Sun Protection in the Car & carseat question

[MaggieR]

I decided to keep my 2.5 year old son (about 26lbs) son rear-facing in the Britax Boulevard, in my Subaru Legacy. He is located behind the front passenger-side seat. His legs are starting to fold over in this position, and he is struggling to sit down every.single.time.we.go.anywhere. He is also complaining of the sun being in his eyes from the rear windshield. My state 'does not allow' tinted windows in my kind of car, I have been told (i could probably get tinting, knowing that I could potentially get pulled over sometime). I am fearful that keeping him in this position gains me one area of safety, but causes him potential future damage to his eyes or skin d/t sun exposure in this position. I have been thinking about turning him around to forward-facing in his current carseat to the middle position. He would be out of the sun's rays in that position.
Can you please offer some advice re: the sun, turning him around, and placement? If I do turn him around, the middle is the safest, correct? Thanks!

 

[gsdguenter]

Have you tried offering him sunglasses? You could also put that cling on tint stuff that fivers the window (not the ones that roll up and down, but the ones that stick to the glass, kwim).

 

[abigaylebelle]

My booster child still gets the sun on him/in his eyes depending on direction of travel and time of day. So I don't know that forward facing will make a difference really.

Can you install his seat in the center position? I found that the sun was on the kid a lot less there. I do drive a wagon though

 

[nannykates]

A lower profile seat could help.

 

[MotoMommaNH]

the Britax seats offer a bunch less leg room than some of the other seats out there (i.e. Radian, Maxi Cosi Pria, Peg Perego etc) so that unfortunately is a characteristic of the seat.

Also with the sun...I too thought it would improve with turning the seat around. It didn't. We just learned to wear sunglasses in the car

Hope that helps make your decision!

 

[MaggieR]

Thanks for the responses - I will have to get the clings. Good idea.
My concern is that moving him to the middle seat, rear-facing will be even less enticing & more challenging to get him to sit down. As it is, I'm practically forcing him to sit down in the current set up every single time. He really can't see anything out the windows (unlike my husband's car, where he's forward facing, can see a lot, and gets in without any hassle at all).
How can I find out what lower profile seats would fit better?
What is the risk of turning a 2.5 yo, about 26 lb kid around to forward facing in the middle position of the car?

 

[creideamh]

My kiddo hated the Britax convertibles a bit before age 2 (uber long legs.) She LOVES other seats RF, though.
There will still be sun in the middle FF when you're driving into it, just like there will be sun RF when you're driving away from it, KWIM?
DD wears sunglasses, turns her head, we have the Britax cling shades for the side window, and I try not to drive at dawn/dusk.
Keep in mind that statistically, the middle seat is about 40% safer than outboard, but RF is 500% safer than FF. FF at age 2.5 is not the best protection, but it isn't The Worst Thing Ever.

 

[Kel]

I just received 2, 2 packs of the britax window clings this week. They cling. They've been up 5 days are are working well. They say they block 30% of UV rays. Those, plus a pair of sunglasses might help.

 

[3 ladybugs]

The window tint thing may be a red herring. My state also doesn't allow for it (New Jersey) however I had my windows tinted in my car before I moved to this state. At first they wanted me to remove said tint and I said "__ NO!!!" So I contacted my state legislature because I have a history of pre-pre-cancerous moles. He found this little known state law, that for a medical need, you can have tint. I now have a piece of paper for my car that says I can have tint on my car. No one has EVER questioning me on it though except for the first time I had the car inspected. Now they don't even question me there. I have had that car in this state since 2005.

Most dermatologist will tell people regardless of skin tones, that they shouldn't be in the sun that much. So I don't think you would have a hard time getting a note from one saying that you have a medical need for this. If you are wanting to, you can fight the tinting (assuming you would prefer to go that way). It took me about 2-3 weeks to fight my case. I had a dermatologist already who was more then happy to sign that I had a medical need for tint. The tint that I was approved for was actually higher (darker) then what I have on my car too.

Just thought I would throw that out there if you think there is nothing you can do. There are things you can do and I did it even here in New Jersey. You just need to talk to the right person.

 

[cookie123]

I've ordered the same clings from Amazon. I hope they help a bit. Griffin has started wearing a hat in the car. I'm hoping to train him in so when he's bigger he'll keep one on to help shade his eyes!

 

[MotoMommaNH]

Thanks for the responses - I will have to get the clings. Good idea.
My concern is that moving him to the middle seat, rear-facing will be even less enticing & more challenging to get him to sit down. As it is, I'm practically forcing him to sit down in the current set up every single time. He really can't see anything out the windows (unlike my husband's car, where he's forward facing, can see a lot, and gets in without any hassle at all).
How can I find out what lower profile seats would fit better?
What is the risk of turning a 2.5 yo, about 26 lb kid around to forward facing in the middle position of the car?

Any reason why he can't RF in Daddy's car? Not sure if it would make a difference at this point but maybe it's worth trying.

 

[soph's mom]

I wouldn't turn him... My daughter puts her blanket over her eyes if the sun hits them... Another option is the retractable sunshades so you don't have to have them open all the time...