Question Rear Facing Car Seats

RUSS · May 19, 2009

When you install a rear facing car seat, must it touch the back of the seat? I bought a Britax Blvd and my child is 13 months but tall for his age and I want to keep him rear facing as long as possible. So, I would like to install the seat closer to the front of the back seat with a couple of inchs between the car seat and the back of the seat giving him more leg room. Is this possible or must the seat be pushed up against the back of the seat?

vonfirmath · May 19, 2009

I'm not sure you could get a good install without touching the back of the seat. On both convertibles I've installed, I've had to really jam it into the seat in order to get a good install.

Stresch · May 19, 2009

Once the seat is tightly installed, it will be touching the seatback. You can start it further away. In fact, that is often recommended to get the seat more upright. However, tightening the belts will pull it up against the backseat.

I'm not sure if there is much you can do to increase legroom.

Calleiah · May 19, 2009

Welcome to ERF (extended rear facing). My little girl is very tall, about 40 inches tall and has been for a good six months. I was late learning about ERF and didnt turn her back rear facing till she turned 2. Even though a child is tall, it's ok for a kids legs to be tucked up indian style, frogged, or propped on the seat in front of them. Kids dont get uncomfortable the same way an adult would, so it's not really a concern. If you look around our forums a bit, you'll see some pretty big kids (even 4 year olds!) still rear facing with their legs comfortably crossed and tucked up. Theres a saying on this forum "Better a broken leg than a broken neck!". Pretty sure you'll hear from a lot of certified techs that leg injuries from rear facing are statistically non-existant.

Good luck with ERF!

ketchupqueen · May 19, 2009

If you want more leg room, you can 1) try to install more reclined (closer to a 45 than a 30 degree angle; it must be between those parameters, but more reclined will give you more leg room) or 2) get a different seat. There are seats that offer a LOT more leg room than the Boulevard available.

kaysmom · May 19, 2009

ketchupqueen said:
If you want more leg room, you can 1) try to install more reclined (closer to a 45 than a 30 degree angle; it must be between those parameters, but more reclined will give you more leg room) or 2) get a different seat. There are seats that offer a LOT more leg room than the Boulevard available.

I agree with what ketchupqueen said...if you are thinking of a new seat you could look at the First Years True Fit, Sunshine Kids Radian, or the very new Graco MyRide65. All have LOTS of leg room for the taller rear facers! But, there is nothing wrong with your child having their legs touching the seat back.

Russ · May 19, 2009

Thank you everyone for your quick replies

Question Rear Facing Car Seats

RUSS

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vonfirmath

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Stresch

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Calleiah

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ketchupqueen

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kaysmom

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Russ

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