What are your personal RF weight and age limits?

ilo

New member
DD is turning three and about 30lbs, her Boulevard only goes to 33lbs :thumbsdown:. When we bought it I thought I would want to RF her to 3 or 33lbs. Now that we are getting close to the original plan I'm not ready to turn her around yet. She still seems so little to us. She has been saying that she would want to have a big girl seat and sit outboard instead at the center. I think I will tell her that her new higher RF limit convertible will be "big girl seat" and we try to install it outboard for her. This is the first time though that I'm starting to feel bit overprotective.:whistle:

I would love to hear what do others think!

When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?
 
ADS

vonfirmath

New member
2.5 years old. My son is 30 pounds now and we'll be turning him around at the end of the summer when we switch cars -- yes we COULD try alternative seating to allow my husband to sit farther back. But at this age we've decided we're okay.

2.5 years old was my goal. I did not have a poundage.

(But if my son objects strenuously to going FF, then we'll try harder to keep him RF. He is FF at childcare though and does not complain so I'm not expecting problems)
 

Madeline410

New member
4 years is my goal. No weight since my kids are both built differently. My DS turned FF at like 4 years, 3 months. DD is a LOT taller than he is so I'm crossing my fingers she'll make it to 4.

I bought a new seat to keep DS RF when he was 3.5.

They can complain if they want, but it's still up to me. They never complain though lol.
 

AtTheSouthDam

New member
When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?
I was planning on turning her at four but we turned at 3y 9m due to my rather lame medical reasons (I pulled my back trying out the young sport and couldn't put the RN in for a few days. She loves FF so much I decided to leave her.)

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?

After about 3 years I would no longer consider getting a new RF seat. If they are 30# at 3 years I would hold off as those 3-5# can take a long time (Mine has waffled between 30-33# since she turned 3 years). However, if they were 34.5# at 3 years I would consider a new seat if budget allowed.

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?
At 3 and half to 4 years, it depends on the season. While I know serious collisions can occur any time of year I will not flip my child during the cold, icy months. When it is nice out we are less likely to be in the car anyway. So, while it is wet here periodically we are unlikely to be in the car while the roads are still wet, does that make sense?
 

autumnlily

New member
I've been thinking about this a lot. I know what is safe(ER) - but, I'm kind of teetering. And, I'm a bit afraid that I will get slaughtered saying this. But, it's been on my mind heavily.

When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?
My original plan when I came to this board for advice, over a year ago, was to keep my twins RF until 2 years old. Then, after playing here and loving the forum - I went on to get my CPST. I feel obligated to my teachings, self and children to extend my goal to 3 years old. But, a part of me, really wants to FF them. Realistically, I have a feeling it will be sometime before they turn 3, at least in some vehicles.

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?
Up to 2 years, barring any medical reasons

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?
When you know what they are clearly expressing (hence, a screaming 1 year old is not clearly expressing WHY they are crying when in the car)... but a 2+ year old who states - "I want to face forward", should be involved in the decision process (even as little as stating... "let's mark on the calendar our countdown")
 

firemomof3

New member
When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?
My dd2 can be ff if she'd like but usually prefers to be rf in her Radian because its more comfortable for her legs. My goal was 4y/o but it wasn't hard since she is such a peanut :p
My ds will be 3y/o in May and he's about 32lbs. so he'll stay rf hopefully until 4y/o also. His radian goes to 40lbs. rf so we should be good :)
 

fyrfightermomma

New member
DD is turning three and about 30lbs, her Boulevard only goes to 33lbs :thumbsdown:. When we bought it I thought I would want to RF her to 3 or 33lbs. Now that we are getting close to the original plan I'm not ready to turn her around yet. She still seems so little to us. She has been saying that she would want to have a big girl seat and sit outboard instead at the center. I think I will tell her that her new higher RF limit convertible will be "big girl seat" and we try to install it outboard for her. This is the first time though that I'm starting to feel bit overprotective.:whistle:

I would love to hear what do others think!

When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?



I turned DD1 forward facing on her 4th birthday and 24 lbs. She went forward facing in DH's car at age 3y2m and 22 lbs. She didn't ride often in DH's car so we did it earlier since he had two RFers and is tall and needed his seat back. I couldn't RF "to the limits" with her cause there was no end in sight. Before she got her feeding tube, 35 lbs she would have been 8 or so. Now with a feeding tube, she should be around a little over 5. Anyways, to me, weight didn't matter (as long as they met minimums). My daughters spinal column wasn't less developed because she didn't have as much body fat as the next kid. So for me, 4 is my minimum in our main car, but also our maximum (in the main car, switches earlier in DH's and grandparents cars). I won't RF past 4. She occasionally still asks to go in her sisters RFing seat if S isn't around and I let her, but it's just an occasional treat to her.

DD2 is 3y1m. She'll turn FFing in DH's car (same reason, has two RFers again and not enough leg room for him) next month at 3y2m and 31 lbs. She'll stay RFing in my car until her 4th bday and then she'll turn.

For me, I won't buy another seat to RF after age 3. But I never had to cause I always had Radians so I was never faced with that.

I take the child's thoughts into consideration at 4. But it's easy for me. 4 is my min and 4 is my max, so there's no time to take their thoughts into consideration LOL

Just a heads up though. DD2 hit 30 lbs at 10 months old. She is now over 3 and is 31.5 lbs as of yesterday. The doc said she'll be around 33 or 34 on her 4th bday if she stays on that curve. So keep in mind it may take a LONG time for her to gain those last pounds
 

catchthewind

New member
When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?
My goal is at least three but I'd love to make it to four and beyond.

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?
My daughter is 32 months and we just bought her a new seat to keep her rf. Though, she was in a Marathon and I am wary of turning her ff in that because of things I've read here, so we would have needed a new seat regardless. I think if she had been over three and we weren't worried about the MA ff, I probably wouldn't have bought a new seat. (Hard to say though, our original plan was to buy a higher weight seat for the baby, then when the baby fit in the Marathon switch DD1 into the higher weight seat, so all along we'd planned to keep her rf past three if possible. DD1 outgrew the Marathon long before we thought she might.)

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?
I like AutumnLily's answer, and that's sort of how I feel too. My daughter has never expressed any interest in being forward though. We actually had her forward for a few car rides a few months ago when my dad was here because we had to use his car and his driving made her car sick (and me too, even on short rides). I was worried she wouldn't want to turn back but she had no problem with it, so my plan now that we have the Radian is to leave her rf until she wants to turn forward, and then we'll take her opinion into account, though depending on her age, time of year, etc, we wouldn't necessarily automatically turn her just because she asked. I'd love for her to stay rf long enough that my youngest daughter will remember her being rf and hopefully not want to turn earlier when her big sister turns.

When you know what they are clearly expressing (hence, a screaming 1 year old is not clearly expressing WHY they are crying when in the car)... but a 2+ year old who states - "I want to face forward", should be involved in the decision process (even as little as stating... "let's mark on the calendar our countdown")
 

christineka

New member
My goal is age 4, though I have considered age 3. Dd3 turned ffing for the last time at 5 years and 33 or so pounds.
 

Raegansmom4

New member
My oldest got turned ff at 22.5 months when she reached the max of the 33 lb Marathon we had at the time. My dd2 is 34 lbs at 2 yo (just turned 2 on Mar 16). Right now, dd2 is rfing in a MR, but I plan to purchase a Radian 80 SL at the end of the month when I get paid for directing our school play. DD2 is following the same weight growth as DD1, so I predict she'll hit 40 lbs just shy of 3 yo and 45 lbs at just shy of 4, so I would like to keep her rfing as long as possible now that there are seats to accommodate. I make heavy kids!
 

ontariomama

New member
When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF? My goal is between 3.5-4. I just happened to mention this to my dad last week and you should have seen the look on his face. Pretty funny :)

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF? I would buy a seat at 36 months to continue to RF, although we have a RNPremier (80), so I'm pretty hopeful that the 45lb limit will get us there!

At what age do you take child's opinion into account? Probably by 3.5 yrs. I'm not exactly sure yet, because it seems so far in the future. But at the moment that's what I think.
 

featherhead

Well-known member
My children will rear-face to 4 years unless they have outgrown every rear-facing seat in Canada before then. After 4 years they can continue to rear-face if they want, and if they still fit in their current seats. At 4 I will not buy a new seat just to rear-face longer.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
My goal is age 4. After age 4 she can stay RF if she fits in her seat still, although I suspect she'll want to sit FF since she thinks it's cool to be able to watch a movie!

I bought a new seat to RF DD longer at age 3 years 2.5 months. She was 33# with light clothing and with winter clothing could be at/over the 35# weight limit of her TF. I still have her TF's and she actually rode in one again RF recently because winter clothing isn't needed anymore. She is 34# with a dress on now. But if it's cool and she needs pants, mittens, socks or demands to wear her rubber boots :rolleyes:, she's over the 35# weight limit, so she's back in the My Ride again! :)

She is 5 months shy of 4 years old now and if she outgrows the MR before age 4, I am not likely to buy her a new seat since the Radian installs like crap in our vehicle and I just don't have any confidence in Dorel seats and there is nothing else right now to buy. She's still got 2" of growing room though, so I'm confident she'll make it to 4.
 

natysr

New member
Jordan was rearfacing until he was just over 32 pounds and was 4 years, 9 months old. His seat also went to 33 pounds.

I don't think I would buy another seat for a 30 pound 3 year old...just yet. It may take her a while to actually gain another 3 pounds. Especially with summer coming and the kiddos wearing lighterweight clothes and shoes.
 

abigaylebelle

Active member
We're planning to turn ds when he turns 4 unless he weighs 33lbs before then in which case he will turn in one car and continue to rf to 35lbs in the other cars.
I would buy a new seat to rf for a child under 3, but beyond that I would feel comfortable turning ff.
I've been thinking about my child's opinion lately because he asked to turn ff after a plane trip where he was ff (he's 3). At this point I'm not turning him even though he likes the idea because he is well within the weight/height guidelines of his convertible seats. If he still cares in 6 months then maybe but I'm not really sure yet.
 

ilo

New member
Thank you for all the discussion. We are kind of in a tricky position as we will move to Europe 1mo before her 4th Birthday. I'm quite sure she won't make it in the Boulevard over next winter and I would rather buy a new seat now so we will have some time to use it and as she is asking for one. I'm sure that more leg room could be nice too. Next year when we will move to Europe we are faced with either RF or HBB. At that point I think I would be fine with tethered FF carseat but not with a HBB. So she will probably have to stay RF until she is truly booster ready and hopefully at least until 5. I don't want to turn her around at 3.5 and 33lbs just to RF her again at 4.

I'm quite unsure about how much weight to put on her opinions. If she could decide she would either drive the car or jump freely around. So as I'm obviously saying no to most of her request why not to say no to FF too? I'll change her outboard as she asked. DH suggests we would let her to choose her next convertible from those with 40lbs limit so she would think she got her new big girl princess seat.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
When did you turn(or are you planning to turn) DC FF?

I feel like I'm in the same boat as you; I keep extending when I turn them. I learned of ERF when J was 2y3mos and 38lbs, when the MR was just coming out and the SLs were not yet heard of. I bought an MR to turn him, but only because I could justify having it to pass down to S (then 4mos, and a chub.) My goal at that point was end of summer, because we drive TONS in the summer, and my vehicle was less-than-safe. I was hoping he wouldn't hit 40lb by then.

I was actually ok with turning him at the end of the summer (2y7m) but he didn't want to give up the MR. (Pillow obsession... :whistle:) So, I kept him RF and I learned more here and considered my position on it, and the SL was announced, I realized that I really was not crazy about turning him at that point. So I made the decision that if he hit 40lbs before his 3rd birthday, I could justify a Radian; otherwise I would just suck it up and turn him. Luckily for me, he hit 39.6 a week before his birthday so I didn't have to change my mind, lol. (And then promptly went back down to 38.6, after I'd bought the Radian. He actually just hit 40 yesterday, at 3y2m.)

He will RF to 45lbs, or if he's less than that at 4, I will talk to him about it. Chances are he'll ride RF sometimes still, and FF in somebody else's seat sometimes, since I have more seats than kids at many points during my day.

OTOH, I watch another little girl who is 4y1m. I RFed her 95% of the time (I only have her p/t) until her 4th birthday, then had planned to turn her FFing. She's a total peanut; I weighed her at 32-33lbs but she's since dropped to about 30, and fits in a Scenera with room to spare. However, she turned 4 and I turned her FFing, and I had second thoughts about it. At the end of the day, she doesn't care (in fact, given her pick of any seat in the vehicle she will choose the RFing Radian) and she's safer that way -- even if only marginally so -- so why not?

The way I see it, we say the spine ossifies between 4 & 6. So at 4, it's only the "minimum" of that range... if nobody minds, why not shoot for six?

I'll probably turn C when she cares. If she doesn't, and it's convenient for me (it's six of one in my case, no puzzling or installation issues either way,) then why not?

My "dream" situation with my own children is to RF until kindergarten age, which is when I typically find my dck ready for boosters, and go the Swedish route of RF to booster. Eliminates the FF harness vs. booster debate, which plays on my mind a lot, simply because I don't know the answer to it. If it doesn't happen, my world won't end, though.

How young should a child be for you to buy a new seat to accommodate RF?

I wouldn't buy a new one at 4, unless my child really wanted to RF, and I could easily afford it. Less than 3, I definitely would. In between it would depend on the situation, and also if I had pass-down possibilities.

The fact that we have 4yos in MRs says to me that there are others who bought new seats at 3, so I'm not *that* crazy, lol.

At what age do you take child's opinion into account?[/QUOTE]

No less than 3; older 3/young 4 I definitely would. J was complaining last month about being RF, but I found out it had to do with 1) the fact that his dad was putting him in either just the belt or a NBB (!!!) and he wanted to ride "like a big boy," and 2) the fact that he wanted to ride in the middle row with the big kids. We talked about #1, a lot, and I convinced him it wasn't safe (which he then told his dad, lol.) #2 I can't do anything about right now, and truthfully turning him FF isn't an option because I need that RF Radian to work my 3-across. He hasn't mentioned it again, but I've been trying to figure out a way to make it work for him this summer (slightly different set of kids.)

If he was truly heartbroken about being RF, I would probably promise to turn him in the fall, and let him ride FF some now. I would be ok (not thrilled, but not panicked) with him FF now, but I really want him RF for the summer, again due to the amount of travel that we do. We're in the car for field trips almost daily, 30m-1hr each way, largely at highway speeds and often on unfamiliar roads.

I just go back to the "why not" of it. For your situation, if your DD doesn't mind being RFing *and* you can afford a new seat, then why not? I don't think it's overkill or overprotective if it doesn't cause any ill effects. If my child was upset, or was getting teased, or I couldn't afford it, or there was a convenience issue, then there's a reason why not and the 3-4 turning age carries more weight. In any of those situations, I would definitely turn them at 4, and be more inclined to as they got closer to 4. Before 2, it would take pretty extenuating circumstances for me to turn; between 2 & 3 I would still sacrifice a lot to stay RFing. After 3 I get more practical. At 4 it's all good, lol.

I'm not sure what you're looking at, but I would go with a Radian or CA for a "big girl seat," since they look more like that than the MR on its giant base. You could tell her "this is your new big girl seat, it goes backwards now but it turns around when you turn 4!" or whatever you opt to tell her. And I think outboard is a fine and reasonable choice... outboard RF is safer than FF center. :)

Sorry that was longwinded, I'm very good at using lots of words, lol...
 

Genevieve

CPST Instructor
My kids RF in my car to about 4, but I also don't have to worry about their weight because they are small. If they hit the weight limit before they were 4, but after 3 I would just turn them and not buy a new seat. Two or younger, I would probably get a new seat.

G is still RF in my car (which he's in most of the time), but in all others he's FF and he is 3.5.
 

hrice

New member
My goal is 4 yrs. My 21 month old weighs 27lb 13 oz fully clothed and is 33.5 inches tall. My 9 mo old is 21lb 12 oz fully clothed and is 29 inches tall. They both ride in MAs in my car with RF weight limits os 33 lbs. I plan to buy Radian XTSLs next (unless something better comes on the market).
 

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