Thoughts on when to turn your child forward-facing in the car? My son just turned two and is 30lbs. Some people are acting like I’m ridiculous for still having his rear-facing, but I just want him to be safe. When did you turn your babies around?
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Oklahoma state law says until age of 2, but honestly, if they get to 2 and you still aren’t comfortable with them facing forward, who the heck is going to say you’re in the wrong? Safety first. No matter what.
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I turned my twins at 2
1st birthday with all three. We live in Ohio.
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They make carseats up to 5 years old for rear facing.
For each state it’s different and same with providence. By age 2 my son had hit the max height for rear facing in his carseat and shortly after hit the weight limit for his carseat rearfacing.
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1 for my first, she was so tall her knees were in her face rear facing, and she was chunky so I believe she was over most states min weight for forwards facing. My 2nd is 10 months but shorter, still chunky tho, but she will likely rear face much longer as long as she doesn’t go through a height based growth spurt soon.
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My state rear till 2. I kept it close. One they get bigger they want to see the ride.
4 and 3.5 it is sooooo much safer to be rear facing do it as long as the seat allows.
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1 year, 1 year, 1.5 year and I will be waiting until 2 years or when he Max’s out weight.
New guidelines say waiting until age 2 bc weight isnt a for sure thing per age.
I had my oldest front facing since she was 10 months shes 2 now
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It’s safest to keep them RF as long as you can. At 30lbs, he still has 10 more pounds before he’s too heavy for most convertible seats RF (granted he doesn’t outgrow the height limit first). You’re doing the safest thing by keeping him RF.
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My doctor recommends to keep rear facing until 4 . My daughter is two and a half and still rear facing. I intend to keep her that way until she is 4, they are so so so much safer rear facing!!!
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Everyone will have an opinion… front face or not… they make car seats extended rear face till 50lbs now. My kids all made it to their 3rd bdays and 35lbs… that was 8 yrs ago and the highest rear facing weighted seat back then. Your child doesn’t know the difference and mine slept just fine or climbed in and out just fine too. It’s 5x safer to be rear facing
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Im keeping my daughter rear facing until she reaches the car seat limit to be rear facing…she will be 3 in May😊
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4 years old when she maxed out the 40 pound limit on her seat
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My son is 2 1/2 and 32 lbs and still rear facing. He CAN turn around, but he is still very comfy rear facing so he’s staying. Also after all of the research I have read about extended rear facing, in choosing to keep him that way as long as he is comfy.
mine was turn around facing forward at one. she was bored and wanted to see things, momma know best. do what works for you
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The law in my state now is rear facing til at least 2 yrs old
I will not forward face until our car seat limits for weight/height are maxed. This will be 50lb. My 2.5 year old is 27lb and my 1 year old is 22lb. So, no time soon.
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One. Follow your seat guidelines and local law.
Two. Neck bones don’t fuse until later so if you forward face too soon and wreck they can suffer internal decapitation.
Logan rear faced for what felt like ever.
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Do. They. Pay. Yo. Bills. ?
NOPE. YOU are his momma. Not them. You do what YOU feel is best for your child. A little extra safety NEVER hurt anyone. Follow the weight/height guidelines and tell them negative Nancy’s to KICK ROCKS. 
New Hampshire state law is age of two but he stayed rearfacing tell 3.5 he has always been on smaller size.he is now 9 years old and still fits hight n weight in his five point high back booster n he is still in it. I am a 
bitch when it comes to car safety.
I turned him around 2. Originally it was a once-off. We were in my aunts car and it couldn’t accommodate his larger seat rear-facing…so we flipped it (he was old enough/tall enough/weighed enough). And for the first time in a few months he was not undoing his chest clip (which he’d learned how to do and i was constantly pulling over to fix).
I thought it was a fluke. But gave it a try in our car…and he left it alone.
I’d have left him longer, but in his case…it solved a bigger issue.
I turned her a few days after she turned 4yrs old.
My oldest I was dumb and went by the seat minimals (he is 11)
My middle I was a bit smarter and he was closer to 2
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1 year for both of mine
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Mines 18 months and still rear facing. I want him rear facing for as long as possible so I just bought a new carseat that extends for the feat part.
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Also, the APA recommends waiting until at least 2 but encourages waiting until your seat maxes out.
The recommendation is 4 years old
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Both mine were 6 months as that’s the law in my state… Can forward face from 6months… Both were big boys and they weren’t comfortable rear facing
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I turned my daughter around when she was about 9-10months old? She would literally scream the whole time we were in the car to the point she’d stop breathing and I’d have to pull over on the freeway to get her to calm down. The first day she got turned around she didn’t cry once. She’s a little over 2 now and is great in the truck. She’s 36 inches tall and 33pounds
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Keep him rear-facing as long as possible! There are plenty of car seats that accommodate bigger/older children. Safety is number one! Who cares what other people think?? I’ve seen where some moms have had 7 year olds in rear facing seats because their child is so small. Talk to your ped and local firefighters/police offircers as well. https://www.gracobaby.com/en-US/when-to-switch-your-child-to-a-forward-facing-car-seat
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My twin Granddaughters are almost 10 and they still face to rear of course they only weigh 38 and 40 lbs.
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Just looked at California state law it says 40 lbs 40 inches tall an 2 years old.
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2 is what is said but they recommend as long as possible. So as long as the carseat is able, usually 40lbs.
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The law changed by my 2nd the 1st I turned front facing at 1 the 2nd at 2 but I’m not current on the law now since they are both out of carseats
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My doctor said I should turn him around at 2 since he was never going to meet the weight requirement
Keep him rear facing as long as possible. Its safer for him.
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I did 2 with my son. Check the laws and I also asked my ped if she felt he was ok forward facing and she gave us the go ahead for it
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My daughter is 1.5 and will be rear facing until she outgrows the limits of her seat. Which is 20kg (44lbs) she’s only 10kg so has a long way to go.
Go on YouTube and search up videos on why rear facing is safest.
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Wait until your seat maxes out.Usually around age 4.
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My oldest was 1 year, but he isb14 now and keeping them rear facing longer wasnt a thing back then…my 2 younger ones who are now 7 & 5 stayed rear facing until 2.5 years.
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Soon as he turned one.
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Moms need to stop using the excuse “they were bored, so I turned them around to see thing”. Kids are fascinated with cardboard 
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2 words to consider
Internal Decapitation
In other words…rear facing as long as possible.
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Tommy 2 as of jan 15 about same 28 lbs. Still rear.! Its safer
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If I can keep him till hes 3 I will.
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This “question” again!? "Hi. I don’t think we’ve met. My name is Google. How can I help you?"
Go ahead and take everyone’s advice but unless they state the STATE they live it won’t help you at all unless you live in the same state.
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I’m pretty sure the general rule is max weight for car seat rear facing, which is usually around 40lb. Or 2. Whatever comes last.
But things change all the time, and people are saying they should stay as long as possible, or around 4.
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My son is 2 and 25lbs. He’s still rear facing and probably will till he’s at least 3.
Your state should have guidelines online or somewhere for you to make sure. It does by weight height and age in most
The longer you rear face, the safer they are.
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I was told their spines aren’t as strong until like 4 years old so as long as the seat will allow and still be within weight and height limits
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My daughter was 1.5 she was to tall I called the fire department he told me I could go ahead and turn her
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Check with your local firestation
All 4 of my kids 16, 9, 5, 2 were all ff at age 1. This is a stupid question to ask cus everyone is gonna say RF as long as possible. All my kids reached the weight and height
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My daughters seat sits rear facing until 40lbs and you bet she will be rear facing that whole time unless she grows out of it length wise
Mine have Been front facing since out of an infant seat, so you do you.
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As long as height and weight allow for the seat to be rear facing. My 21 month old is still rear facing and will continue to until she outgrows the height and weight limits of the seat.
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3 years , theres so much research available and proof it’s safer to rear face as long as possible why wouldn’t you 🤷 nothing is more important then your child’s life
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My daughter is 2.5, 3ft tall and 30 lbs. Shes still rear facing. Dont plan on changing her anytime soon. She sits comfortable in her chair.
Whatever your car seat capacity says , most of them are up to 40lbs , we have the Graco 4ever Extend2fit and that one is up to 50lb so my daughter will read face until she reaches that , it’s safer for them to read face . She’s currently 2.5 30lbs so I’m guessing she will read face until she’s close to 4
My daughter was 2.5 when I forward faced her? She’s now almist 4 and as tall as a 5/6 year old she could never rear face still.
But she never capped out on the weight for rf
Laws DO NOT equate safety. They are absolute bare minimum. Sometimes not even that(those that the law is 1 to forward face)
The absolute minimum a child should be forward faced is age 2. However, the absolute safest and fullest recommendation is 4+ years of age, or maxing out the child’s seat limits.
The biggest danger with forward facing too early is the risk of traumatic atlanto occipital dislocation, also known as internal decapitation.
When children are young (infant through about age 6), their vertebrae in their neck are actually made of more crrr 4artilage than the vertebrae of older children and adults. This allows their neck to stretch and flex way more than it will when they are older. Over time, the cartilage will slowly ossify and turn into bone. It is recommended to keep children RFing until a MINIMUM of age 2 because that’s the beginning of the process but their necks are still pretty weak at that point.
Waiting until as close to age 4 as possible is what NHTSA recommends because it allows their bodies to continue to grow stronger during those extra months. What happens in internal decapitation is that the skin stretches, the muscles stretch, and the spine stretches but the spinal cord inside stretches too far (it only takes 1/4") and snaps. Once that happens, the result is either a life-altering injury or worse.
-cpst
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My son is 2 and will be rear facing until he meets the 50lb limit of his extend2fit. I suggest doing your own research, but they are safest rearfacing.
You will need to check your specific car seat standards.
Keep baby rear facing to as close to 4 years old as possible,that is what is safest in the event of an accident…if you Forward facing to early and you are in an accident you could risk bub getting a broken neck or worse.
Rear facing will keep bub safer as the seat will absorb more impact than what it will forward facing.
This is what can happen if you forward face too early. You’re children aren’t fine, they’re LUCKY. .
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Rear face for as long as the height/weight limits of your car seat allow. It’s safer.
3.5 years old, we gave the new baby his graco extend 2 fit, and got him the graco nautilus LX
Edit to add- he’s 5 and still in a 5pt harness and will be till at least 7
My friend had her daughter rrar facing until she was 3. I wish i had done that too. Alot safer
I ONLY turned mine around early bc her height and weight exceeded the limit for rear facing (just before 2) but that’s the only reason I’d turn them around. Her Dr also recommend it. If she hadn’t of been big for her age she’d of stayed rear facing til she maxed out regardless of age
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My son is almost four and 33 lbs and just turned forwards
Alexandria Breitenfeldt
When they max out the rear facing limits. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, friends, family, doctors, police, fire fighters, etc. Unless they are a certified car seat technician, they have no car seat training and don’t know anymore than any other person.
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We turned at 2yrs old
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Call your local police deparment they should be able to tell you whats safest. Typicually they have a car set tech available.
Check your states laws. Don’t go by what anyone else says.
Law is 2 but it’s recommended until 4.
mine are 5 4 3 and 7 months and be honest with you if all of them would fit facing backwards I would have all of them backwards
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Some states are changing it to 3. We are at 2 years, 4 months and he’s still rear facing.
I wanted to wait longer and SHOULD have but she was 14 months. I only did because it was constant screaming and crying full meltdown that woupdnt stop. She would cry so hard shed start gagging. Ideally you should wait until they fully max out all rf limits. Either 40 piunds or 40 inches
As long as possible.
The safest thing to do is max out the rear facing limits on the seat your child is in. Both my kids were around 4.
It’s recommended to try and rear face until at least 4. I would look for car seat safety groups on fb. They will help you. Their hip bones don’t ossify till around 4ish years old, if I remember correctly
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My daughter was 2 1/2 when we switched her from rear facing to forward facing.
Check your state laws. A lot of states require the child be at least 2 years old. However, it’s safest to keep them rear facing as long as possible.
Broken legs will heal, but a severed spinal cord probably won’t.
Screw what ppl say. Your child’s safety should be #1 priority. My son is 2 & will stay RF in my car until he reaches his carseat 40lbs min to FF.
Our 1 year old is 25 pounds and very tall for her age. We just turned her around this past Christmas.
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My sons 3 and still RF. Safety trumps everything & so many of y’all need to do some research.
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Depends where you are crazy here in Australia you can legally front face them at 6 months old!! Out of all my kid s my daughter used to get car sick and scream till she was blue in the face and hat edd the car so i front faced the seat at about 9 months which helped her (and helped us not having to dr i ve through screaming) but seriously keep them rear facing as long as you can. It’s so much safer
Turned my son around at a year. It was the middle of summer and SOOOO hot and the a/c wasn’t reaching him. Don’t even try and shame me because the law is 1 in my state 
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My daighter is 3 and we rear face her and we will do so until she meets the limits
It depends on the state laws and your preferences, but it’s safer to keep them rest facing longer if possible.
Most states have finally learned about forward facing too early being deadly and changed to rear face for two years. I rear face as long as I can. 3 years or so.
I turned my first at one year. My second at 14 months. And my third is 16 months old and still rear facing but I’ll turn her before she turns two
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The law here is atleast 1 year and meets car seat requirements. My son was turned at 18 months , he met the car seat requirements & started to get sick everytime he was put in his seat rear facing.
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Totally up to you within reason. I’ve seen kids rear facing up to age 9. Check the laws in your state. My state requires they be 2. The longer the better rear facing according to experts.
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Also forward facing too early can cause internal decapitation if an accident were to happen. Experts really do know best on this rather than Facebook land
My kids max out the weight on the rear facing seats by 1, so I didn’t have much of a choice. My 2 yr old is 50 lbs.
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In NC there is no law for rear or forward facing. The only law is that the child be in an approved car seat for their height/weight. You can bring them home from the hospital forward facing. But it’s really up to you and your state laws. I think 18 months is good.