Question Ff 4 yo or rf

How does everyone feel about a a small 4 yo ff? He's 30 lbs and 35 in. He's still rf but protesting a lot. He wants to be in a frontier like his big sister. I think I read on here that bone structure was more important than weight. Is that true? Any links are welcome. I didn't find any research on rf for older kids. Another question is if we did ff is a frontier ok for a small kid? He meets the requirements of the seat which says he needs to be 25lbs I think.

mping said:

How does everyone feel about a a small 4 yo ff? He's 30 lbs and 35 in. He's still rf but protesting a lot. He wants to be in a frontier like his big sister. I think I read on here that bone structure was more important than weight. Is that true? Any links are welcome. I didn't find any research on rf for older kids. Another question is if we did ff is a frontier ok for a small kid? He meets the requirements of the seat which says he needs to be 25lbs I think.

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Age is more important than weight. Unless there are some sort of health concerns that could potentially warrant rear-facing longer, a 4 year old is very safe forward-facing.

The Frontier fits small children extremely well in my experience. I purchased one to use for my daughter when she turned 4, but the only child home to try it out when it arrived was my then-17 month old son. While obviously I wouldn't let him ride in it at that age (especially since the Frontier has a 2 year minimum and I like to RF to 4 if possible), I did try him out in it and he fit wonderfully.

my 4 yo is about that same size,and he RF in one car and FF in the other.

Unless the evidence shows something different between now and then, I intend to let my child make her own decision between RF and FF at age four. Right now I'm extremely comfortable with the idea of a 4 year old riding facing forward, assuming the child meets the minimum size requirements of the seat the child is using.

I'm about to turn my dd (turns 4 next week). She's 26lbs and 37-38in tall. It looks scarier than it is, I think. To have such a small kid ffing, that is. Like others said, its age more than size that matters.

My dd is begging to ff and I told her she can choose which way she sits when she turns 4.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Car-Seat.Org

I would also let a 4yo state a preference. My DD preferred rf at that age so she stayed rf until she hit the 33lb rf limit of our seat at 4y4m.

What car seat do you currently have for him? Maybe you could go ahead and put the car seat forward for now to see what he thinks. I know some kids want to go ff, but then decide they prefer sitting rf. So you might want to try it out to see what he thinks.

Also, are you committed to buying another Frontier? It think it's a great seat, but it's a lot more seat than a smaller child really needs. My petite DD fits into the Radian at 7y2m with growing room. If you want to consider another seat, let us know.

Melanie

If it helps you feel better about your decision, although there's no evidence that an older child who is still well within the rear-facing limits of his or her seat is actually "safer" facing forward, the official NHTSA guidelines state that children ages four through seven should ride in a forward-facing seat with a harness until they outgrow the harness (at which point they should switch to a booster). And the NHTSA guideline is the most conservative, pro-ERF guideline we have in the US.

I mention this from time to time, but I do strongly believe that part of child passenger safety is teaching our children to feel good about making responsible and safe choices in the car. If your child is resistant to rear-facing and is past the age where rear-facing is even recommended any longer, it does not instill that long-term principle we are trying to teach which later could translate into "Is it really ok to ride home with this friend who's had a few drinks even though Mom says not to but then again Mom's always been an over-the-top safety freak anyway I'm sure a couple of drinks aren't that bad, and he doesn't seem that drunk..." I'm not saying there will be a one-to-one correlation and a child who was forced to rear-face past age four will revolt and start riding home with drunk friends after parties, of course. But a child who grows up resenting the seemingly arbitrary rules enforced by parents which have no basis in any objective recommendation runs the risk of disregarding such safety rules when the opportunity arises.

Obviously the whole equation changes when you have an older child who prefers to rear-face or, at least, doesn't object to it.

We already have an extra Frontier from my 6 yo so that's no problem. We have a plethora of carseats since I'm a junkie

mping said:

We have a plethora of carseats since I'm a junkie

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I believe there's a group for that here on the board. After they admit that they have a problem with collecting car seats, they talk about what new car seats are new and what they still need to add to their collection. It's a vicious cycle.:ROTFLMAO:

You should stick around and post more It sounds like you fit right in.

Melanie

Ok, so i put the frontier in the passenger side captain chair (Odyssey) and the black base thingy is hanging over the seat. I can't seem to upload a photo. Why and is that ok?

Ok, now I'm really frustrated!!! Just tried to fix my 6 yo's frontier bc it's kind of crooked. It's in with the seatbelt bc she's over the 40 lb limit (which I hate btw) and I just can't seem to keep it straight. It's with the long belt method. I need some odyssey drivers' help!!!!!