On Monday, the
American Academy of Pediatrics revised their recommendations for children 2 and under. The recommendations now say that children ages 2 and under are safer and should be rear facing until they hit the rear facing weight limit for their car seat. Many parents are breathing a sigh of relief, I've heard and seen a lot of "
FINALLY!" type attitudes. I'm sure there will be others balking at the idea of turning their toddlers back around. It's been proven to be so much safer, I don't know why they would even think twice.
Right now, I'm ashamed to say that Tiny Man is facing forward. I CANNOT seem to get a very good rear facing install with his seat (a
Cosco Scenera). It flops around like it's not even buckled in, even when it's as tight as hubby and I can get it. He would still be in our
Graco SafeSeat 1 if Little Miss Princess wasn't in it. Talker Man rear faced until he was 2 and Tiny Man moved into line for the Graco bucket. We had planned on keeping Tiny Man rear facing after Little Miss Princess arrived, which is a big part of why we got the Cosco Scenera, but it's just not working in my car. I'm currently doing research into other seats, but it's so hard to tell what will physically fit in my small car with three across! I've heard amazing things about
Sunshine Kids Radian seats fitting three across, but they're SO expensive and that kind of money isn't in the budget, even when it comes to the kids being safe.
I've been doing a little bit of research, in case there are other parents like me trying to figure out the best way to go about turning the little ones back around. In my
unprofessional opinion, infant-style bucket seats are safer because of the additional protection provided, so I'm going to start with those. If possible, if baby isn't here yet or you're looking to replace a seat you already have, find one with a high weight limit. I was only able to find two with the high weight limit, I sincerely hope some other brands follow suit so that little ones don't get turned around earlier than recommended.
Obviously my favorite here would be
Graco because it's the only infant seat we've used. Ours is a SafeSeat 1, from Talker Man, but they also now have the Snug Ride 35, a rear facing seat from 5 to 35 pounds and 32 inches tall (essentially the same thing with a different name):
The
Snug Ride 35 has a LATCH-equipped, stay-in-car base with a one-hand dial adjustment to ensure the proper installation angle, and an integrated belt lock-off to further simplify installation. As long as your base is installed correctly, there's no worries once you click your baby's seat in! The Snug Ride 35 pictured above retails for about $160.00. That's about the price we paid for our Safe Seat 1 and it was money well spent.
Safety 1st also has a wide weight-range infant bucket, the
onBoard35 Air infant car seat starts the weight a little lower, at 4 pounds so parents of preemies may want to take note!
This seat can be used for babies 4 to 35 pounds and 32 inches tall, so similar to the one above, but with the preemie-friendly weight spectrum. It boasts the revolutionary
Air Protect feature and 17% more leg room than other infant seats. The onBoard35 Air also comes with a Base Belt Lock to assist in installation and one click LATCH installation system. This seat is also right around $160.
Convertible seats are also an option, though maybe not as convenient as an infant bucket when your baby is tiny. We had winter babies and chose to start with the bucket to keep the seat warmer for a newbie. Here are a handful of convertible seats I found with higher rear facing weight limits. I haven't had the opportunity to try them, so this is strictly informational and not from experience.
Sunshine Kids seems to win the prize for biggest rear facing weight with a range from 5 to 45 pounds.
The
Radian XTSL features height adjustable aluminum reinforced head support, steel alloy frame and protective EPS foam to provide complete side impact protection. The whole seat has a steel alloy frame and aluminum reinforced sides as well as Easy-Tite™ adjuster for quick and easy tightening, installs in 1 minute and SuperLATCH™ installation up to 80 lbs (no seat belt required). The safety features on this seat appear to be about a mile long and, as I said, if we could afford 3 of these, this is what would be in our car and all three kids would be rear-facing, no arguments. This seat retails for about $300.
Graco recently has come out with a new convertible seat, the
Smart Seat, which fits from 5 to 40 lbs rear facing.
This seat comes with a base that sound similar to an infant bucket. You install the base once and you're good to go! Just snap the seat in. The Smart Seat (and base) also have steel reinforcement. I haven't seen too much chatter about this seat yet, but it sounds like a great one! The $300 price tag seems a little steep, but when you think of it as an all-in-one seat (it goes up to 100 pounds forward facing), it's really not too bad.
Britax, a favorite amongst safety-conscious parents has seats such as the
Boulevard 70 which rear face from 5 to 40 lbs.
The Boulevard 70 also has integrated steel bars, along with other safety features such as SafeCell™ Technology and energy absorbing Versa-Tethers®, premium lower LATCH connectors and built in seat belt lock offs. This one has a price tag of about $310, but has a 70 lb total forward facing limit and amazing safety ratings, so it may be a good choice for you if you're looking for a seat that lasts more than a year or two.
Phew, it's really enough to make your head spin, but I hope I've at least helped a little bit in the process of figuring out which seat will be ideal for keeping your little one rear-facing as per the new guidelines! If nothing else, I hope I've planted the little seed of interest to help you in your own research!
Disclaimer: This post is in no way sponsored, we have not personally tried the seats above and I'm DEFINITELY not a car seat professional. I just wanted to share some information and I hope it helps inform readers of the new guidelines and some safe options for their children.
