Help for Kindergartener STILL rear-facing...

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hello,
Here are the facts. Help me decide what to do by telling me what YOU would do if it were YOUR kiddo.
DD is 5 years old, in Kindergarten, and still rear-facing in a seat we bought before she was born (it's still in date, although not for much longer)! She is 41.5 inches and still has room at the top of the seat (she's not too tall). I weighed her yesterday and she was 38.2 lbs. with light clothing on (so not too heavy, either--the limit is 40 lbs.). We are taking a long road trip this weekend. DH wants to turn her around and/or get her a harnessed booster. Here are my questions: would you turn her even though she's not QUITE at the seat's rear-facing limits? If so, would you just use the convertible seat for now, until it nears expiration, or get a new harnessed booster? And if you would turn her/get a new booster, what would you select? I still have time to run out and purchase something today.
Thanks!
 
ADS

brooksfamily

New member
I would have no problem turning a child with those stats around. I turned my now 5.5 year old with very similar stats, around at age 4. She's even booster trained and rides unharnessed, in a booster with grandparents because they weren't correctly installing car seats in their cars and wouldn't leave them installed. I wouldn't replace the seat if she's still with in the limits of her seat and it isn't expired.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Hi everyone, sorry for taking so long to get back to you. We kept her rear-facing for the trip because it was easier than switching and she doesn't object to being rear-facing still--it's all she knows. She is in a MyRide 65 in one car and a MyRide 70 in the other, I think. She is still about 38 lbs. and between 41-42 inches but plenty of room at the top. If we kept her rear-facing until limits, from my experience with daughter's growth curve, she would likely be at least 6 and in 1st grade before we had to turn her around! She will be 6 in June and the car seats will be 6 years old a few months before that. I believe they are 7-year expirations but I will need to double-check. I never expected to still be using them in kindergarten! I purchased two Nautilus seats from Target at Black Friday prices this morning, but obviously I could wait to turn her still, if I wanted to. My husband thinks it's silly not to turn her right away, but in my city there was an accident just a couple of weeks ago...toddler survived and 5-year-old died because he was in a car seat and she was in a booster. Things like that make me think that I should push her to the upper limits. My 14-year-old reached 40 lbs. at age 2, so this is new for me! :) Thanks for your help!
 

aporthole

Active member
She still has at least an inch of shell above her head in the MyRide? That is quite shocking as most kids will reach the 1” limit by around 37-38”.

If you turned her forward facing in the MyRides, would the top harness position still be above her shoulders?

I would probably return the Nautiluses and put that money toward some nice dedicated boosters.
 

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