How can I make turing my 19mos. old RF again painless?

Kearstenn

New member
OK...
Today's the day. I had ds front facing, but we're turing him back around today. Any suggestions on making it fun for him? He'll be looking at his older brother in the 3rd row again, so maybe that will help! We're headed out for a 3.5 hour drive tomorrow, so he will be tested!:eek:
 
ADS

CRS

Senior Community Member
I didn't do anything special when I turned my eldest back to rear-facing. Didn't make a big deal about it. I'm the mum, I make the decisions so tough bickies for him. He got a bit whingy for a few car rides - ever since then he's been fine (a year later now). Just take it in your stride and go with the flow! Give him a few soft toys to play with, maybe a book or something and just act like everything is normal :)
 

Melizerd

New member
If they can sense your anxiety over it then it will more likely be a problem then if you're normal and happy about it :D

3.5 hours isn't really that bad either, hopefully there will be a nap involved.
 

Murphy's Law

New member
I first had my dd FF at 16 months and turned her back RF at 19 months. She was completely fine with it and as she got older and able to talk more, told me she actually preferred to RF.

It probably won't be a big deal at all.
 

aisraeltax

New member
I have never had my son FF'ing but i just want to say good for you! im sure you are probably facing some opposition from others with this.

I dont think my son minds RF'ing but i think we see advantages to it other than safety (when i give him a book or a stuffed animal, he doesnt drop them like he would FF'ing).

I put a mirror on the headrest so i can see what he's doing (sleeping, etc. etc.). do you have captain chairs? i put a tshirt over my chair (thanks for that suggestion from someone here) and the one i have right now (i change every few weeks b/c it gets dirty) is a Life is Good Tshirt and has a cute guy on it hiking, kayaking, etc. etc. He likes to look at that and talks about the "man hiking, etc. etc.".

Have a good trip!
 

christineka

New member
I turned dd ffing at age 2. At age 3 I took the kids somewhere without the baby and told dd she could sit in her little brother's seat. (Her old seat.) She thought it was really neat. Later I bought her a pink scenera. She loves the pink seat! When she got it in she told me she could see out the window. She likes looking at her siblings too.

I'd just play up how fun it will be to sit backwards.

Christine
 

sb518

New member
When I turned my 18mo niece around after 6 months of FF'ing, I opened the car door and she saw the seat and said "uh oh!" and pointed to it. I put her in it and she LOVED it!!! She still does to this day (1 year later). No "preparing" or anything.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Just do it. My cousin is 3.5 yo and 25#. She has been ffing in her parent's car since she turned one(that I know of, she lived in a different state before that)She's never ridden ffing with me. I just put her in and go. She's never showed any reaction at all.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
We didn't do anything special either. DD1 was FFing at 11.5 months and I turned her back around at ~18 months. She never even said anything. At the time we were driving my mom's truck, so she was up front with me and she was so happy pointing things out to me. She still prefers RF.
 

Mommy2Marcus

New member
I to turned my DS FF at 13 months & then back around at 16 months with NO fuss! I also want to add that I turned him around & then drove 3.5 hours in a car with NO fuss or any issues. He had been FF for awhile, but didn't make the least little bit of fuss considering I turned his CS right before we left! Hehe!

I also want to add that when you turn your 19 month old around you do NOT need the full 45 degree angle. You can install her more upright, anywhere between 30-45 degrees. That will make RF for her ALOT better. The way to get a more upright install is that when you're tightening the belt to push down where her feet go!

I also want to say Great Job turning her back RF! Good Luck with the 3.5 hour drive! I make it ALL the time with a RF toddler & he sleeps MOST of the way there & back!
 

skipspin

New member
You probably won't have a problem.
I turned my DD back at 15 months (she went FF at 12 months) and she didn't bat an eye. I also rear-face a 2 year old I watch sometimes (she has been FFing since 15/16 months in her mom's van) and she looked at me funny once, but never seemed to mind being backwards at all.

If she asks you could just say it's safer and you thought it might be more comfy for her feet to have a foot-rest!
 

PHaley

New member
A couple weeks ago we took my dc boy out, we usually car pool and he rides with his mom but he's been begging to go w/ us so I threw dgd1 spare RA in rf next to her and he just got in put his feet up and never made any fuss. He is very particular and fusses when I adjust his seat in his moms car so maybe it was the different car or seat but he was fine. Btw he's 22 mos and has been ff since he outgrew his snugride around 10/11 mos old! I just asked him if he was ready to go, dropped him in and said ok now your ready I'm going to get my seat belt on & we'll go...

Good luck, congrats, and safe trip.
 

TerisBoys

Well-known member
My younger two boys both went back and forth RF to FF depending on which vehicle they were in from 13mo to about 3yo. No fuss. And like the others said, they seemed to prefer RF.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Adding to the list of people who turned an older kid back rf'ing. My dd was ff'ing from 18mos to 30mos. When I turned her back rf'ing, she was hesitant her first ride - but she was also 2.5yrs old and doesn't like change. We made it a short trip to mcdonald's and she very quickly forgot. :eek:

She never complained or showed any nervousness about it after that. She rf'ed until 34mos when she hit the weight limit, and even though that was a year ago, she still sometimes calls ff'ing "riding backwards." I asked her the other day if she'd like to ride the same way as her little brother if we had a different seat and she gave a very enthusiastic yes. Unfortunately we don't have any seats with limits above 30lbs in Canada, otherwise she'd still fit for a short while longer. I had asked her mostly out of curiousity since she's very verbal and still remembers rf'ing. :thumbsup:

I took my friend and her almost 2yr old to the park once and her dd still fit in ds's SS1. She was initially unsure, but her mom was positive about it and everything went just fine. (Petite girl, my ds had a bit less growing room in the SS1 at 11mos then the almost 2yr old did. :p)

I hope today went smoothly for you all. :D
 

fyrfightermomma

New member
Just another vote for it probably won't be an issue at this age :) Good for you though!

Our oldest was FF at 11 months. She forward faced until 2 years 2 months. I then turned her back rear facing. Even at that age not a peep about it. She didn't seem to know the difference. She's ridden a few times forward facing but does not really enjoy it.

I also like the fact they can't drop "loveys" or soft toys or books :)
 

MommyBoha

New member
How did today go? I FF my dd at 12 months, then RFd her again at 18 months and she is MUCH happier. she loves RF and hated being FF. She is now almost 29 months and still loves it. It helps that her and her brother can see other other(and annoy each other)
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
This is a fun game that might help :)

Here's how our experiment worked if anyone is interested....
  • Leila helped uninstall the Wizard, then we cleaned it together singing "whistle while you work"
  • Gramma & Grampa read the manual with her & practiced buckling her in
  • We all sat on the floor ready to go for an imaginary ride - Gramma driving, Grampa front passenger, Mama behind Gramma & Leila FF behind Grampa
  • Everyone used their fantasy belts, started the imaginary engine & did some fantasy left & right turns, up over hills, etc.
  • *SCREAMS* "A deer is in the road!" *BREAKS*
  • Everyone fell forward - I flipped Leila's FF carseat forward so her face was on the ground
  • At first this was hilarious to her, but I left it like that with the weight on her while we all pretended she was seriously hurt & needed medical attention - we pried her out, laid her down & did fantasy ER care to her head, neck & back {we could tell she was taking this seriously, but not too seriously if you know what I mean?}
  • We got back in our imaginary vehicle just like before except that now Leila was RF ... driving, driving down & up & all around our fantasy town & out comes into the imaginary road a little kid after a ball! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! *BREAKS*
  • We all fall forward & I flip Leila's carseat backwards so she's looking up at the ceiling - we all smile & sigh with relief because she's safe ... she claps & runs around "I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe!" :p
  • Last, but not least, she gets her surprise new Boulevard box to open & she helps us install that in Mama's car RF then helps us install the Wizard in Gramma's car RF ... we're all riding happily ever after, The End
 

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