Rear facing car seat question.

So my DD is pretty tall- she is in the 90th percentile for length.
We have her in the Britax Bouelvard- rear facing of course.

But she is only 10 months old and already I feel like her feet are touching the back seat. I have a mid sized car- so the back seat is not huge but it's not tiny either.

I am just wondering how much longer I can feasibly keep her rear facing- I would love to keep her rear facing as long as possible of course, but I can see it becoming an issue as she gets taller over the coming months. Where will her legs go?

Any advice?

Re: Rear facing car seat question.

Her legs will just end up being bent at the knee. Hopefully she won't mind! Lots of kids are fine with it!

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But then I worry- how safe can that be kwim?
Like will her legs break God Forbid we were in a rear end accident?

(I know I'm sick in the head with the worries I come up with- but I can't help it!)

Re: Rear facing car seat question.

In some European countries, they are rear-facing until age 4, so I don't think you have to worry about keeping your DD RF until age 2, if you can. Their legs bend, and many DC are more comfortable having their legs bent. They have plenty of room.

Re: Rear facing car seat question.

That's what every mommy worries about! And yes, it is a possibility, but look at the alternative... if you turn her forward facing too early so her legs aren't bent, and then you get into an accident... could be much much worse than a broken leg or two.

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I do plan to keep her that way as long as possible, and of course a broken leg is better than a broken neck...I just wondered if maybe I had it installed wrong or something... I mean she's so young, yet her feet are right up on the seat already...
Ughhhh....

I hate the whole thought of it. I really can't stand driving anywhere with her in the car. I think about an accident constantly.
I need to get a bubble to put her in until college!

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Their feet touching the back of the seat doesn't bother them at all. When they are forward facing, their feet dangle and it's not really all that comfortable for them anyway.

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This is DD at over 20 months still rear facing... doesn't bother her at all.

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Posted by NervousNell

Posted by CaMacho

This is DD at over 20 months still rear facing... doesn't bother her at all.

Thank you for posting this pic!
I was wondering how it would work out.
This gives me a better visual...and she seems very happy so I guess I'm just borrowing trouble as usual!!!

Re: Rear facing car seat question.

My DD is also tall and measures off the charts. We have her rear facing now at 9.5 months and will keep her that way until a minimum of a year. At her year check up I will be discussing the pro's and con's of turning her with her ped, since if she continues to grow the way she is i don't see it being possible to keep her rear facing until 2. Putting things into perspective- at her 9 month check up she measured at the average height of a 20 month old, so i imagine that by a year she'll be at the average height of a 2 year old, since she is tall.

And this is why i suggest you take your concerns with you and talk to your ped about the recommendations and your child, and see how your child fits into them. Since they are only a guideline, and if it were as simple as every child is rear facing till 2, it would be a law and not recommendations. They have to make recomendations based on the current trends/studies and not every situation will fit into their recomendations.
As long as you make an informed decision for you and your child, that's all that matters.

Re: Rear facing car seat question.