We pride ourselves on having the friendliest
and most welcoming forums for moms and moms to be! Please take a moment
and register
for free so you can be a part of our growing community of mothers.
If you have any problems registering please drop an email to boards@justmommies.com.
Our community is moderated by our moderation team so you won't see spam or offensive messages posted on our forums. Each of our message boards is hosted by JustMommies hosts, whose names are listed at the top each board. We hope you find our message boards friendly, helpful, and fun to be on!
What is Extended Rear-Facing?
Keeping your child Rear-Facing longer than 1 year and 20 pounds.
Why should I keep my child RF past a year?
A child between the ages of 1-2 is 70% less likely to be killed in a crash if they are RF. The benefits of ERF don't stop at 2 years old though. Keep your kids RF until they reach the maximum height or weight limits on their car seat.
They are also 500% safer while RF.
A Rear Facing car seat cradles a child in a crash, absorbing the crash forces for the child. If they are Forward Facing, all that force goes to their spine which isn't strong enough to handle that much force. It can break their neck and/or spine, cause internal decapitation, or other horrible injuries.
Some common misconceptions about ERF:
If a child's feet touch the back seat, they have to go Forward Facing.
A child's feet will touch the back of the seat long before they are big enough to be forward facing. Kids are very flexible and actually prefer to sit with their legs up. Think about how they sit on the couch- they curl their legs up under them.
If they are RF, their legs will break in a crash.
There are no reported cases of broken legs in RF children. However, one of the most common injuries of forward facing children is broken legs. If the crash forces are strong enough to break a RF child's legs, they strong enough to break a FF child's neck.
My child gets car sick. I have to turn them FF.
Turning them around rarely helps with motion sickness. You can try install their RF seat more upright. You can try benadryl or gravol (always ask your dr) to help, too.
If I am rear-ended, my RF child will be injured.
Frontal crashes make up about 72% of crashes, which is what RF car seats are best at protecting children from. Rear-end collisions only make up about 4% of crashes. Also, rear-end collisions usually happen at lower speeds. (ie you are stopped at a red light and someone rear-ends you)
I wanted to add that, while it only goes to 35 RF, the Recaro is a great carseat as well.
The Signo is RF 5 to 35lb, FF is 20 to 70, and up to 59"
The Como is RF 5 to 35lb, FF is 20 to 70, and up to 50"
They are great seats, just not usually recommended for ERF. Like Britax, they don't offer a lot of leg room. They also sit up very high on their bases so it can be hard to get bigger kids in them while RF.
__________________
95% of kids aren't in their car seats safely. Click here to see how your child should look!
A rear-facing child is 75% less likely to die in a crash. Click here to learn more!
Are you installing your car seats correctly?
to watch my installation videos, click HERE!
I haven't seen any mention of the Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat and was just wondering your opinion as it's the car seat my wife and I went with. It's a highly rated infant car seat (Amazon and Consumer Reports) but just wanted your thoughts (I am new to this forum so there's probably an entire page devoted to it somewhere which I just haven't found yet). Thanks!
I'm not Erica, but I've been around here a while. The Keyfit is one of the most recommended infant carriers because of its ease of use and installation and its longevity. It will last most kiddos until 18ish months, which is a long time for an infant carrier. Once baby gets too heavy to carry in the seat, just leave it in the car as a convertible - that will extend its life until baby truly outgrows it. It's a great choice!
That being said, it is not the last RFing seat a child will need. The AAP recommends RFing until a child no longer fits or at least to age 2. I know that Erica's newly turned 3yr old is still RFing, and my older DD RFed to her 3rd birthday (still fits RFing but we made the decision to flip). There are many seats on the market in the OP of this thread that will allow a typical child to RF to at least age 3, if not longer.
I wish there were more stats about kids over 2-3 years old in regards to RFing. I know it's safer but I will probably be turning DS forward facing around age 3 (hopefully more like 3 1/2) and it still makes me nervous!
__________________
Katie- mom to Aden (5) Phineas (3) and Phoebe Violet (1)
I linked this to a friend of mine. She was asking me the other day how soon they could turn their little girl around. I gave her some stats told her I wouldn't be turning MaryBeth until at least 2 and probably not until I have to beacuse her seat doesn't allow RF any longer. I hope that she will heed my advice and listen to me, instead of her mother who constantly contradicts me. I may also print some of the information for my MIL who thinks that ERFing is not safe due to legs being so long. If it wasn't safe for their legs to touch the back of the seat I would already have to turn my munchkin.
