ERF and watching TV?

sahara910 · Nov 7, 2011

Alright... I have a toddler he's 21 months and 21 lbs and hes in a Britax RA 50 rearfacing (still in the lowest slot for belts if that helps imagine his size)
SO I would like to keep him rear facing.. despite that I am a busy mom of 3 with 2 others 11 (no seat) and 8.5 (backless booster) who face forward. I drive 55 min in the morning and afternoon to and from school. I have a new Sienna with a beautiful wide screen tv and a toddler who is not a fan of the long ride but IS a fan of TV.... I have at times secured an ipad to the headrest and put on a show but thats not something I can work from the front. Has anyone come up with a workaround or mirror or something so the rear facing kiddo can see TV better? Any other ideas to help me keep him RF longer? On short trips its not a big deal and I don;t even turn my TV on much for the big kids so it would be completely new to him in the car. We've only used it for long travel but I would love to be able to open it and put something on.. if I needed that for him to bot be screaming at me on the way home... any thoughts?

luckyclov · Nov 7, 2011

Welcome to c-s.org.

I also have 3 kids (9, 7, and 21 months) and a Sienna. My youngest has quite some time left ahead of him RFing. Fortunately, most of the time, he's happy in the car...which is good because we spend a LOT of time in it.

My oldest sits center 3rd row and is able to entertain him a lot. He's (my youngest) also figured out how to use the lightweight, padded RF mirror (yes, a no-no, but it fell into the "parental decision" category for me) on his headrest to see me in my rear view mirror and that keeps him happy. I bet if I positioned the RF mirror a little bit, he'd be able to view, at least partially, the overhead DVD screen.

ketchupqueen · Nov 7, 2011

Yep, there's an Eddie Bauer mirror we use; my rfer can see in that (though at some point we are having a rear-facing screen with IR repeater put in and attached to the dvd player!)

bella_1818 · Nov 7, 2011

DS is ERF and watches TV on an ipod touch (in an otterbox defender case). He has been able to operate it himself without needing assistance for a very long time.

It's a no-no to have such a large hard projectile in the car and could be dangerous in an accident, but it's something we've chosen to allow.

MommyShannon · Nov 7, 2011

This doesn't always satisfy my 20 month old but I try to pic movies she likes with lots of songs like Barney Sing and Dance. My others are 6 and 4 and like to watch movies too but I try to stay with ones she enjoys listening to.

sahara910 · Nov 7, 2011

clov878 said:
Welcome to c-s.org.

padded RF mirror (yes, a no-no, but it fell into the "parental decision" category for me) on his headrest to see me in my rear view mirror and that keeps him happy. I bet if I positioned the RF mirror a little bit, he'd be able to view, at least partially, the overhead DVD screen.

Similar family dynamics

We have the padded monkey or bear whatever it is lol mirror and he sees me and hes generally happy that his brother or sister will retrieve a sippy cup or cracker for him. (we do bring items in the car) hes behind me with big sis next to him (captains chairs) and big bro behind so he can see them my problem is the trip from school in the am and to school in the afternoon and on the rare occasion we end up at the airport etc driving alone...
I guess nothing has been dreamed up yet lol. I dont think the mirror would be enough for him to see well...

tanusscott22 · Nov 7, 2011

We have used and Ipod as well (one that has a screen) and have loaded LOTS of family photos on it, and then set it up to shuffle and repeat. We put the screen lock on so he couldn't turn the slide show off. It worked well for our 19 month old, along with some choice interactive books, and toys that are kept only in the car.

Cath3114 · Nov 7, 2011

I have a DVD player tethered and doubly strapped to my headrest. I know the risks, but I have chosen to go ahead with it. I am a single mom, and we drive 3.5 hours back and forth just about every other weekend. As much as I try to arrange travel around nap time, sometimes it just isn't possible.

ketchupqueen · Nov 7, 2011

sahara910 said:
Similar family dynamics We have the padded monkey or bear whatever it is lol mirror and he sees me and hes generally happy that his brother or sister will retrieve a sippy cup or cracker for him. (we do bring items in the car) hes behind me with big sis next to him (captains chairs) and big bro behind so he can see them my problem is the trip from school in the am and to school in the afternoon and on the rare occasion we end up at the airport etc driving alone...
I guess nothing has been dreamed up yet lol. I dont think the mirror would be enough for him to see well...

They don't need to see "well", just "well enough."

that's the mirror we have and if you find the right angle it works- I have even handed it to her to hold it where she can see it!
It's light and soft and I don't have a problem with it being loose.

Like I said, though, you can get an extra screen put in, if you want...

ERF and watching TV?

sahara910

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luckyclov

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ketchupqueen

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bella_1818

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MommyShannon

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sahara910

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tanusscott22

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Cath3114

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ketchupqueen

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