Convertible Car Seats

[SuzySunshine]

Like all parenting decisions, you should follow the the recs as well as you can but ultimately you have to make the decision that is right for you.

A was turned around at 1 because at the time I thought that was the recommendation. We also turned R around at 1 but then the 2 year rec got press and we turned him back around until he was 2. He's now 3 and beside the fact that he is no longer in a seat that is rear facing I wouldn't turn him back around, I feel kids get a lot of stimulation from riding in cars once they are in the 2-3 year range, they look out the windows you can play I spy, 20 questions, etc. he wouldn't be able to do that if he was just staring at the back of the seat he's strapped to.

[Bittersweet]

Like all parenting decisions, you should follow the the recs as well as you can but ultimately you have to make the decision that is right for you.

I totally agree!

[MarissaNicole]

Probably a dumb question but why wouldn't the best position (rear or forward) depend on the direction the impact came from? Which obviously you have no idea.

It just seems like rear facing would only be better if you got rear ended.

I must be missing something in my logic.


Wife to PGY3

[Michele]

When rearended, both force vectors are moving in the same direction...and the resultant vector isnt that strong. Front impact collisions have a greater force differential...when the car abruptly stops there is still forward momentum and the resultant force propels the people towards the front of the car....rear facing means that force makes you sit deeper in the seat so to speak...forward facing, you are flung towards the windshield and the seatbelt holds you back.

[poky]

When rearended, both force vectors are moving in the same direction...and the resultant vector isnt that strong. Front impact collisions have a greater force differential...when the car abruptly stops there is still forward momentum and the resultant force propels the people towards the front of the car....rear facing means that force makes you sit deeper in the seat so to speak...forward facing, you are flung towards the windshield and the seatbelt holds you back.

Yes, this. Front-impact collisions have much higher forces in general, and are a much higher percentage of all collisions, as well, so the increased safety in the event of a rear collision isn't as important as the decreased safety in the event of a head-on collision.

[MarissaNicole]

Thank you, I was only considering the impact, not the movement of the car....never took physics.

Wife to PGY3

[civilspouse]

I watched a video that also pointed out that most high speed crashed are from the front or the side so rear facing is better.

All of this talk has me a little scared. We switched DS to forward facing around age two because I thought he was getting close to the height limit but after reading this thread I thought about switching him back if I could. We have a Britax Boulevard 70 with the head rest the slides up and down to adjust the harness height. I read the manual again to see if he still meets the requirements for rear facing and he would be fine for the weight limit, but it states that his head should be at least 1" below the shell. Do any of you know if the shell refers to the actual seat or if it includes the head rest that now goes above it? The top of his head is right about in line with the top of the actual seat when he's sitting up straight. I was thinking of contacting Britax, but I thought I'd ask here first since you were the ones who got me all worked up about this . At least DH is on board too after I sent him one of the videos someone linked.....scary.

[spotty_dog]

Do any of you know if the shell refers to the actual seat or if it includes the head rest that now goes above it?

The actual seat, without the head rest. I saw a car seat tech mention it on another message board recently.

Edit: So, we switched both kids between 2 and 2.5. DS because his sister was coming and he fit better behind the driver seat that way. DD because we bought a minivan and I preferred to install her seat forward facing on the captain chair. The hardcore car seat people over at car-seat.org may have shunned me for this, if I were a member there. I'm grateful for the "extremists'" example of how to do car safety as well as humanly possible, because it can be easier to rebut the argument that a 1-year-old is "too big" for a rear-facing seat if you have photographic proof of 5-year-olds happily rear-facing.

But if I recall, my DH had a very good argument: covering less mileage in the car can potentially reduce their risk of being injured in an accident a bit more dramatically than the surely-small difference between the equally legal and manufacturer-approved forward and rear-facing positions, you know? We drive about half as much as the typical American family already, and if we were so serious about that marginal improvement in the kids' safety, we could just commit to driving less.

[civilspouse]

Thanks for the info. I guess we'll keep him forward facing, he'd probably through a giant fit if we tried to turn him around now .

But if I recall, my DH had a very good argument: covering less mileage in the car can potentially reduce their risk of being injured in an accident a bit more dramatically than the surely-small difference between the equally legal and manufacturer-approved forward and rear-facing positions, you know? We drive about half as much as the typical American family already, and if we were so serious about that marginal improvement in the kids' safety, we could just commit to driving less.

That is an interesting point. We've only had one car for the last 6 years (although we are getting a second one next month due to DH's change in schedule) and we try to walk or bike whenever we can. That is tough in the middle of the winter, but we also chose to live close to my work and picked a daycare nearby so everything is within about 5 miles. I also love that we are within walking distance to Target and the mall. I think often times it's easier to walk than drive.

[Deebs]

But statistically, you're most likely to get into a crash within 5 miles of your home, so the argument doesn't bear out when it ones to objective measures.

[oceanchild]

Not on distance, maybe, but on total time spent in the car it probably does.

[poky]

But statistically, you're most likely to get into a crash within 5 miles of your home, so the argument doesn't bear out when it ones to objective measures.

Is that because statistically people spend most of the time spent in their cars within 5 miles of home, or was that taken into account? I guess the other reason would be that you're less alert on familiar streets, and the ones closest to home will be the most familiar.

[spotty_dog]

That's a good point, but while I *was* thinking "accident risk per mile driven", it's pretty incontrovertible that if you aren't in a car, you can't be in an MVA.

[SoonerTexan]

I thought this was interesting...we just had N's 18 month appointment. The nurse asked if she was still rear facing and I said yes. She gave me this look and said, "No, she shouldn't be" like I was a nut. So I asked the Ped. about it. She said to switch her forward facing--that the AAP puts out new recommendations hoping people will follow them and that the recent changed from 1-2 years old in rear facing was to get more people to keep their kids rear facing longer, but not necessarily to 2. I obviously don't know if that is true. She also said with Texas heat and the A/C situation in my old car, it would be better to move her forward.

Frankly, I'm relieved. The child is 31 pounds and 32 inches...she was really crammed rear facing and it was SO difficult to get her in. It is getting hard to ensure she is getting enough A/C too.

[Pollyanna]

I thought this was interesting...we just had N's 18 month appointment. The nurse asked if she was still rear facing and I said yes. She gave me this look and said, "No, she shouldn't be" like I was a nut. So I asked the Ped. about it. She said to switch her forward facing--that the AAP puts out new recommendations hoping people will follow them and that the recent changed from 1-2 years old in rear facing was to get more people to keep their kids rear facing longer, but not necessarily to 2. I obviously don't know if that is true. She also said with Texas heat and the A/C situation in my old car, it would be better to move her forward.

Frankly, I'm relieved. The child is 31 pounds and 32 inches...she was really crammed rear facing and it was SO difficult to get her in. It is getting hard to ensure she is getting enough A/C too.

Interesting...our doc is still saying two years. I think the AC thing is a pretty big deal in TX. Funny how things change, we turned our oldest around at about 9 months under the direction of her pediatrician, that was 19 years ago.
She is going to love the view!