Car seat wwyd?

[leahb12]

So DS2 is a big kid. He's about 37in and 32lbs at not quite 21 months. He's outgrown the rear facing limits for both his car seat and DS1's seat. We have 2 evenflo seats that were not cheap. I didn't think too much about him outgrowing the RFing limits early since it was never an issue with DS1. We really don't want to spend more money on another car seat to keep him RFing, but I'm not sure what to do. What's safer, him being too tall in a RFing position or turning him around (which makes me nervous)? Ugh, I'm not sure what to do. What do you all think?

[luvboston]

I am a big advocate of rear facing if it was my kid I would leave him rf until he is 24 mos. the other thing you could do is contact your police dept if they do car seat checks and ask their technicians opinion. Also on the cloth diapering board there is a woman who is a certified car seat tech you could post and ask.

[leahb12]

Thanks luvboston! Those are good suggestions. I'm also pretty big on keeping kids RFing. DS1 was close to 3 when I turned him. He isn't a big kid, so I didn't think we'd have this problem with DS2.

[TJ]

Also kmc84 knows a ton about car seats.

[kmc84]

The benefits to rear facing beyond the age of two are huge! I'd do everything in my power to get him another seat to keep him rear facing longer.

For your question- he can not remain rear facing if he had exceeded the limits. For all we know, the limits are what they are because beyond the limits didn't pass crash testing. The reason I would buy a new seat to keep him rear facing is that a study by the NHTSA found that forward facing a child under the age of 24 months leaves them at a 532% greater chance of head/neck/spine injuries than their rear facing peers. The benefits to rearfacing continue greatly until age 4 (and beyond!) becsuse spinal ossification is established enough to provide head/neck/spine protection. The NHTSA study didn't look at injuries beyond 23 months, so unfortunately there isn't a number I can quote.

The Graco Milestone will rearface him until 40 pounds. There are seats that will rearface to higher weights also, but they are pricey. The Milestone is nice because it can be used as a high back booster when he outgrows the harness forward facing.

I have to run out of the house for a little bit, but I'm happy to answer questions

Here is a review of the Milestone csftl.org/graco-milestone-review/

[leahb12]

Thank you kmc84! The problem we have with him is his height. Do you know any seats at a reasonable price that have height limits over 37in, which is what he is now?

[leahb12]

Oh duh, I can read. Thanks for the link!