I turned my 4 year old FF

purplemama

New member
And I'm feeling so guilty about it. She turned 4 in Dec and is 28lbs, not sure how tall but shorter than average. We are on the go all the time now, in and out of my van and I got so sick of having to take snowy, icky wet boots on and off. She's very um, high strung and she'd climb in her seat with boots all full of snow & parking lot ick before I could stop her than freak out about the mess in her seat and on her clothes. It's just so much easier with her FF :eek:. And with all I got going on right now, making even just one thing easier really helps.

I could have RF'd her for years yet she's so tiny. My plan was to RF her through next winter. I really like having her FF, but I feel like I'm compromising her safety. Like I should keep her RF as long as I can simply because she's so tiny. She's been a really poor eater from the get go so I worry her bones aren't as developed as they should be.
IDK, just feeling like a crappy parent because I turned her for convenience instead of maxing out the limits of her seat. :(
 
ADS

1mommy

New member
4 years old is the NHTSA recommendation for FF, and very safe. Would she be safER RF? But would you be less safe driving listening to her freak out? A happy mommy= a safer mommy, and as long as you have her properly restrained with a top tether shes still very safe. You do the best you can in life, no one is perfect and we all have to make choices and I don't think anyone would judge you for turning your 4 year old around, so take a deep breath, give yourself a pat on the back (and a glass of wine) for still keeping her safe in the car and try to move on :)
 
Congratulations on making it to 4 years RF! I know the recommendation is to max out the seat limits. My 5yo could technically probably be RF in some seats until she's 7 or so. But if you look at the bigger safety picture... At some point, occasionally the stress and headache and mad mommy factor makes me a potentially unsafe driver. And at that point it may be safer to turn someone who is definitely old enough and developed enough FF so that I can drive happily, without that distracting steam cloud over my head. I also have a couple of pretty intense kids, and the ensuing storm every time they get in the car and blow up over whatever it is that's making THEM nuts can make it a pretty difficult drive. If FF her is eliminating some of that, then I think this is a perfectly reasonable time to do it.

Hope that helps! :)
 
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Dorothy

New member
You rfed for FOUR YEARS! At this point, it works better for you to ff. There's nothing wrong with that. :)
 

bnsnyde

New member
OMG I can only imagine the boots and mud issue. At age 4, I'd say you made a good choice for a sane mama and a safe kid, as well.

My 1.5-year-old weighs more than her and is 95% for height. She won't get to RF to 4, that's for sure. Maybe to 3 IF I have the right seat. But I'd probably pull her boots off each time, yep. Not looking forward to it. Though, I keep them in the stroller a long time anyway. It helps some.
 

StillThankful

New member
She's been a really poor eater from the get go so I worry her bones aren't as developed as they should be.
(

I applaud your achievement:bow:! I didn't make it 4 with either of my DDs. I FF'ed then Rf'ed then ff'ed again during the years.

On another note, despite her petite frame, her skeletal structure is the same as any other 4 year old.
 

CMeMeC

New member
And I'm feeling so guilty about it. She turned 4 in Dec and is 28lbs, not sure how tall but shorter than average. We are on the go all the time now, in and out of my van and I got so sick of having to take snowy, icky wet boots on and off. She's very um, high strung and she'd climb in her seat with boots all full of snow & parking lot ick before I could stop her than freak out about the mess in her seat and on her clothes. It's just so much easier with her FF :eek:. And with all I got going on right now, making even just one thing easier really helps.

I could have RF'd her for years yet she's so tiny. My plan was to RF her through next winter. I really like having her FF, but I feel like I'm compromising her safety. Like I should keep her RF as long as I can simply because she's so tiny. She's been a really poor eater from the get go so I worry her bones aren't as developed as they should be.
IDK, just feeling like a crappy parent because I turned her for convenience instead of maxing out the limits of her seat. :(

My kid also turned 4 in December. He maxed out my seat about a year ago, just over 3. Don't feel bad, you did a great job, but I do understand. I felt guilty for not buying him a seat with higher limits to rear face longer. We do the best we can and rear facing to 4 is awesome!
 

jwilliams

New member
I turned my oldest at 4y1m even though she could have been RF for another 6-9 months. Winter boots were my reason too, plus having two other RF kids to deal with, and also she has crazy long legs and was in a very upright Radian in a very small car. Things were getting a bit pretzel-y!

No one should feel bad about turning at 4! It's good enough for the Swedes ;)
 

jacqui276

New member
You did great making it beyond 4 years rear facing! I wish that I could shrink my kid down so that he could rear face to 4.
 

sunflower

New member
That's great! Most people here are in boosters at that age! I just turned DS, age 5 FF. He's tiny He was going in with boots more often than I liked, and he was in the third row! He's wanted to for a while, but I needed to be able to make that work with the seat combinations in the car.
 

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