FFing at 2?

Ds will be 2 in a few months and I have been considering turning him FFing. Currently it's 105 and it's only April. I would like to be able to have the AC blowing on him since it gets so hot and when I take him out of the car he is drenched in sweat and bright red. I've tried putting a frozen towel on his seat and constantly have the AC on full blast but it doesn't help that much. Any thoughts on what I should do? Should I turn him?

I live in Phoenix and it doesn't get much hotter than that! My godchildren and grandchildren were all born during the hot time of year (May and July) and there was no choice but to rear face them since they were still infants. I got those Cool Seat things that you keep in the freezer and put in their seat and if you aim the air conditioning vents up so that the air is deflected off the ceiling of the car and onto the kids, they seem to be fine.

If it were me, I'd rather keep him rear facing for another year.

Don't turn him for the sake of A/C. We live in Florida, and have a rear facing 4 year old and 2 year old. If your car's A/C isn't cutting it, this is what I would do....go to a hardware store, home goods store, or super store like walmart. Go to the plumbing section, and buy a length of flexible clear tubing that will fit into the under-the-dash vents in your car. (If the vents are too small, remove the cover to it, and make your own cover from a piece of cardboard or plastic) Run the tubing discretely along the left or right side of the front seats (can go outboard near the door, or alongside the center console). Run it up the back of the backseat, and possibly attach a wide square shaped blunt end on it, to dissipate the air more. Your kid will be freezing back there!

If you want to know why I know all the details of this, my mother had a GMC Jimmy back when I was younger, and even with me and two other girls hockey players jammed in the back rolled in fleece blankets, our feet still hurt from the cold while traveling across the state for games, so my dad came up with this system in a pinch ^_^

For less than 200, you can get a wireless car starter and cool the car down a bit before getting in. Just as long as your car doesn't live in the garage.

Personally, I would not turn a 2yo for the AC, but I love the suggestion of running hoses to direct the heat to the rear.

I wouldn't feel comfortable turning the child that young, but at two it is not an unreasonable thing for you to choose. Two is the age at which I stop trying to convince everyone that my choice (RF) is the only acceptable choice.

Since you're asking, though, I would do other things to keep him comfortable. I think the idea of running a line from the vent to blow on the child is brilliant! If you haven't had your windows tinted yet, that can also make ALL of you more comfortable in the car. Make sure you're using reflective sun blockers in the windows when the car is parked, and cover the car seat with a white towel or blanket when it's not being used. See if there's a place (maybe a top tether anchor?) where you can securely attach a small battery operated fan so it won't fall or fly off.

Are you the same person from baby center with the same question? If so, it was pointed out there that you lo is turning 2 in september, so other avenues need to be explored first before turning a 1yo ff for summer.

-Krista
DD~5~Monterey & Dreamtime
DS~3~Complete Air 65 LX & Maestro
DN~1~Complete Air LX

Your child won't be 2 until October, right? So that won't help you with the worst of summer heat...and even then I wouldn't turn a 2 year old unless he'd outgrown his convertible.

What seat is he in now?

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Please don't turn little one. I leave my back windows cracked when I have AC on to draw it to the back better.

auto correct hates me

don't turn him! crack the back windows for some air flow (hot air will get sucked out... then, when the whole car cools, you can close your windows.

I would see if you could swing a remote starter... if your windows aren't tinted, get them tinted (check what the law says about how dark they can be first, though)

And then... my favorite summertime rearfacing solutions are as follows

1. Ice water - and I MEAN ice water... pack sippies (or bottles, but he's older, so I assume sippies) with LOADS of ice OR fill 1/2 full and put in the freezer till it's ice, and then add water when the time comes... pack in an insulated bag with an ice pack and make sure he has one at all times (when you are out, most fast food places/convenience stores will let you either for free or for very cheap fill your child's sippy/bottle with ice and water if you run out and it's a great excuse to buy yourself a nice big cold drink (cause then if you are able to fill it yourself they REALLY don't care)

2. Clothing - less is more... even once he's 2, let him be in just his diaper and a shirt or onesie... you can add shorts/bottoms when you get where you are going... heck, let him ride in just his diaper if he's cooler that way (but use plenty of sunblock)

3. WATER - I know I mentioned it before but sweating (and even redness to an extent) is not worrisome as long as he's drinking drinking drinking and it's WATER... if he won't drink plain water (and there are few kids at that age I've seen who won't, but they're there), mix in the TINIEST amount of whatever will get him to drink it to flavor it... Sweating is how the body cools itself and is a sign the body is hydrated... so it's not something to worry about if he's drinking plenty of water.

4. Hot air rises, cool air sinks... aim those vents straight up to the ceiling and blast them... leave them pointed up until winter.

We only live in virginia but the humidity here is special and our temps get that high once summer has really gotten started... my daughter was born in march, my younger son in July (and during an indian summer in PA at that), so I know how it is... with my son at the time our car had no a/c, so we just put all the windows down for air circulation and tried not to go anywhere we didn't have to.

In addition to what everyone else said, may I ask what seat you have him in? I live in south Texas so I know heat. My kids did better rear and forward facing in lower profile seats like the Radian. They allow more air flow around the child than the deep seats, and it seems to make a difference IMO.

You can face your ac vents up to get more air to the back. Starting the car early helps too. I'm in central Texas and it gets HOT here too.

I wouldn't even consider FF my 2yo.

DS is 2 and we are on our way to another record setting summer in Southeast Texas. My car does not have rear air. My car sits in the driveway, not the garage. My son will remain rear facing. When we are out, I cover his car seat with a beach towel. When we get to the car, I start the car, open all the windows, and crank up the air before we even get in the car. I point the vents up at the ceiling to bounce the a/c off and in to the back seat. DS has done two summers rear facing already, we had more days over 100 degrees last summer than we have had in the past and he has done just fine.

If your baby made it through his first summer rear facing, he'll make it through another just find. I live in Austin, TX and we had several months of 100+ degree heat last year. My nanny child has done fine RF through 3 summers.

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He is only 19 months going by your other posts. My son is 18.5 months & there is no way I would turn him FF this early. He does get quite sweaty, but I'll deal with it. I turn the vents to the ceiling & turn it on full blast. You could always get those mini fans & secure it to the vehicle seat somehow. I know it is not recommended, but I'd rather see a baby RF with the fan secured than FF this early. Did you not just buy a new seat so you could keep him RF longer?

ETA: I live in AR so believe me I know the heat very well, plus it is horribly humid here, which makes it feel like a sauna.

How do you go from buying a Multi Tech( which I am ASSuming was to ERF in) to wanting to turn your 19 month old FF? Makes zero sense to me .

Also, they're not really much cooler forward facing. A hot car is a hot car no matter which way you're facing.

A mesh cover helped my son. His mr65 cover was so hot, but switching to a mesh rn did the trick.

I did just buy a new seat but my husband is pressuring me to ff him for the summer. I'm going to try all your suggestions because I'm uncomfortable with FFing at his age. I think I just needed support from people so I can tell my hubby to shove it about FFing. He was telling me we can ff him for summer and then turn him back rfing when it starts getting cooler. Thanks for your help.

My kids ERFd through Georgia summers and they have not once suffered heat stroke