Discovery Home & Health

Hi all,
my son is 7 months old (just) and weighs 22lb.
we were looking at getting a new car seat a forward facing one!!! As we were advises that he was heavy enough and the fact he wasnt 9 months didnt matter.
Went to a different shop today who told me no way was he to go in a forward facing seat as he was to young and could not support him self, then i was shown this video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo&mode=related&search

since then i have found 2 car seatmanufacturers that say its weight not age, and spoke to 2 roadsafety managers at 2 different councils who have both agreed that my son should be in a forward facing seat as he has enough weight to support him and that the age is an indicator only!!!
All i want is for my son to be safe in the car, does anyone know anythink??

thanks

lisa

I put my son in a forward facing car seat at 7 months, he was out growing his rear facing seat quite quickly & he was the right weight for a forward facing seat aswell. He loves his forward facing seat so much better, he loves looking out of the window & at everything going on - I say do what you feel is best for your son. You could always buy the forward facing seat, test it out & if he's uncomfortable or you don't feel he is safe enough then put him back in the rear facing seat until its time to move him over again.

Michelle x

at 22 lbs i feel he is big enough for the forward facing car seat bailey went into a forward facing one at 8 months and likes it alot more as he can see what hes doing, most forward facing arseats are from 9months but like they said it is only an indicator but 22lbs is enough id buy a forward one personally if i were u

ive just watched that youtube clip and the forward facing crash it demonstrates u have no idea of the speed the crash is tested at or anything and if your child fits the seat corectly then that is not going to happen and i feel wen u have your child in the back u travel at safe speeds

I would ask yourself 2 questions
1. Is your son happy in his rear facing seat?
2.Does he need a new seat?

My daughter hated her rear facing carseat and travelling anywhere with her was a nightmare so we switched her at around 7 months and 17lbs-now she will tolerate being in the car most of the time-however IF she had been happy rear facing I would have left her that way for as long as possible as it is safest.

Hi Lisa,

I had the same prob with my son Damien. I was advised that regardless of the weight, they should only be forward facing when the can sit unaided for at least 20 minutes as before then they are not strong enough to support themselves properly. Did mega internet seaching and spoke to HV & doc and they all said the same thing.

I ended up buying one of the birth to 4yrs car seats which we have rear facing at the moment. Damien is now about 23 or 24lbs and is much more comfy in his new big car seat than one of the little carry ones.

Hope this helps a wee bit.

Yvie xxx

i had the same problem and was told the same thing - until they can sit unsupported for 20mins they don't have sufficient strength in their neck muscles to support them if you have a crash at any speed. You can get seats that are bigger and can go both ways - i think britax do one - and the rear facing seats are ok until their head more than halfway over the top edge.

We changed to forward facing at about 7 months as Sam was sitting for long periods and he was definately happier this way - but at the end of the day safety is the most important thing so I wouldn't change your seat til you are happy that your baby's neck is strong enough to cope if someone bumped into you.

BTW we loved the maxicosi tobi seat, its been great.

my little girl is big for her age so at 7 months i went to mother care and wanted to buy a forward car seat and was advise by a membwer of staff that we should wait until she was at least 9 months old. i then told her that her legs were all crammped up in the rear facing seat. and the member of staff said the if we were in a accident my little girl would more than likley hurt her legs. but in a fowards one she could DIE. so needless to say i value her life over her crammped legs.and she stayed in a rear facing until she was 10 months.
sorry if i sound abit over the top but my little girl means so much to me and her dad.if anything happened to her that i could have prevented i think i would have died.

thanks for listening to my rave but this is a matter of LIFE AND DEATH.

maria

Hi Lisa

I'm a registered childminder so I've had to have some training in car seats and I have looked after lots of different aged little ones. If mums arrive wanting their 9 month olds to go in a forward facing car seat I make them sign a disclaimer to say its their choice. The reason being although car seats are done on weight not age - many babies who were heavy at birth appear to be too heavy for a rearward seat BUT they do not have the motor skills associated with an older baby and that includes the whole neck thing. I would suggest if your baby sits for long periods happily playing and can reach from a sitting position for toys etc then its ok to go forward facing. I wouldn't advise younger than 9 months unless they have the motor skills of a 9-10 month old. Keep them rear facing as long as possible I think to be honest

Hope that makes sense!!

Slightly off the point but just a little story...my son was until recently only just 15kgs (despite being 4.5yrs old!) so i thought he'd be better in a child seat which used the seat belt as he looked too big and too tall to be in the either my maxi cosi tobi or my britax renaissance (both of which say they are ok up to 18kg) so I bought him a highliner (cos it got great safety rating on which?) and thought no more of it. A school child stepped into the road in front of me and I had to emergency stop (silly cow - at year 11 she should know better!!!!) and my sons head smacked the seat in front and he really hurt his nose - it was all bruised. Although Britax said 15 kgs was when he could go into it - the seat belts in my car didn't activate because he wasn't heavy enough...scary hey? And I drive a renault espace with the top euroncap saftey rating and was using a britax car seat that also got safest in its class from which? magazine.....!!!!

Hi Lisa

hope you and noel are well

Emily is about 20lb now and can sit up for a good 30 mins on her own, she is also reaching around her to get stuff and all sorts so defo has the tummy / neck muscles needed - she is now in the maxi cosi tobi which fits her much better and she is happy as larry in it

rock on the maxi cosi tobi!! I've got one too and its wicked!