Car Seats

Ok I do not want to become a pain in the butt - but my DH & I are arguing about car seats.  My son is only 6 mo old and weighs 20 lbs.  He is getting just a tad bit long in his infant carrier and my DH thinks it is time to move him to a forward facing seat.  I keep telling him it is too soon but he will NOT listen.  The other car seat we had was used for my DD 6 yrs ago and it does NOT face backward.  Who is right here???  My DD was about 8 1/2 - 9 months when we switched her to a forward facing.  I do not want to do this too early and risk hurting him.  I want to keep him in the carrier for at least another month if I can.  Like I said his feet only hang out a little.  Thanks ladies.

[nanakay]

well for one thing did you know that car seats expire?? they do, the integrity of the plastic CAN breakdown and make them less reliable.  

and as far as the carseat laws go.....go to your local police department..infact take the old carseat with you.  they can inspect the carseat, tell you if it is still good or not and they can also tell you what your states laws are.

in washington your baby can sit in a forward facing car seat at 20 pounds.  they must be in a seat that is strapped in to the car and the child strapped into the seat until they are 4 or 40 pounds...then they have to be in a booster until 6 or 60 pounds.  it is recommended that they stay in a booster after that but not required, it is also recommended that they stay in the back seat until they are 12, but not required.

again these are washington laws....so check with your own state.
~nanci

[shubunkin]

My kids were both close to 1 year and still riding in their rear facing infant car seat. Seems like when they were close to a year I bought them them front facing ones.

[Christie2004]

I'm probably showing my ignorance here, but don't states have laws governing at what ages and weights your child has to be for which kinds of seats? (When I raised my kids, there weren't any laws about it, which is why I don't really know).  

Sorry to be uniformed!

[Christie2004]

http://www.inventiveparent.com/rearfacingcarseat.htm

[cinnamonheart]

Did you keep your infant car seat booklet?
Im almost sure it is up to 20 lbs and a certain height(if legs exceed seat by so much) Even if you check out a catologue We have Sears  they may show you the seat you have and it may tell how many pounds,etc...

[Angel4JohnnyB]

Yes states do have laws about this issue as a matter of fact I think it is a country law.......
In Europe (because of the side of the road they drive on) babies must face backwards until they are 2 years old.
Here in the states it is 1 year old and NOT BEFORE!!!
The head (although stable when sitting up) is not stable enough if they are in an accident.

So Blondie......you are actually right that you need to have your ds facing backwards for a bit longer........6 more months in fact.

They do make carseats that are rear facing and forward facing!!!

Not to make you spend any extra money if you were going to use the one your dd had but you do need to make sure it is up to code. I believe there are also laws stating that it must be a seat with a 6 point harness. (someone please correct me if I am wrong)
Best of luck......just tell dh that your pedi said you had to keep baby rear facing until he was a year old......actually my pedi made this perfectly clear to me at my ds 6 month appt.

[cinnamonheart]

Yes its a hard decision really because kids come in all sizes and shape like right now Cody is only 4.5 months and already 14 pounds but his legs extend past the chair?? I do have a new seat that is good from 5-40 pounds and it forward  faces- so there again its good at 5 pounds but the booklet lets it go forward facing!!! AHHHH!!

[carolyn55806]

Your child is too young to be put in a forward facing seat. they need to be approx. 1 year old. It's not so much a matter of weight or length, but muscle maturity and age that matters.

[cinnamonheart]

Like one post said it must be the provincial laws governing that cause I know my kids were in a front facing seat before one. I went with what the booklet had said as to weight,height requirements, WOW  that amazes me -the differences  Now I know they are passing some new laws requiring kids to stay in booster seats until 80 lbs.

[nanakay]

well i guess my theory is this...if they can't walk, they don't need to see where they are going...only where they have been.
and seeing how most kids don't walk until about 1 or shortly there after i guess it is a pretty good rule of thumb.
(ds walked at 9 months, of course at that time he didn't weigh enough :).

[nanakay]

in my state it used to be 8 years or 80 pounds which ever came first that kids had to stay in boosters, however a few years ago they changed it back to 6 years or 60 pounds and then had the recomendation that they stay in a booster until 8 or 80.

my husband said that state laws can actually vary quite a bit.

and you know what now that i think about it my son wwent into a forward facer before one BUT not before 20 pounds and he didn't hit 20lbs until right before he turned 1. (i kept thinking gosh i don't remember having this problem of weight and carseats, now i remember why haha)
~nanci

[Myah's Mom]

Most car seat booklets say that there is a minimum height and weight PLUS they need to be at least a year for developmental strength in their neck. 6 months is way way too young!
We had the opposite problem-our little girl was tall enough, was a year old, but wasn't heavy enough, so she stayed rear-facing until nearly 15 months.
This really isn't worth risking. Check out Kids in Safe Seats- I believe it is http://www.kidsinsafeseats.org

Good luck in this argument with your honey:)  
I actually fired a babysitter (who was a friend) for putting my daughter in forward-facing car seat even though she did not way enough without asking me. Not something to fool around with.

Myah's Mom

[Still_AndiJ]

I need to make a correction to Nanakay's post. In WA they must be at least 20 lbs AND 1 year old to ride forward facing. Not one or the other, my boys were 20lbs at 4 months which just meant they were moved from the carrier car seats to the convertable one. They are rear facing until 1 year and turned forward after that date.

I believe it is the same everywhere in the US.

Andrea