Turning a 4.5 year old back to RF

In my anxiety over the crappy recent crash test results of the Mazda 5, I thought through all my options. None were good. Trade in a 6 month old vehicle? For what? We need this vehicle to fit our kids and our garage. Nothing else fits the bill. Get a Pinnacle for the large 4.5 yo? Maybe.

The 2.5 yo and the baby on the way can RF for a long time. Nothing on the US market can handle the 4.5 yo height-wise. So I looked at Swedish seats.

The Britax Two Way Elite was the obvious choice, given his height. I talked it up to him. He could ride backwards! He could have a red car seat! He could sit all the way in the back and look right out the window! He was excited, so I ordered it.

Things didn't go quite as smoothly as I hoped. He loved it when he first tried it, until I actually started driving. "Slow DOWN, Mom!" (I was going about 20 mph.) "Another car is about to hit us!" (It was coming to a stop behind us at a red light.)

After a day of that, he announced that he didn't like it. I told him it would stop feeling weird before too long. A couple more days and the complaints got less and less frequent. Then he tells me, "Mom, guess what? I'm not scared in my new car seat anymore. I love it now!"

It's really convenient to have him back there, or at least it will be once we have 3 kids in the car. He's more able to get in and out by himself than the 2yo. And I don't want to put the baby back there. It would not be convenient to have him back there FF.

I'm glad the 2 way elite is working out for you. At least you can always use it for your younger kids later. Sorry about the Mazda 5. I really wanted it too.

Neat! Mine just turned 3 and I had to FF him already. He was at 45 lbs. and we have a Radian. And, he's really, really tall. Doubt anything would fit him! Dad is 6'4".

He has trouble getting into the seat now, though, since I had to put the seatback up and he nose dives! It's pretty awful. But once school starts I he'll hardly be in the car, and when he is he can go in the 2nd row if all sibs are not with me. I keep 8 YO in a harnessed seat so we always have that handy.