My son is 6 months old on monday and im just wondering what age i turn his car seat from rear facing to forward facing
At what age do you change the car seat from rear facing to forward facing?
The legal minimum is both 12 months AND 20 lbs. The safest thing to do is to remain rear facing to the rear facing limit of your child's convertible seat (which will be 30, 33, or 35 lbs depending on model).
From: http://www.carseat.org/
Why is facing rearward so important?
Babies have heavy heads and fragile necks. The neck bones are soft, and the ligaments are stretchy. If the baby is facing forward in a frontal crash (the most common and most severe type of crash), the body is held back by the straps, but the head is not. The head is thrust forward, stretching the neck. Older children and adults wearing safety belts may end up with temporary neck injuries. But a baby's neck bones are soft and actually separate during a crash, and the spinal cord can tear. It's like yanking an electrical plug out of a socket by the cord and breaking the wires.
In contrast, when a baby rides facing rearward, the whole body--head, neck, and torso--is cradled by the back of the safety seat in a frontal crash. Facing rearward also protects the baby better in other types of crashes, particularly side impacts.
At what age do you change the car seat from rear facing to forward facing?
Not until they are a year old.
At the very least 1 year and 20 lbs. He must be both. But if he's over 20 lbs he still has to be 1 year.
Msot state laws they have to be 20lbs AND a year old.
But, keeping a baby rear- facing for as long as possible is best! My daughter was 16 months before I turned her around.
You can check with your local DMV website for their regulations, here in Colorado, the child has to be 1yr and 20 lbs or more to be front facing...I think that some states are different .
Just to add...baby has to be both year and 20 lbs not one or the other.
One year old!
Each state is different. But, it's safest to wait as long as possible. The soonest you can do it as at 1 year AND at least 20 pounds. You would need to be using a convertible seat too. Infant bucket seats aren't meant to face forward.
All infants younger than 1 year and who weigh less than 20 pounds should always ride rear-facing.Children 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds can ride forward-facing. It is best to ride rear-facing as long as possible.
They say wait until your baby is 20 lbs AND 1 year old. Some babies reach 20 lbs by the time they're 4 months old, and other not until they're 2 years old. Most will hit 20 lbs around their first birthday, hence this %26quot;rule%26quot;. I switched when my son was 11 months.
In California, the child must be one year old AND 20 pounds.
Year old OR 20 lbs
you sound like me. my baby will be 6 months the 19th. we are starting the sitting up thing. i think my other two kids i changed when they were about 11 months. but they were over 20 pounds i know. i am ready to change too. they get heavy and you want to be able to look at them in the car!!! hang in there, we'll get there. rather safe than sorry.
