Should I turn her?

Sanna just turned 3. She's about 36 inches, 26 lbs, and all leg. So she isn't close to outgrowing her Marathon rearfacing.

But, today she asked to "face the other way." Getting her in and out and buckled has been getting more challenging. In fact, it's kind of been driving me crazy. Her legs are just in the way.

I'm thinking of moving Karl (4 months) into his convertible because he has been hating the car and carrying him in it is killing my back.

So, if we flip Sanna, hopefully she can go in the center, and he can go outboard which will keep a seat open in the back. There is no way that two rearfacing convertibles (either two MAs or one MA and one RA) will work next to each other.

I'm torn. I think I might give to a week long trial run.

What do you think?

Wow, she is all leg, isn't she? I ignore the first request. They tend to forget about it. Maybe buy a true fit, to give her more leg room?

She reminds me of papoos's girl, leg wise.

I'd say tell her you want her to get a little bigger. Once she is around 30lbs I'd be ok with flipping her around.

I'd probably try to deflect...you know what will work best woth your kid. Bribery woudl work with mine, lol..some new soft toy for the car.
Or else, give her a specific time, like once summer hits (and the roads get better) if you want.
Personally, I woud not give in at this point..I finally have a tiny child, and I'm considering it a gift, lol, that he will be able to RF a really long time.

Under 30 lbs I'm just not comfortable FF. She's just a peanut.

There are seats that offer more leg room, I'd suggest you look into them. Papooses can give you some tips on dealing with long legs.

Only 26 pounds? No. I'd ignore the first request. If she brings it up again I go into defense mode. Maybe a different seat to make her more comfortable.

I'd try very hard to get her to 30 pounds and only flip her if it was causing her serious distress or discomfort.

I should say that the carseat has never been a battle, so I was kind of surprised when she asked. Leaving her as is won't be an issue for her in terms of comfort. She just keeps kicking me when I'm trying to get her harness tight because there is just so much leg there. She may or may not mention it again, but I don't think it will really be an issue in terms of compliance.

I doubt the True Fit would work since we have long buckle stalks and (slightly) forward of the bight seatbelts. Besides, we have two Marathons and a Roundabout for two kids in one car. I can't justify getting another seat.

I took both seats out today to vacuum (which was so incredibly necessary, gah the raisins! the sand! the unidentified bits! yuck). So, now we are trying to put the Roundabout in for Karl, and Sanna's seat will just go back as is, only cleaner.

It's funny to think of 26 pounds at 3 years being called small. She is back on the growth chart for the first time in years!

I've been fielding "turning around the other way" requests and questions lately too. My girl's a peanut too. We don't have the leg room issue though, as she's just as short as she is skinny for a 39 month old. I just tell her that it's soooo much safer and that when she gets a bit bigger we can turn her around. I have a 7 year old and she asks about her facing "front-ways". I explain that she's just too big to ride backwards and that Mommy wishes she could ride backwards too because it's so safe. That pretty much ends it, but we do have the same conversation a few times a week. So far, she doesn't fuss or whine and the conversation is done once we are on the road. It seems like she could be RF'ing till Kindy, lol. I feel like we'll easily make it until age 4, and at that point I'm toying with the idea, regardless of whether she's made it to 30lbs (and I doubt she will) of turning her then anyway. I'm not ready to cross that bridge yet, so I'll just deal with it when the time comes.

Is the keyfit a 30? I know Jen wants one!

I'd probably let it go for now, but if she persists, I would turn her. At three years old, she's more than safe enough, regardless of size. If you can fit her center and him outboard RF, go for it. The biggest RF safety benefit coems from side impacts anyway, the benefit in frontal crashes at that age is really not that great. If you can tether it FF in the middle, and she persists with asking, then I would turn her and not worry about it.

It is a Keyfit30. I might pass it on if the convertible thing works out, and I can get myself to the UPS store.

We put the Marathon back in rearfacing partly out of laziness. Dusk on Sunday night in the cold is not the best time to figure out a new installation. Plus I'd need to find the HUGS.

We do have 2 tether anchors for when we need them.

At 26 lbs I would get at true fit. I've thought about it myself but Elizabeth is 31-32 lbs so I'm can't justify it as much as you can.

Splash said:

The biggest RF safety benefit coems from side impacts anyway, the benefit in frontal crashes at that age is really not that great.

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I disagree. While the benefits of rearfacing in a frontal crash are not as great at 3 as they are at a year, they still provide a large step up in safety from forward facing. Internal decapitation is not as large of a threat, but a rearfacing seat is still going to cradle the head and neck better and reduce the risk of overextension in a crash and the injuries/pain that can result.


OP, what about selling one of your marathons for a True Fit? The True Fit really does offer a lot more leg room and I like it much better as a FFing seat than the Marathon.

I think it was a fleeting question... tell her an age you'll be okay with it... like 4yrs... and see if she stops asking.

DD2 asked to ride in DD1's regent this past week and threw a fit when I said no. I figured it was leg room issue (Como) so I put her in the Radian (still RF) for a few days. She soon asked to go back into her Como as the "pillows" (wings) on mommy's car seat were too hard. She hasn't asked again.

The point of the little story is it may just be she wants a change or it is a fleeting question. I wouldn't turn her until she was at least 30 lbs and more persistant in the request.

Splash said:

Is the keyfit a 30? I know Jen wants one!

I'd probably let it go for now, but if she persists, I would turn her. At three years old, she's more than safe enough, regardless of size. If you can fit her center and him outboard RF, go for it. The biggest RF safety benefit coems from side impacts anyway, the benefit in frontal crashes at that age is really not that great. If you can tether it FF in the middle, and she persists with asking, then I would turn her and not worry about it.

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I'm with Splash. It's not worth frustrating the kid at this age. There is also value of kids knowing their parents take their desires into account.

But yes, ignore the first request and only if she persists.

I'm in the same boat. My daughter is a little older, but is just around 25 lbs. I know many people on here disagree, but I will be turning her this spring at just about 4 years old and 25 lbs.

The battles are too much. I can't cram her legs in (she is 40" but only a 12.5" torso....so she is ALL legs). she just doesn't fit and is miserable. I bought a Radian to help with the leg issues but she still complains.

So at that age, while it's safer, I'm taking her opinion into consideration. I ignored the first few requests, but after a month of her constantly asking, we made a deal that when the "snow is all gone" she can turn forward facing.

It's a parental decision. Do your research and make your decision. And then let it go. You've done great this long. IF you go longer, great! If not, don't beat yourself up. American seats just aren't made to rear face huge tall leggy older kids. Swedish seats? Yes, they are made for rear facing 4-6 year olds (which is why they RF so long there). But American seats? No way am I cramming a 6 year old in an American seat. Not multiple times per day

I tried waiting to 30 lbs but it's not happening. That will be years away. Atleast age 7. With an American seat, it's not happening.

So do what you need to do. Your child is perfectly safe at this age either way. My personal opinion is that age matters, not weight. I do not honestly believe a 32 lb 18 month old is safer FFing than a 25 lb 4 year old and that the 4 year old should remain RFing. I just don't buy that. The neck bones begin to harden and fuse around age 3-6. Not age 3-6 AND 35 lbs. I don't believe there are any statistics on weight mattering with hardening and fusing of the bones. Or that smaller OLDER kids are at any more risk than heavier kids. I just don't understand why the amount of body fat a child has will determine if they are safe or unsafe FFing. Why would a 33 lb 4 year old be "perfectly safe" FFing but a 25 lb 4 year old wouldn't? They have the same bone density and development. One just happens to have body fat. My child's bones are the same size as everyone else her age. And the same development and hardness. Her not having body fat has nothing to do with safety FFing VS Rfing (boy am I gonna get flamed for this) So I'm all about age. And one you are past age 3 1/2 or so, I am fine with turning them, regardless of their weight.

Actually, a small four year is safer than a large four year old. Charlie is 37-38 pounds at 3.5, he has 38ish pounds to restrain with that seat and his tiny body. Your daughter only has to face the force of 25 pounds.

Size doesn't matter as long as they are over the minimum and under the maximum. Age is the only thing that matters in a child with typical development. Sanna is very small, way smaller than Charlie, but she's just as safe as Charlie was at that age, possibly safer because she's ten pounds lighter.

BW1426 said:

I disagree. While the benefits of rearfacing in a frontal crash are not as great at 3 as they are at a year, they still provide a large step up in safety from forward facing. Internal decapitation is not as large of a threat, but a rearfacing seat is still going to cradle the head and neck better and reduce the risk of overextension in a crash and the injuries/pain that can result.

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I'm sure Splash was referencing the big RF study where RF was not statistically significantly safer than FF in frontal crashes.
Not that I disagree with you, of course :thumbsup:

But holy moly, I remember trying to fold Bitsy up to go RF in our Prius and she's like Sanna, pure leg, and it was a PAIN to do it, so I really sympathize with the OP on this one

Honestly, if she asks again, I'd just turn her ff'ing making sure to top tether her seat, and have no second thoughts. She's over 3yrs old even if she's only 25lbs... The time period where erf'ing offers the biggest benefits has been achieved. I wouldn't fight with a 3yr old over rf'ing vs. ff'ing when in most collisions the actual increase in protection isn't going to be that monumental at her age.

I'm in 100% agreement with what Fyrfightermomma said - age is more important than weight when it comes to development of the spinal column.

I think with kids you have to pick your battles, and at 3yrs old I don't think rf'ing vs. ff'ing is worth fighting. I'm not sure how many of you would remember it, but when I had my dd rf'ing for the month before she turned 4 right when the True Fit arrived in Canada, I was very clear in my head and mentioned it on here as well that had she asked to be ff'ing again, I would've done it with no hesitation. I'd rather have her appropriately restrained in a way that she's happy, than have her resenting the carseat and more likely to fight decisions on car safety in the future. :twocents: (Now when we're talking a child who isn't old enough to reason, that's different... but at 4yrs old my dd was fully able to reason and communicate what she liked/didn't like.)

My 4y7m old is asking to be FFing. It is starting to look a tad cramped. He had a hard time on our 5 hour drive to MiMi's. I told him that he had to weigh 33lbs and then we could switch him. We weighed him and he weighed 29lbs. He gained another pound! :thumbsup: So, I imagine by summer if he keeps gaining, he'll be 33lbs and 5yo. It will be time to turn him.