carseat ???

mckayleesmom wrote: Ok,,,my crazy friend told me that since Mckaylee is 20 lbs and turning 1 next month that she can have a front facing carseat. She said that is what they were told in her lamaz class. I say she is wrong and Mckaylee has to be 35lbs before she can face the front....who is right? I always thought it was 35lbs. I was at walmart last night and looked at some and most of them said 20-30 lbs rear facing.

Jamison'smama replied: If I remember correctly it is 20 pounds and 1 year. I waited a couple of months but she is forward facing at 23 pounds and 18 months now.

Julie (jem0622) replied: Depends on who you listen to...the carseat box or the carseat techs. Carseat techs will tell you 35 lbs.

I did, however, switch Gabe to FF at a year b/c he was over 20 lbs and he was LONG.

Julie

Boys r us replied: I've actually heard that the height is a more important factor than the weight!
Keep them in the rear facing position as long as possible, it is more safe this way..but turn them around once they are at a minimum of 20 pounds, but it is safe to keep them rear facing as long as their legs don't extend past the carrier portion of their carseat. This is what my ped told me.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I was told 20lbs and 1 year old, but if you can leave them rear facing as long as possible, I switched kaitlin right around her 1st birthday cause her legs seemed cramed being rear facing, and she was puhing into the back seat and screaming. I waited as long as I could stand it.

MomToMany replied: I was always told it was 20 lbs. AND 1 year old. But now it's recommended that they stay rear-facing as long as possible, to about 30+ lbs. Once Hannah was too big for her infant seat, we got a convertible and kept her rear-facing til about 15 months. There's no rush to do it, you just might have to get a bigger seat sooner and use it rear-facing for awhile.

MilMunchMOM replied: General Car Seat Safety Tips:
All children under 12 years of age should be placed in the back seat of the car, especially if you have passenger side air bags.
Infants should be in a rear facing infant only seat or convertible seat until they are 1 year old and twenty pounds. Children who reach twenty pounds before their first birthday still need to face backwards and can be moved into a rear facing convertible seat. After they are twenty pounds and have passed their first birthday, toddlers can use a forward facing car seat until they are about 40 pounds or their ears have reached the top of the car seat.
Children over forty pounds should be placed into a belt positioning booster seat.
You should not use your car's regular seat belts until they fit correctly when your child is about 80 pounds and is 4ft 9 inches tall.
Your child will not be ready to use regular seat belts until the shoulder strap fits across his shoulder and not his neck, and the lap belt fits across his hips and not his stomach.
Be sure to read the car seat manufacture's instructions and your car owner's manual to be sure that you are installing and using the car seat correctly.

This is what I have found so far...I will research some more though.

MilMunchMOM replied: ok here is a good link:
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

mummy2girls replied: Its different in each state. Where i am (Edmonton..Canada) It is 20lbs and 1 year old where you can front face them.And aslo they have to be teather bolted down or the fine can be expensive if caught. I put jenna in a fron facing one at a year old as she is 20lbs then. But i sometimes still use her rear facing if need be(like if i am using my moms car or such as she doesnt have a bolt for it.

3_call_me_mama replied: it depends on where you live and what the laws are there. In VT it's 1 year and 20lbs. But our kids also have to be in booster seats until their 8th birthday! If it were 35lbs, Cameron would have his legs crunched around his ears before he could turn around. He is very tall for his age (16 mos) and only weighs 24lbs, luckily at 1 year he weighed 20.5 lbs so we could turn him around because he was starting to hang his legs over the side because of comfort issues. I'd check the laws in your state.

jcc64 replied: The information your friend gave you is outdated. A picture is worth a thousand words, please check out this link and decide for yourself.
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

Melissa replied: I was always told 20lbs and at least 1yr. Matthew is over 30inches long and 22lbs I will turn him around at a year.

kit_kats_mom replied:
great link. Thanks. As much as I would love to be able to see her face, she will not be turned around at 20 lbs. Especially after seeing that crash test footage. wow!

natjasem replied: 20 lbs. and 1 year old which is good because if I had to wait until Emma was 35 lbs. she wouldn't be facing front until she's 16 years old.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I as also told 1 year AND 20 pounds... BUT... my doctor said that since he was so big (he weighed 20 pounds at 6 monyhs old) that I could go ahead and switch him.

Controversial... but yo ushould do what you think is right.

A&A'smommy replied:
I would definitly listen to this, you don't want to take chances. Unless there is more of a chance of you having a wreck because of her screaming or something. Go with your heart.