*copied and pasted hte article about rear facing car seats. What is your opinion.
Keep your toddler in a rear-facing car seat until age 2 (not 1) Lori O’Keefe Correspondent
New research indicates that toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear-facing in a car safety seat up to their second birthday. Following are some safety tips for car seat use:
All infants should ride rear-facing in either an infant car seat or convertible seat.
If an infant car seat is used, the infant should be switched to a rear-facing convertible car seat once the maximum height (when the infant’s head is within 1 inch of the top of the seat) and weight (usually 22 pounds to 32 pounds) have been reached for that infant seat as suggested by the car seat manufacturer.
Toddlers should remain rear-facing in a convertible car seat until they have reached the maximum height and weight recommended for the model, or at least the age of 2.
To see if your car seat is installed properly and to find a certified passenger safety technician in your area, visit www.seatcheck.org or www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm. You also can call 866-SEATCHECK (866-732-8243) or 888-327-4236.
9 comments:
This is interesting! I have heard 18m instead of 12, but 2 yrs is new. I swear car seats will be in my car forever! My son J is 59 inches tall and still in a booster. They are supposed to be 8 yrs old b4 not having to be in a car seat. The other thing that is funny is that at 4 yrs old they go to a booster, it's got not latches, harness or other complicated directions. It is all so confusing.
Thanks for the valuable info! Of course in my case, I feel like Brooklyn will be about 5 before she is in that 22 to 32 lb range. Sigh. We're getting there. :)
I've heard this. Well, I've heard keep them backwards as long as possible. I was planning on doing it. As a result, I've already started researching the convertibles, since Elizabeth is growing SO fast.
Oh, and with the new weight ranges, I should have been in a booster seat until I was in HIGH school.
Very helpful info - I was just wondering about this since V. just hit 20 lbs.
Interesting. I know not a popular opinion, but sometimes I think all the carseat stuff goes a bit overboard. Like jen said in comments, some kids would be in high school before they were able to sit in the front seat or without a seat.
I am for safety, and would never forgive myself if anything happened to my girls and they weren't in the right seat, or facing the wrong direction. So, my honest opinion is that I struggle with this a little. I was planning to move them forward facing at 1 year or 20 lbs, whichever came first. I will likely re-evaluate. Thanks for posting!
I had always heard 1 year AND 22 pounds. They have to meet both to be turned around. It's unlikely that Olivia will be 22 pounds when she's 1, so we'll keep her rear facing until she has reached both milestones. The age 2 thing is news to me. Interesting!
Well, I'm researching convertible seats, now. OMG they're so expensive! And I've got to get two, now. Sigh. Both Tim and I feel that we want what's best for the boys. And we can't control the vehicles around us, but we can control what seats our kids are in.
I do think they go overboard as kids get older, though.
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