point than a seatbelt across booster. Doesn't bother him at all.

But when they have school field trips there is is bouncing around a school bus unrestrained.... Makes me a nervous wreck. Anyway, we don't, but I know plenty of people who's kids take a bus to/from school daily starting in Kindergarten. Just curious how those of you who are big on safety feel about it ...

 

[Bren's Mom]

Random thought --and not sure if this is the place to post this, and not trying to add fuel to any fire but how do you all feel about school buses?

I'm one to lean toward the safer end - my DS6 is in the Graco Nautilus which is 5 point to 65lb. I actually think it's easier for him to do the 5 point than a seatbelt across booster. Doesn't bother him at all.

But when they have school field trips there is is bouncing around a school bus unrestrained.... Makes me a nervous wreck. Anyway, we don't, but I know plenty of people who's kids take a bus to/from school daily starting in Kindergarten. Just curious how those of you who are big on safety feel about it ...

I agree, about the 5pt being easier than the booster!

School buses (without seat belts/harnesses that some do have now) are statistically safer than vehicles (with car seats/booster seats) for children age 5 and up and over 40lbs. School buses are significantly larger, drive slower, are very visible (that's why they're yellow!), and the tall padded seat backs allow for something called compartmentalization.

The biggest danger with buses comes from crossing in front of them, drivers not stopping for them when a student is crossing, etc.

For preschoolers, though, ages 3 & 4, compartmentalization does not work as effectively and those children are at greater risk. So I would have pause about a smaller child riding on a bus to and from preschool.

But I let my kindergartener ride the bus to and from school every day and I am fine with it.

Field trips are a different story. Those make me nervous, because they're going on the highway most times, at a higher rate of speed. Statistically it's still safer, but THAT does make me nervous.

 

[tlbwriter]

School buses (without seat belts/harnesses that some do have now) are statistically safer than vehicles (with car seats/booster seats) for children age 5 and up and over 40lbs. School buses are significantly larger, drive slower, are very visible (that's why they're yellow!), and the tall padded seat backs allow for something called compartmentalization.

The biggest danger with buses comes from crossing in front of them, drivers not stopping for them when a student is crossing, etc.

For preschoolers, though, ages 3 & 4, compartmentalization does not work as effectively and those children are at greater risk. So I would have pause about a smaller child riding on a bus to and from preschool.

But I let my kindergartener ride the bus to and from school every day and I am fine with it.

Field trips are a different story. Those make me nervous, because they're going on the highway most times, at a higher rate of speed. Statistically it's still safer, but THAT does make me nervous.

Agree with all of this, especially being nervous about out of town trips. And 15-passenger vans? We STILL won't let DD go on an out of town trip in one of those, at age 11!

 

[mrsr2ro]

Field trips are a different story. Those make me nervous, because they're going on the highway most times, at a higher rate of speed. Statistically it's still safer, but THAT does make me nervous.

Interesting info - thanks for sharing.

Yes, mine only rides the bus for field trips and I'm a wreck those couple of days a year. They are on highway and/or downtown, etc.