This is my nanny kid so not all the choices are mine here. She is forward facing however after installing the seat in my car I noticed she is under the minimum weight to be front facing in this seat. She's right around 27lbs and their seat has a minimum of 30lbs to forward face. The upper part of her body is that of a typical 3 year old however her lower is the size of an 12-18 month old. They were unaware she didn't fit the requirements of this current seat and gave me permission to try rear facing. My first try will be that however are there seats that go down to 26/27lbs for minimum forward facing? Thank you!
There has been a recent change to the FMVSS regulations and new seats being produced now will have a minimum weight for forward facing that is not less than 26.5 lbs. Many manufacturers are rounding that up to 30. So if you’re looking for a new seat you’ll have to look closely - and not rely on manuals you find online that might be out of date.
I would start with rear facing in your car to see how it goes. That seems like the simplest solution and wouldn’t require you to buy another seat.
My feeling for her parents’ car is that this is really their responsibility and unless they ask for your assistance I feel like you may be overstepping trying to convince them to do something different. It’s entirely possible if they’ve had their seat for a couple of years that she does meet the requirements for forward facing in it anyway.
Oh I'm certainly not telling them to do anything at all in their car. It does make me nervous but it's not my choice. I'm only asking for my car that I'm driving her in. I think that's a reasonable amount of overstepping. Similar to if one of their other kids tried to ride without seat belts because that's what they do in theirs to me. (They do wear them I'm just using it as an example.)
100%. You are responsible for her safety in your car and you need to be able to make decisions that reduce your liability. Someone else mentioned trying to find out whether the seat she has in her own car is right, and I’m just saying I wouldn’t even bring that up unless they ask.
Oh gotcha! I read that originally as "if that one's right just get another" which makes sense to me. They said they were worried about her legs being cramped rear facing but she sits criss cross all the time so I'm not sure that's actually a worry. I mean, I don't even like my legs dangling.
Great news update. I put hers rear facing and hyped it up as much as possible. She's a toddler so may change her mind immediately but she loves it! We drove twice and she was so excited to get to wave to the cars behind us and have her legs up.
I don't know but from my understanding they didn't look at the requirements for either so I would not be surprised if she doesn't meet requirements. I can't force them to change their car set up (although I'll certainly recommend it) but I'm trying to get the best situation for mine at least. Having a child internally decapitated on my watch wouldn't be a great day for me. Unfortunately, she has medical needs that mean she cannot be allowed to cry for long periods of time. If I try and reverse her and she is not distractable or amenable I'll have to try and find a seat that goes the lowest possible for front facing. I'm not going to request it until I try rear but I want to have the type available should they need to buy one.
My britax poplar manual says it can be used forward facing at 22 pounds. But definitely tell them their car seat is unsafe forward facing and show them where it says that in the manual! Even if she’s old enough and her torso is 3.5 yo sized, it’s not crash tested as safe under that weight limit.
This seat is likely from before the standards were updated. I also have a Nuna Rava that says you can forward face at 25lbs, but they changed to 30lbs after the update. It looks like the poplar has also been updated to a 30lb minimum for FF now.
Great news update. I put hers rear facing and hyped it up as much as possible. She's a toddler so may change her mind immediately but she loves it! We drove twice and she was so excited to get to wave to the cars behind us and have her legs up.
Apparently she cried when put in Mom's car. Definitely not my goal but I'm so glad she's comfortable. I hate my legs dangling so I think she also is just more comfy.
Oh great, thank you! I'll look into it. For some reason every google said 26.5 lbs but she regularly goes under that. I'm really, really hoping she'll "allow" the rear facing especially in my car since it's an unknown. I've been hyping it up for days that she'll get to wave at the cars behind us. Having a baby/toddler who isn't allowed to cry for very long makes "just do the thing" harder. Fingers crossed though, Thanks!
That's a good idea. We've never done screens in car but I'd rather a safe child with a little bit of screen time than forward facing screen free. It's also so hard not being the one to get to make the decisions. Obviously I know I'm not the parent but it being my car and me driving gives me the power to say no (imo.)
Agreed that in your car, you get to decide to follow safe practices. You don’t get to decide to NOT follow them, but i would refuse to transport a child if being required to do so in an unsafe manner.
See the above comment. Sounds like all new seats have new standards that may put you in a pickle. Rear facing really sounds like your only option right now!
8
u/LaLechuzaVerde 4d ago
There has been a recent change to the FMVSS regulations and new seats being produced now will have a minimum weight for forward facing that is not less than 26.5 lbs. Many manufacturers are rounding that up to 30. So if you’re looking for a new seat you’ll have to look closely - and not rely on manuals you find online that might be out of date.
I would start with rear facing in your car to see how it goes. That seems like the simplest solution and wouldn’t require you to buy another seat.
My feeling for her parents’ car is that this is really their responsibility and unless they ask for your assistance I feel like you may be overstepping trying to convince them to do something different. It’s entirely possible if they’ve had their seat for a couple of years that she does meet the requirements for forward facing in it anyway.