Seeking opinions on rf

atw

New member
Hello, I keep adjusting my rf goal on my husband, so I'm curious, what age do you think is reAsonable (I get the as long as possible thing, but trying to seek reasonableness from seasoned advocates!). Dd is 2.5 and we've agreed on until 3. Nothing beyond that for now. :) when did you all turn your kids and why? She enjoys rf for now, but really is one of the only kids I know to erf. Not sure it'll bother her, so I'm just curious for now.
 
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Judi

CPST/Firefighter
3 in my minimum. I have RFed to 9 months-5.5 years. 9 months was before I knew better.
 

Phineasmama

New member
3 is an absolute minimum for us too. I don't think there is any real "cutoff date" for rear facing...it's not like on her 3rd birthday you're suddenly going to feel comfortable with it kwim?

My son turned 3 in December, he is rear facing in a Diono RXT and has several more inches to go so I imagine he'll make it till 4. I am perfectly happy with that, I feel better because I feel like he is much safer while we're driving. My older DD also rear faced until she was 4.
 

Phineasmama

New member
I also feel like if you don't make a big deal out of it then your kids won't either you know? Neither of my older kids have ever complained about being RFing. My 3 year old is FFing in our less-used vehicle that he only rides in twice a week for a very short distance to the babysitter's house. He doesn't care either way!
 
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carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I would prefer to RF as long as possible, but if FFing at 3 preserved marital harmony, I don't think I'd feel bad about it at all.
 
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creideamh

Well-known member
My minimum for other kids is 3, but I do feel bad flipping that early. T just turned 5 and is RF in my car... L turns 4 next week and is usually RF with me. DD will remain RFing til at least 4. I would never turn a kid FF who enjoys RF.
 
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Syllieann

New member
I'm hoping for 4, but my kids are big and idk if it's realistic to expect that they will fit after 4. I'd really like 5 but I'll try not to fixate on it because I just don't think it will be possible for us. I would not ff before 3 and after 3 I would be ok w/ ff in a rarely used vehicle if it was the difference between a $60 seat and a $250 seat but I would still prefer rf if the budget allowed.
 
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Ninetales

New member
I would love to make it to 3, but my daughter just turned 2 and is almost 36 lbs. I will RF her as long as I can, but if she doesn't make it to 3 I'll have to be comfortable with whatever age she is, since I can't afford a 45 lb RF seat.
 
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mdsvc89

New member
I turned DS around 20 months, probably would have gone longer knowing what I know now, but it was wicked hard getting him *in* rear facing.

He's nearing 5 now, and would probably fit in some seats RF. However, he has a real tendency to get motion sick -- for example, sitting backwards on our light rail today, he got queasy enough that we had to actually get off the train.

Just curious if this is ever an issue for extended RFing kids. Really just curiosity since we're not having any more kids... well, I guess there might be grandkids one day :)


Thanks.
Michelle
 
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MommyShannon

New member
mdsvc89 said:
I turned DS around 20 months, probably would have gone longer knowing what I know now, but it was wicked hard getting him *in* rear facing.

He's nearing 5 now, and would probably fit in some seats RF. However, he has a real tendency to get motion sick -- for example, sitting backwards on our light rail today, he got queasy enough that we had to actually get off the train.

Just curious if this is ever an issue for extended RFing kids. Really just curiosity since we're not having any more kids... well, I guess there might be grandkids one day :)

Thanks.
Michelle

My DD2 just turned 2 and is RF. She gets car sick too, but my dd who I turned at 1 before knowing what I do now, always got carsick and still does sometimes. I'm not sure how much of it is RF vs FF. I do other things to try to minimize it since I'm not willing to FF her yet since she is so much safer RF. I even get carsick despite knowing how to try to avoid it. I also just have DD2 climb into her seat herself most of the time since it's getting harder to lift her.
 

atw

New member
Thanks everyone, good to know Im not going overboard in my thoughts. My husband just sighed with installing the radian rf, and I was thinking oh-oh, I'm trying to sneak by even longer than 3. I'll use the why turn her if we dont need to argument, if it ever comes to that...He really gets it, of course, but I get where I seem extreme & neurotic too. He is accepting for now. ;) What I'm shooting for is when our son is getting too difficult to seat in the britax that we'd move him to radian and turn her, but who knows, husbands already loving RN so we might need to get some more! I told him yesterday that i read buckling ff is just as much of a pain. He believed it and so we are just enjoying the ease of getting her in and out of her new radian for now!

Thx-your opinions and experiences are very valued! It's nice to swing by here and feel like I'd be unusual for turning her within the nxt few months!
 

Little Ps Mama

New member
I started letting DS1 ride FF in our secondary vehicle, very part-time, only recently. He's 3.5. Our goal is four and we'll probably make it there in his current seat. However, I'm considering buying an RXT today to take us past four. I never thought I'd rear-face past two! When I got to three I changed my goal to four. Now that four is only six months away I'm starting to sweat full-time forward facing and thinking 5 is a more reasonable goal for us. ;)

Three is my absolutely minimum for FF though.
 
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MaKoski

New member
Just have him watch some of the youtube videos, RF vs FF crash tests
My 5 yr old asks if she can ride in her sisters RF seat
 

luckyclov

New member
DS2 is almost 26 months old. 3 is my bare minimum. I may flip at 3 (not likely - at least not right AT 3). I may go for as long as possible. Right now there's absolutely no thought or rush into it because DS2 loves RFing (he can actually interact with his siblings and, believe it or not, can see out the window better RFing).

DH will do whatever I do; though I do anticipate he'll grumble a little once we reach 3 1/2 or so. At 3 1/2, I wouldn't lose an enormous amount of sleep if DS2 were just FFing in DH's vehicle, though.
 
My 3 1/2 y.o. is still RF in my car. She does ride FF in DH's truck, which she rides in maybe once a month, if that. That was my compromise-- he didn't want to RF beyond 2 1/2 in his truck (he is 6'6" and really needed the leg room), so I let it go. He is very supportive of ERF in general, it just doesn't work out so well when you are 6'6" and not driving a minivan :)

All kids will stay RF to a minimum of 4 yrs in my minivan. I always said I'd turn her around at 4, but I'm not so sure now that 4 is right around the corner! Haha.
 

tarynsmum

Senior Community Member
DS just turned 3, and still has a ridiculous amount of room above his head in the Radian... I really have no set date, but I kind of have this feeling of going as long as possible just to see if we can... With DD we made it to 40 months (3 yrs 4 months, but 40months is easier for me to remember), but that was because we had 33lb limit seats at that point. Owning two 40+ lbs seats I'm really not sure when we'll turn...
 

mykidsmylife

Well-known member
3.5 is my bare minimum after that I turn when they ask, before that it is out of the question (except for the occasional ride).
 

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