I have a nine month old boy and we are starting to research car seats to transition him to. My question is twofold:
1. Our doctor told us Kansas law says a car seat can be turned around to face front if the baby is 22 lbs. OR 1 year old. (I always thought they had to be both. Our son is 23 lbs. and almost 30 inches with excellent neck strength). What do you know about when to make this transition?
2. What recommendations do you have for the next level of car seat?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Thank you all for your advice about the car seat! I am especially thankful for you providing information about keeping him rear facing for as long as possible. I guess I always just assumed you turn them around at one year of age but after seeing the you tube video of crash tests and reading your responses (as well as doing some further research) I realize how important it is for his safety that I keep him rear facing. I continue to thank you (and future responses) for your opinions on which car seat to get. The seat we have now (Chicco Key Fit 30) is only rear facing and goes up to thirty pounds so we still can use it for a while. That should give us some time to look into the convertible seats more. Thank you all again!
We think the Britax Marathon's are fantastic. This is what all my friends use as well as some caretakers we know.
I would keep him rear facing as long as possible and everyone below is correct the law is one year old AND over 20 pounds. With the recommendation to keep them rear-facing until 2.
We have been very pleased with our BRITAX car seats. We have the Regents b/c our kids are older and they go up to 80lbs in the 5-point harness but I know the Marathon's are convertible (rear and forward facing) and still hold kids up to 60lbs in the 5-point harness. They do cost more but a great investment to keep your child safe as long as possible. This way you can avoid putting them in a booster seat with a seat belt at too young of an age.
I agree with the OP.
If you look at safety stuff on line....There used to be a great video of simulating collisions - sorry I don't have the line....I think you will come to the conclusion that staying rear facing as long as possible is best.
Doctors can't possibly keep up on all legislation, so I would always suggest checking out the facts. You may want to print out the info. from the Amer. Academy of Peds to share with him.
The kansas law is 20 pounds AND a year. http://www.kansasboosterseat.org/ If you feel comfortable, you may want to mention that to your doctor. Also, it is really recommended to keep your child backward until I believe 35 pounds. BUT you may want to look at the instructions for your carseat, some infant carseats don't go above 22 or 23 pounds (some do). I started my kids in a britax marathon between 6 and 9 months (when the weather got warm after that first winter) because I think they're much easier to use than the infant seat I had and I couldn't carry them easily in the bucket seat anymore anyway. I love my marathons and my almost 5 and 2.5 year olds are still in them, facing forward. The britax are a lot more, but I've used other people's car seats, and I much prefer them, they're easier to install and easier to get your kid strapped in correctly each time. The investment isn't too big, since you use it for so long.
K.
I found a website that says under 1 AND 20 pounds must be rear facing. I would check with your local police. Better safe than sorry. :)
Your son is too young to face forward at nine months old (no matter how much he weighs). In fact the newest recommendation is that children should face the rear for TWO years. These recommendations are new, but according to the old one, your child should be kept rear facing until 1 year AND 20lbs (not either or).
The law is at least 1 year AND 20 lbs.... however the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends rearfacing until 2 years. Neck strength has nothing to do with it, and neither does height. Their bodies are simply too fragile to withstand the impact of a serious crash. I highly recommend you do more research before turning him around, and PLEASE wait until he is AT LEAST 1 year old.
Here are some links with helpful info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8
http://www.carsafety4kids.com/rearfacing.html
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
When you do switch him, I recommend a convertible seat. You can still place him rearfacing, but it's larger than an infant seat, then later you can turn him forward. They are larger, so you will want to make sure they fit in your car first (one thing we didn't think about in our 4-door Toyota Corolla... it fit, but it was tight). We love our Evenflo Triumph Deluxe. It was more affordable than the high-end Britax (though these are EXCELLENT seats), but still received excellent safety ratings. Again, I just recommend doing your research before you buy.
We really love the Cosco Alpha Omega Elite. It is reasonably priced and very safe. It has gotten excellent reviews. It's okay to buy and install the new carseat, just keep it rear-facing. He's probably getting pretty big for the carrier, if that's still what you're using. Many carseats are convertible, which means they go forwards and backwards so just do some research and figure out what will work best for you. He will be so much more comfortable in the big seat! I would recommend getting a seat next that will go up to 50 lbs or so, so that you only have to buy that seat and then a booster. Good luck and happy shopping!
