Another Car Seat Question

[Anonymous]

So it’s recommended to keep kids rear-facing until they are 30-35 lbs. I didn’t know about this until recently and I turned both of my 2 older kids around at 20 lbs. Now that I know, I’ve kept Bryce rear-facing though.

My question is, how do your older kids deal with being rear-facing? Isaac and Parker are both under 30 lbs. so I really should turn them back to rear-facing, but I’m sure they would totally freak out after being forward-facing so long. But anyway, their legs hang down in front quite a bit, so if I DID turn them rear-facing it seems like their legs would totally be scrunched against the seat! Has anyone had this problem.
It’s hard to know what to do in this situation.

[Anonymous]

the legs question is answered in this article-and look at the pic of the little boy.

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

[Anonymous]

I’ve often thought the same thing about Kaelyn. I kept her rear facing until 18 months and then gave in to dh’s pressure and turned her around. At almost three years, she’s still only 30 pounds. Since her car seat is rear facing until 33 pounds, I could turn her back around, but I’ve decided it’s not worth the fight. Not only would dh hate the idea, Kaelyn is very used to climbing in and buckling herself in. She would pitch a fit if I tried to turn her seat around.

That being said, Alex will stay rear facing for as long as I can hold off dh.

[Anonymous]

That’s how it is with Isaac. He’s 4.5 now and likes to get in and buckle himself in. I think he’s close enough that he’ll probably be okay to keep him forward facing. He’s hovered around 29 lbs for a long time, but I haven’t weighted him for awhile, so he’s probably 30 or more by now. I’m wondering if Parker will let me turn him back around though. He’s only 27ish I think so he has at least a few pounds to go.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is 2.5yo and is still RF…she’s only very rarely rode FF, so she doesn’t know what she’s “missing out” on.

Here’s a couple pictures of her…she’s really pretty comfy, and has never complained about her legs bothering her. The only thing she’s ever complained about is the straps on her neck, and once I put the comfort pads back on the straps then she was fine.

This is my DS Reide in the same carseat at 29 months old…he preferred to cross his legs…

…and since I’m showing pictures of my kids…

This is my oldest last month…he’s going into 1st grade and he has no issues at all still riding in a harnessed seat.

And last, but not least…here’s Reiker…

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the pictures. I’m wondering….how is that Britax seat installed for your first grader? Using lower anchors, or seat belt. Is it a Wizard? I find the Wizard to be impossible to install using the shoulder belt.

[Anonymous]

ndrose wrote: Thanks for the pictures. I’m wondering….how is that Britax seat installed for your first grader? Using lower anchors, or seat belt. Is it a Wizard? I find the Wizard to be impossible to install using the shoulder belt.

It’s a Husky which is the predicessor to the current Regent. I actually don’t have lower anchors in my vehicle…it’s too old. It’s installed with the seatbelt, you can kind of see it…it’s the grey webbing you can sort of see coming down the left hand side of the seat. That particular seat has an interesting belt path.

The wizard should be really easy to install with a lap/shoulder belt? I’ve got one of those too, and it’s what my DS#2 uses for his main seat.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Yes that seat does have an interesting belt path.

I don’t know why I find it so hard to install the Wizard with the lap/shoulder belt but it seems so hard to me.

But now that I know I can use the lower anchors up to 48 lbs, I’m not as worried. I should be able to figure out the lap/shoulder thing before my 36 lb three yr old reaches 48 lbs! I put her in a Britax booster a few days ago because I was freaking out about the weight limit on the anchors and about the buckle not clicking, but I think I’ll put her back in it now.

BTW, do you like your Wizard? I think it’s a great seat. I wonder why they stopped making them.

[hellbennt]

I also kept my ds rear-facing for as long as I could in his britax

I’ll be posting questions soon enough as he approaches 40lbs (he’s almost 4) in his graco platinum cargo (I think that’s the name- it’s in dh’s car), LOL

[Anonymous]

I swear, I’m freaking out about this! I just don’t know whether or not to get a Britax for Sarah now that she’s almost 4?… how long will I be able to use it? Our only other options are cheaper booster seats that use a seat belt and not a five point harness!… Someone please help me (I’m losing sleep over this, which I don’t get much of anyhow!)

[Anonymous]

Christine – The Wizard was replaced by the Boulevard. A lot of parents complained that their kids didn’t like how tight the headwings were on it, so they redesigned the head portion and opened them up a bit. They also added the infant padding so that it would fit a newborn better. I really like mine, it’s a great seat. My oldest ds wouldn’t ride in it though, his head would fall forward of the headwings when he was asleep and totally freak me out. My dd also didn’t like the headwings, and we moved her out of it at around a year because she was pitching such a fit in it.

Lori – At this point, because you are in Canada your options are very limited. You really should see if you can try Sarah in the Marathon and see how much room she has in it. Remember though that for every inch in overall growth it’s only 1/2″ in torso height, and that’s what matters…so even if she’s only got 1″ of room left between her shoulders and the top slot, that’s 2″ of overall growth she’s got, and depending on her particular growth pattern that could be another 2 years she’d be able to use it. Other than the Marathon the only other seat that’s available in Canada that harnesses to a higher weight than 47/48lbs is the Sunshine Kids Radian65. You can get it at Canadian Tire…I’m not sure where else carries it. But it’s very difficult if not impossible to install correctly with the seatbelt in alot of vehicles, so if you are going to try this one make sure that you try it out in your vehicle(s) before you buy it. Other than that, you can move her to a booster or you could make the parental decision to try and import a Britax Regent from the States.

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