5 year old not comfortable

K8tie

New member
Hi, this is my first post here and was hoping someone could help. My daughter is 5 and about 29 lbs and 3'1 tall. Currently she is in a Marathon 70 and always complains that her legs tingle when driving more then 30 minutes. She always tries to bend her legs so her feet are on the back seat or tries to rest them on the back of the front seat. Everytime we go somewhere, its a fight just to get her into the car. I was hoping someone here could offer me any suggestions on how I can make her more comfortable. Thank you everyone.

Katie
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
She's trying to do it. Her legs need support. Blankets at her feet piled high enough, or on top of a styrofoam cooler upside down will provide an ottoman of sorts, which will keep her legs from tingling.

Another option, if you'd rather, is to get a seat with more leg support.

Or, if she has more than 1" of shell (not headrest, shell) above her head, you could turn her rear facing.

Wendy
 

K8tie

New member
Thanks, I really dont have the funds to purchase another seat but I will try some of your suggestions. With both my husband and I being over 6 ft, the frint seats are as far back as they can go and I am not sure if I will be able to put something on the floor she could rest her feet on but I will definatly give it a try. She hasnt rear faced in over 2 years and I dont think she will have an issue with it. I never even considered rear facing her at her age but it does make sense after thinking about it. She will have a place to put her legs and she wouldnt be so uncomfortable. I assumed she was too old to rear face. I will talk to her and see if she is on-board with it. Is it safe to assume that if she balks at the idea, that I shouldnt force it even though she will be uncomfortable the way she is now? Thank you very much.

Katie
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
You should be able to just fold up blankets and stuff them on the floor, so that would even help.

If she's not up for it don't push it, but if she fits it'll fix your problem, for sure.

Wendy
 

K8tie

New member
Thanks Wendy. As you mentioned before, she does have a good 2 inches of head room left so there wont be a problem with her still fitting. I will also try the blankets and see from there what our best option is. If I was to turn her back to rear facing, if she is OK with it, is there a cut off age? We are woking on getting some weight on her but I dont see her reaching the 40 lb limit on it before she is 7 or 8 at this point. From other post on her I have read, it has been said numerous times that rear facing is safer but, what about comfort? Right now, safety comes first above anything else and if she would like to rear face, that would be fine. But if she doesnt, thats also OK with me.

Katie
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
There's no upper rear facing age limit. It'd be safer for everyone to do. She's still safer rear facing, but at her age and skeletal maturity, the HUGE difference between rear and forward facing has diminished.

Most kids are MORE comfortable rear facing. They have someplace to put their legs and they're more reclined. It's like riding around in a lazyboy.

Wendy
 

K8tie

New member
If I know my daughter, yes, she would probably love to ride rear facing if it were more comfortable for her. As you said, due to skeletal growth, its not doing more harm then good to rear face her is it? The "bone" factor was something I never thought about or considered. Yes it would be nice to be able to rear facer to be safer in my eyes and more comfortable for her but, how do I determine at what point her skeletal structure will be a factor? If I understand you, age does play a role when rear facing correct?

Katie
 

urchin_grey

New member
My 5.5yo is just a bit smaller and still rear facing so there are definitely other older RF kids out there. :) DS rode FF twice to look at Christmas lights last month and also complained about his legs. No complaints rear facing though! And as a bonus, at her size, she will likely be ready for a high back booster once she outgrows her seat RF. And since boosters are a lot cheaper, you'll have more options to keep her comfy.
 

icnee

New member
You DD is about the same size as my DD3 and she has more than enough room to be comfy riding "backwards" (thats what the kids like to call it, it sounds more fun tha rear facing) My 5 yo is RF because she asked to and she is 42-44lbs and about 44", so that makes me a firm beleiver that it is more comfy.


I also wanted to mention to you thta before I knew kids could RF past 12 and 20 she was FFing and when she was about 3 she would scream and cry that her leggs and lower back her and at 3 1/2 I found out about ERF and so I turned her back and the pain went away.


The other suggestions that Wendy gave you work great too I stacked pool noodles for my oldest.
 

K8tie

New member
You DD is about the same size as my DD3 and she has more than enough room to be comfy riding "backwards" (thats what the kids like to call it, it sounds more fun tha rear facing) My 5 yo is RF because she asked to and she is 42-44lbs and about 44", so that makes me a firm beleiver that it is more comfy.


I also wanted to mention to you thta before I knew kids could RF past 12 and 20 she was FFing and when she was about 3 she would scream and cry that her leggs and lower back her and at 3 1/2 I found out about ERF and so I turned her back and the pain went away.


The other suggestions that Wendy gave you work great too I stacked pool noodles for my oldest.

WOW, my daughter is only 29 lbs and nowhere close to 42-44 lbs. Do you have a cut off age or do you plan on rear facing for awhile? My daughter will be 6 in May and it never crossed my mind that rear facing her was even an option. Before her legs started hurting, she used to fall asleep within 15 minutes of driving and that would be wonderful for me if she was able to again! LOL I did have a funny thought, if you had the option and if your child still was under-sized, would any of you still rear face at like 7 or 8? Just curious on how many of you would consider it. Thanks

Katie
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
If I know my daughter, yes, she would probably love to ride rear facing if it were more comfortable for her. As you said, due to skeletal growth, its not doing more harm then good to rear face her is it? The "bone" factor was something I never thought about or considered. Yes it would be nice to be able to rear facer to be safer in my eyes and more comfortable for her but, how do I determine at what point her skeletal structure will be a factor? If I understand you, age does play a role when rear facing correct?

Katie

The benefit to rear facing will never go away. I'm sure if they could figure out a way for adults to drive backwards everyone would sit rear facing. So you never ever need to worry that she's too old to rear face and she should be forward for fear of doing her injury. She will forever be safer rear facing. The question is not that. The question is when will she be safe forward facing? Six months old? No. A year? Safer than at six months, but still much safer rear. Skeletal ossification is complete around six years old. So it keeps going until then, she's safer to ride forward facing tomorrow than she is today, until the difference between rear and forward facing comes down to being only slight safer rear facing, and her comfort (or actually lack thereof) and her opinion, and what's available come into play.

Wendy
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
If Piper fit and wanted to rear face at seven or eight, sure! She chose to go back to being harnessed after nearly a year boostered, and that was fine by me. That was last July, so when she turned eight she was harnessed. She outgrew it a month later, but it was her choice.

Piper wants to, sometimes. If she comes with me to a carseat check I still use her to show how kids aren't uncomfortable rear facing. Occasionally she'll crawl into someone's installed rear facing seat with a book and just sit there and read while I talk with the parents.

Wendy
 

K8tie

New member
The benefit to rear facing will never go away. I'm sure if they could figure out a way for adults to drive backwards everyone would sit rear facing. So you never ever need to worry that she's too old to rear face and she should be forward for fear of doing her injury. She will forever be safer rear facing. The question is not that. The question is when will she be safe forward facing? Six months old? No. A year? Safer than at six months, but still much safer rear. Skeletal ossification is complete around six years old. So it keeps going until then, she's safer to ride forward facing tomorrow than she is today, until the difference between rear and forward facing comes down to being only slight safer rear facing, and her comfort (or actually lack thereof) and her opinion, and what's available come into play.

Wendy

Thanks again Wendy. If I would of researched it before I turned her, I would of kept her rear facing. Now I am praying she finds rear facing better and more comfortable. When I turned her, I was going by the "norm" and didnt consider comfort or safety (I did consider safety but I thought turning her would be more safe). I will let her take the lead on it and let her decide what is more comfortable for her. Seeing how she can still easily fit in 4-5T clothes, she will probably be in a seat for a long time to come.

Does anyone else with small older children often get remarks from others thinking they are alot younger then they actually are? I get comments from others saying they thought for sure she was 3 or 4 and not almost 6. I hope she doesnt have an issue with that when she gets older as it doesnt seem to affect her now thankfully. She will just giggle at them and tell them how old she really is. And thankfully she doesnt get teased in school either but that can also change as kids these days can be pretty mean sometimes.

Katie
 

icnee

New member
WOW, my daughter is only 29 lbs and nowhere close to 42-44 lbs. Do you have a cut off age or do you plan on rear facing for awhile? My daughter will be 6 in May and it never crossed my mind that rear facing her was even an option. Before her legs started hurting, she used to fall asleep within 15 minutes of driving and that would be wonderful for me if she was able to again! LOL I did have a funny thought, if you had the option and if your child still was under-sized, would any of you still rear face at like 7 or 8? Just curious on how many of you would consider it. Thanks

Katie

I dont really have a cut off age at this point it is mainly if she wants to or not. She was FFing for about 2 months and asked to go back "backwards" she kept trying to get comfy and it just didnt happen.

i would like her to RF until 6 for the reasons Wendy has said but If she were to be uncomfy and not want to then thats fine I turned her seat back to RFing 2days ago and she wouldnt go out the door until I promised her seat was backwards.

If she wanted to at 7 or 8 I would let her if there was a seat big enough for her my Oldest wanted toat 7 but he wa 77lbs.
 

icnee

New member
In my siggy is my now 5yo that was taken at 4 but she has only grown a couple inches and pounds so not that much.
 

urchin_grey

New member
WOW, my daughter is only 29 lbs and nowhere close to 42-44 lbs. Do you have a cut off age or do you plan on rear facing for awhile? My daughter will be 6 in May and it never crossed my mind that rear facing her was even an option. Before her legs started hurting, she used to fall asleep within 15 minutes of driving and that would be wonderful for me if she was able to again! LOL I did have a funny thought, if you had the option and if your child still was under-sized, would any of you still rear face at like 7 or 8? Just curious on how many of you would consider it. Thanks

Katie

Bram turns 6 in May as well! On the 4th. :D

I'm not entirely sure how long we will RF but I know he'll have the option for quite some time because he's not even 3 feet tall yet and 26lbs clothed. We homeschool, but if we choose to send him to school next year (due to certain circumstances), I will probably FF him simply because I would want to be able to see that his teachers were strapping him in properly at pick up (and if not, I can just reach back and do it myself). Even if that is the case though, I would probably still RF him for longer trips if he wanted to. I have no qualms about RF him at 7-8, as long as he fit. He may be starting growth hormones soon though, so he may not even fit by height at that point (which I'm hoping for, because at this rate, he's headed for an adult height under 5' LOL).
 

K8tie

New member
If Piper fit and wanted to rear face at seven or eight, sure! She chose to go back to being harnessed after nearly a year boostered, and that was fine by me. That was last July, so when she turned eight she was harnessed. She outgrew it a month later, but it was her choice.

Piper wants to, sometimes. If she comes with me to a carseat check I still use her to show how kids aren't uncomfortable rear facing. Occasionally she'll crawl into someone's installed rear facing seat with a book and just sit there and read while I talk with the parents.

Wendy

That is SOO cute that she climbs in the seat to read! My daughter hasnt dont that but she has got in my friends high chair a couple times when we visit there. She begged to stay in there to eat so we let her seeing she was still small enough that her being too big for it and breaking it wants a concern. It was those couple times that I wish I had a camera! LOL Does anyone elses child do anything like that?

Katie
 

K8tie

New member
Bram turns 6 in May as well! On the 4th. :D

I'm not entirely sure how long we will RF but I know he'll have the option for quite some time because he's not even 3 feet tall yet and 26lbs clothed. We homeschool, but if we choose to send him to school next year (due to certain circumstances), I will probably FF him simply because I would want to be able to see that his teachers were strapping him in properly at pick up (and if not, I can just reach back and do it myself). Even if that is the case though, I would probably still RF him for longer trips if he wanted to. I have no qualms about RF him at 7-8, as long as he fit. He may be starting growth hormones soon though, so he may not even fit by height at that point (which I'm hoping for, because at this rate, he's headed for an adult height under 5' LOL).

My daughter is at the most 30 lbs fully clothed....and thats winter clothes and boots. Her dr hasnt mentioned anything about growth hormones but I will ask her about that the next visit. Alot of her pants have elastic or adjustable waists because thats all I can find that will fit her. Like other posters have mentioned, it would be nice to still rear face her till 7 or 6 if she wanted because of her size but that will be totally up to her. It would also be great if she could rear face on long trips because she would be sleeping most of the time! lol

Katie
 

K8tie

New member
Thanks everyone! I never thought I would get this many responses this fast! This site is GREAT! Everyone here is SOO nice and its great to know that there are other parents here that are also concerned about saftey as well as comfort. I know wxactly who to come to now if I ever have any questions. Thanks again everyone for ALL your help!

Katie
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
since no one mentioned this and the issue could arrise again, I will.
(obviously, though, I think she should be rearfacing, but I also think she's old enough to have a say, so if she prefers to forward face, then let her)

basically, you can use a pool noodle (any thickness) and some string/rope/twine to make a footrest.

you thread the string (or whatever) through the REARFACING beltpath (which isn't used in a forward facing seat) and tie it (after threading it through the section of pool noodle).

I advise doing this with the kid in the seat, so you can snug the string (or whatever) only tight enough to allow comfortable resting of the feet on it.

You can also use more than one section if need be (two or even 3 in a triangle.. just use packing/duct/any tape to bind them together and only string through one of them)

Someone around here should know where pictures are demonstrating this.
 

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