Rear facing?? Anyone use it with their toddlers

lauren_1

Just wanting to see how many others do it, what car and car seats they have. Also how many have sourced a 5 point seat for a 4+ year old.

I have seen a britax regent and another britax (cant remember the name off the top of my head) - we need to import it from america but cant see any in europe at all.

Thanks

blottedcopybook

DD is still in her bucket seat at 18 months but she's petite so it's doable. DS is MASSIVE and my britax first class just wasn't providing him with enough room so he turned round at 14 months.

That said, their later turning was more a symptom of my laziness than anything else. I've read a few different reports about the rear vs forward facing arguments and I can't say that I'm sold on it yet. There seems to be a lot of assumptions made about the impacts.

joannasmum

DD came out of her rear facing seat at 18 months if we were going to have another child I would look into rear facing for longer. We have recently put her in a booster seat. We are happy with that as she is at the upper end of the weight range for a 5 point harness and we bought the Maxi Cosi that came out best on the Which report. I think that you can get Britax special needs seats that are for heavier kids with a 5 point harness. Again this would have been something I would have done if we had a large child.

foreversomeday

Hi thought you might find this site interesting. It's American but still valid I believe.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

In Sweden, it is standard practice to keep their children rear-facing up to the age of 5, or as much as 55 lbs. From 1992 through June 1997, only 9 children properly restrained rear-facing died in motor vehicle crashes in Sweden, and all of these involved catastrophic crashes with severe intrusion and few other survivors. Larger Swedish child restraints are designed to accommodate these larger children.

- Would importing a seat from Sweden be an option at all, financially?

hollydays

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/index.html
Ring these people and ask,they are THE experts.
have you checked it's compatible with your car? (is it a Volvo?)

lauren_1

foreversomeday wrote: »

Hi thought you might find this site interesting. It's American but still valid I believe.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx



- Would importing a seat from Sweden be an option at all, financially?

Its a lot but if I tot up how much I spent on ds pushchair/prams just because they looked nice I would be a total hypocrit to opt out of importing a seat just on price.

lauren_1

hollydays wrote: »

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/index.html
Ring these people and ask,they are THE experts.
have you checked it's compatible with your car? (is it a Volvo?)

Its a citroen, quite popular in europe aparently but i do need to try and get there to find a one that fits exactly.

Doppleganger

lauren_1 wrote: »

Its a lot but if I tot up how much I spent on ds pushchair/prams just because they looked nice I would be a total hypocrit to opt out of importing a seat just on price.

Well if you want a hand on importing from Sweden drop me PM, I live here! Although paying 20 quid for RyanAir day trip is cheaper than shipping

I bought my Maxi Cosi Cabriofix & ISOFIX base from the UK as it was much cheaper than here in Sweden.

BernadetteN

I know a child who was 2 1/2 when he came out of a Mamas and Papas birth to 9-12 months seat (that was standard seat when it was bought which was replaced by a 12-15 months seat). He was far too big to be in the seat and I would consider it crazy to put a child that size in a seat designed for an under 1 year old.

We used a Britax Evolva with our 6 year old with its 5 point harness until just a few weeks ago when she finally tipped over the recommended 18kg limit for the harness. She is now under a seat belt using the same seat. There will be plenty of 4 year olds who can still use this seat with its 5 point harness, as long as they are under 19kg and under around 120cm too (won't be able to fit under the harness if they are any taller).

Js_Other_Half

http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/reviews/product.asp?id=902

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/shop/special_br_08.html

hth

shirlgirl2004

My DD is 19 1/2 months and still in her Maxi Cosi rear facing. She isn't a small child (born 9lb 4) vut still has a couple of lbs to go before she has to move up. At the moment she isn't putting on any weight because as she grows taller she's losing her baby chubbiness. My 4 year old is still in her toddler seat (5 point harness) and also has about 2 lb to go before she moves to the next stage.

I realise that the 4 year old could be rear facing if I bought a special needs car seat but there is a balance between keeping your child safe and having them ridiculed. No-one has mentioned her still being in a toddler seat but if she were still rear facing her peers would be taking the mickey because she started school in September.