Turning at 4

Lenae · Oct 20, 2013

Sassy will be 4 in January. I've always said I wanted to get to 4, but now that it's so close, I'm second guessing myself. She has miles of room in her RXT and her Pria, and she's content RF. I've turned her FF and RF back and forth all summer (terrible AC vents in my car), and right now she's FF in DH's pickup. She doesn't complain either way, regardless of direction. I do wish I could hear her better, she talks so quietly, so when she's RF, I can't hear her. Also, I'm tired of people looking at me like I'm nuts. Most of her preschool classmates ride in backless boosters, one rides in nothing, and one is terribly harnessed. Sassy doesn't care one way or the other, and I guess I shouldn't, but sometimes it bugs me.

Would you turn Sassy? I drive a '00 Chevy Malibu with no advanced safety features and she rides outboard.

cookie123 · Oct 20, 2013

I don't know! I'd be tempted for sure. Especially once the boots and winter coats start. Congrats for rfing so long.

Matthew was also okay with switching back and forth and never complained. He was like 1 lb from the rfing limit at 3.5 so I turned him. Then he stayed there another 6 months. I was annoyed by that!

Syllieann · Oct 20, 2013

I'd leave her rf as long as she's not complaining about it. It sounds like you're feeling peer pressured, but since she's still oblivious to it, may as well have her safer.

thekatie · Oct 20, 2013

J2 is a year and a half away from it, so my opinion might change, but what I've been saying when family nags (ahem, asks) is when he turns 4 (maybe 4.5?), I will ask him how he wants to sit.

I have installed his seats forward in other cars (yes, I know, he's only 2 and the risks are the same in a car he rides in once a year as they are in my car), and he hasn't complained going back to my car. The only time he has ever REALLY complained in my car, actually, was this past weekend. I had his CCO set up for forward on the plane ride home, and since we got in past 10, we were all sick, and I was solo with the kids I didn't want to set it back up for rear facing for the ride home. So I installed it forward in my car (a first). He complained massively, because while he doesn't care in other cars, apparently it's wrong to be forward facing in my car.

newyorkDOC · Oct 20, 2013

I couldn't really give DD or DH a compelling reason to stay RF after 4 so when DD asked the day after her bday, we turned her.

In hindsight, she's a terrible backseat driver.

Phineasmama · Oct 20, 2013

I probably would, but I'm so over it just in general. DD2 is only 2 years old but she's the size of a 4 year old (probably heavier than yours too!) and I wish I could turn her now. Especially with the snow coming :/

agave · Oct 20, 2013

newyorkDOC said:
In hindsight, she's a terrible backseat driver.

DD2 will be 4 next month, she's always getting mad at me for not stopping at stop signs that are behind me.

She's planning on turning forward at 4. We tried FF for a week at 3.5 and it took less than a week to ask to go backwards. She will probably fit RF in her Radian 'till 6.

carseatmama007 · Oct 20, 2013

I turned DD at 4.5yo and I wish I had just left her RF. It's too late now (DH prefers her FF, DD prefers FF, and I'm too lazy to put on the RF boot, take off SS, and rethread the harness). I was "over" RF because I had done it for so long and I wanted to try something new- now FF isn't new & exciting anymore, I find it no more convenient, and DD is not as safe. So it really wasn't worth it, and I should've left her until she didn't fit any longer.

TechnoGranola · Oct 20, 2013

Funny you should mention the quiet voice. TechnoKid was also super quiet when RF. The first thing I noticed when she turned FF was how LOUD she was! OMG, I so wished she still fit RF!

So for peace and quiet, I say keep her RF if she's not complaining!

geekKT · Oct 20, 2013

Would it make you feel better to leave her RF through the winter and then reevaluate? I don't know if there is any measurable safety difference in summer vs winter, but I know that I personally am more wary in the winter, particularly of other drivers. More so than that, it puts a longer deadline on it than 'turn at 4,' which is approaching in a hurry, ya know? More time to think about it.

J will be 4 in April. I don't know if I will turn him immediately at that point. He's getting tall, but if he still fits, I'll likely leave him a few months before I ask if he has a preference.

blackberry · Oct 20, 2013

My original goal was 2, then I told my self 2.5. When DD turned 3 I decided to go to as close to 4 as possible. So here we are now and DD turned 4 in August and she is still RFing. She is FFing in DH's car because she is at the max weight for the seat. She likes says she likes it but is a horrible traveler when FFing.
Most 4 year olds around here are in backless boosters also. DD is probably the only one in my town in a harness, and definitely the only one RFing. I get lots of looks and people telling me I need to turn her. I don't let that bother me.
In the mean time I have a new Frontier CT in my basement waiting to be used.

Dorothy · Oct 21, 2013

I feel your pain in making this decision! My goal was 4, but I was so very over fighting with the Radian in my pickup. It was a big, angst-ridden decision for me, but we went ahead and turned DS ffing. (He'll be 4 after the first of the year.) Its been a week now, and part of me still wishes I would have held out through winter. DS is doing great, even sleeping well ffing. And it's so funny listening to him narrate our drives. He sees all the same things, but because he's seeing them from a different perspective they seem new to him. Cracks me up!

Good luck making your decision!

Posted using the app.

MommaMia · Oct 21, 2013

Dorothy said:
I feel your pain in making this decision! My goal was 4, but I was so very over fighting with the Radian in my pickup. It was a big, angst-ridden decision for me, but we went ahead and turned DS ffing. (He'll be 4 after the first of the year.) Its been a week now, and part of me still wishes I would have held out through winter. DS is doing great, even sleeping well ffing. And it's so funny listening to him narrate our drives. He sees all the same things, but because he's seeing them from a different perspective they seem new to him. Cracks me up! Good luck making your decision! Posted using the app. Posted using the app.

Same situation. Turned last week. Less than 3 months from 4. Proud we made it to this point, but still wishing we'd made it through the winter.

babyherder · Oct 21, 2013

agave said:
DD2 will be 4 next month, she's always getting mad at me for not stopping at stop signs that are behind me.

:ROTFLMAO: My nanny girls are 2 and 4. One is ff (outgrew the largest rf seat I have) and one is rf. The ff one reminds me to stop at red lights and "don't hit those kids!" The rf one is forever saying "why did we stop? Go! Now!" Both of them complain that I'm either going too fast or too slow. Sheesh.

OP, I wouldn't turn at 4 just because your dd is 4. Once my nanny girl turned 4 I briefly thought about turning her, decided it would be wasted effort to uninstall and reinstall seats that would make her less (although still very) safe, and left things be until she hit between 38 and 39 lbs in a 40lb limit seat.

NVMBR02 · Oct 21, 2013

I would, but I also was just done with RFing by the time dd2 was 4.

A few months before she 4 we started FFing here and there. That lasted about a week before I just switched her FFing. Now she is 4 years 2 months and mostly FFing, though she did ride Rfing the other day. She prefers FFing and I prefer it too, especially in the wintertime.

If you don't mind her Rfing and she doesn't mind Rfing then I would just keep her Rfing.

trippsmom · Oct 21, 2013

Y'all have me feeling normal. Dd1 will be 4 on 11/20. She's asked to ff recently. I told her we would talk about it after her birthday. She has loads of room rf in her xtsl. Her brother was ff by now, but he didn't fit rf anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm no help, but I totally know how you feel.

Lemonade · Oct 21, 2013

I would turn her but I turned DD at 24m because I was so over it. So you've made it twice as long.

StillThankful · Oct 21, 2013

I turned DD1 at 2, then re rf until 4.
I turned DD2 at 3.9.

I was 100% comfortable turning them though. I wouldn't turn her until you were 100% ready to do so. I think there are concerns about FFing but as the child gets older, the gap of danger narrows. If you have reasonable concerns, then keep her Rfing. Seems like she still likes it. If you find yourself having irrational fears, (the endless "what ifs") then you have to figure out from where those fears are coming.

Keep us posted.

Jan06twinmom · Oct 21, 2013

Lenae said:
Sassy will be 4 in January. I've always said I wanted to get to 4, but now that it's so close, I'm second guessing myself. She has miles of room in her RXT and her Pria, and she's content RF. I've turned her FF and RF back and forth all summer (terrible AC vents in my car), and right now she's FF in DH's pickup. She doesn't complain either way, regardless of direction. I do wish I could hear her better, she talks so quietly, so when she's RF, I can't hear her. Also, I'm tired of people looking at me like I'm nuts. Most of her preschool classmates ride in backless boosters, one rides in nothing, and one is terribly harnessed. Sassy doesn't care one way or the other, and I guess I shouldn't, but sometimes it bugs me.

Would you turn Sassy? I drive a '00 Chevy Malibu with no advanced safety features and she rides outboard.

I would ask Sassy's opinion on the matter and use that to make a decision. At 4yo, I was comfortable putting my DD forward-facing when we needed to. However, she expressed a strong preference for rear-facing even though she was forward-facing in the nanny car (which had the old Evenflo Triumph with a 30lb rf limit). So I kept her rf in our cars until she hit the rf limit of our vehicles.

sb518 · Oct 21, 2013

I just remember muddy boots and RFing, and that makes me want to say I would turn her.

Turning at 4

Active member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

Forum Ambassador

New member

New member

New member

New member

Well-known member

New member

CPST Instructor

New member

New member

New member

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics