When Can He Face Forward?

For his own safety you cannot change him to forward facing until he is a year old and 20 pounds or more. This is due to the fact that their necks are not strong enough to handle a head on collision. While traveling I am assuming that you or someone will be sitting next to him to help entertain him. I would bring some books and some of his stationary toys. Have fun and you are braver than I!

Please watch these!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo

http://vimeo.com/2994502

SO IMPORTANT!!!!

Here is a website that will give you all of the information you need. Must be 20lbs or higher and at least 1 year of age....
http://www.aap.org/family/Carseatguide.htm

Hi T.
You can turn them forward facing at a year AND 20 pounds. they have to be both. They are still recommending you rear face for as long as possiable.
you have a good plan to drive at night during the day get some of the links to hook toys on to and hang them from the clothes hook in the ceiling. (if he is still in his infant seat that has a handle make sure that handle is down. it is not shatter proof so if you where in a accident it could break and cut him.) that should keep him entertained maybe every time you stop you can rotate toys. Have a nice trip

Babies have to be Backward facing until they are 1 year AND over 20 pounds.

Advice:
Bring calming/lulaby music
lots of smallish toys (keep them in front with you and pass one back when he starts to fuss. At stops collect all the toys and reload your supply)
leave a seat open in back incase you need to sit there to entertain him.
brings books that you can read. They like to hear your voice even if they can't see you.
Bring a large blanket the family can sit on in the grass at pit stops for some baby tummy time.

Two words; internal decapitation.

First of all it is ILLEGAL to turn your child forward facing before they reach one year old AND weigh 20lbs. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children remain rear facing until they reach the rear facing limit of their car seat. The safety issue isn't with a child's age, it has to do with the spine and neck being strong enough to withstand the force of a crash while forward facing.

Here are some videos that demonstrate the advantages to extended rear facing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K62Ea8Fs4ng&feature=re...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI&feature=re...

And for the record, all 3 of my boys are still rear facing. Logan is 3 years old in a Britax Marathong, Evan is 2 years old in an Alpha Omega Elite (only for a few more days until his Marathon gets here) and Christian is almost 4 months old in a Graco Snug Ride.

Keep your son rear facing in his infant carseat until 20 lbs or 1 year. Don't get in a rush to forward face - they don't know any difference, and it's really safer for him to be rear facing for as long as possible.

Driving at night will be a time he will sleep, and hopefully you will have someone with you to take turns so you can each get some rest, too. Consider checking out some music CD's or books on tape (children's and adult) to help your trip go by faster. Silly songs, that kind of thing. Occasionally get in the back with him and read/play with soft toys/sing/etc...normal stuff you would do at home. You'll have to stop alot - so just be prepared for that and allow additional time. It can be helpful to bring along a few "new" (or that he hasn't seen in awhile) toys/books/etc. Good luck, enjoy your trip, relax, and have fun!

Hi T.,

My God bless you for such a long trip with a baby. :) You've already heard the carseat information, so I'll skip that.

We went from MN to IN 3 times in my baby's first year. She hated the carseat. We went at 3 mos., 6 mos., and 9 mos. of age. Count on the trip taking at least half as much longer as it would take without the baby. It took us over 13 hours to get to IN when it used to take us 9. The trip is do-able if you know that it will take so much longer and you break it up and know that the baby dictates your schedule.

At the 6 month trip we took the train and LOVED it. It allowed us to let our baby play on a blanket on the floor and to move her around and change her as needed. I was also able to breastfeed without needing to stop our travel.

At 9 months, we drove through the night, stayed at a hotel around 3ish and then was back on the road by her morning nap. She did get fussy once she woke up and realized that she was still in the car and couldn't move. One of us had to sit in the back and sing to her.

You didn't mention if you were having anyone else going with you. I would consider it a must, especially with a baby. You need someone else for security (you do not want to travel by yourself with a baby...you are a sure target!), and to help with the baby.

If the trip is not a one-way, you might really look at flying.

GOOD LUCK!

Legally in WI its a year and 20 lbs. You have to meet both requirements. I'm not sure if all states are the same or not.

If you are going to FL, I would definitely consider flying. You would only have to buy one seat for you and him. But if driving is the only option, you sound like you have it down. He will sleep at night. During the day, you will have to make several stops so he can get out and stretch and eveything (diaper changes, feedings, etc). You have to keep him rear-facing until he is 1-yr or a certain weight. That's going to be a tough trip!!

Hi T., I am also a single first time mom, and have taken many long trips with my son. You aren't suppost to have them face forward until they are 1 year and 20lbs. One of my friends faced her seat forward because he was over 20lbs at 9mos. You can always double check with your doctor too. Other than all of that it sounds like you have your trip down to a good schedule. He will probabyly sleep most of the way for you anyways. Just wait until they get bigger, they don't like riding for that long, so enjoy it while you can. Good luck to ya!!

As a wife of a State Trooper and mother of a 2 year old, your son can not face forward until he is one year of age AND over 20 - 22 pounds. If he is not both he needs to remain rear facing. I hope that helps. Also, for the long car ride my best advice would be to make frequent stops to let your child just stretch and get fresh air.

you son isnt going to care whether he is looking forward or not. and it is exceedingly dangerous to place a child forward facing until he is one year old AND weighs over 20 pounds, though talk has it that the longer you can delay turning baby forward facing, the better. some experts are leaning toward a year and a half before turning baby around...

traveling usually makes babies sleepy, and you could probably just keep driving until baby either wakes up or until you know he is hungry. sometimes in the car babies can sleep well enough that they will just sleep and sleep until someone wakes them, so remember that as well.
just have toys for him to chew and play with, make sure wherever you stop you take time to give him physical activity, whether that means you stop at a playplace at mcdonalds, or if its warm enough to stop and just play in the grass. the most important thing, besides making sure he gets to eat, is making sure he gets out and actually crawls around (or whatever your son is doing at this point).

good luck on your trip and drive safely!

It is recommended at the VERY MINIMUM babies are supposed to be 1 year old AND weigh 20 lbs (not either or) to face forward. I recently read in the news about a lady who had her daughter facing forward with minimum requirements and hit black ice. She ended up hitting a tree and her baby girls neck broke from the whiplash and she died. I am a firm believer in keeping my child rear facing for as long as possible.

Your driving plans sounds great, it is so much easier to drive through the night while baby sleeps. Good luck on your drive!!

I'm sure you've seen this here before me...but...he can't face forward until 20 pounds OR 1 year, whichever is LATER. And lately, they're saying facing backwards longer than that (as long as your seat allows) is safer still.

As for the drive...I assume you're taking another adult? The drive through the night should help. We've learned to take our stops NOT for food--we eat food in the car, which eats up precious drive time, but we stop to play and stretch and have fun. For a six month old, just figure out what he likes and bring lots of it! Books? Bring some he can look through. Schedule your drive times around his naps. It helps sometimes to have someone in the back seat with him to occupy him sometimes. Music was a big one for our kids--even my baby is calmer when we have kids' songs on the CD player. Six months is probably one of the hardest times to do a long drive, IMO, so just remember, even if it's rough--this is probably one of the roughest. :)

its all about height and weight with the car seats usually they will have a sticker on them somewhere. as for the trip bring alot of toys lots of snacks busy things and good luck

Your son cannot be forward facing until he is a year old and a certain weight. I believe the weight is between 20 lbs and 30 lbs, but I can't remember exactly, because most kids don't have trouble meeting the weight requirement once they are a year old.

A child should be in a rear facing infant seat or a convertible car seat(still rear facing) until their first birthday. This is for safety reasons..even though they may be able to sit up at an earlier age. They don't have the muscle control or physical size(normally) to avoid injury in the event of an accident.

Hi T.,
Well, looks like you've already had an earfull (eyefull?) of responses to the carseat question, but I thought I'd give you a bit on the entertainment/etc. question. I traveled extensively with both my son and daughter as babies (my daughter is still a baby at 9 mos).

First off, EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT -- so what is true for my kids may not be so for yours. I found, however, that pushing travel over more than 5 or 6 hours a stretch was a bad idea. My kids just couldn't stay in the seat any longer -- and that is with stopping every 2-3 hours to eat, stretch, etc. Travel takes MUCH longer than it used to, pre-kids, lol! Driving at night might help -- but it also may not make a difference. My kids were not sleeping through the night yet at 6 mos, so travel at night was not much different than during the day and I just ended up more tired!
Overall, I would not attempt driving "straight through" to Florida with my children -- they would end up very unhappy (and then so would I). I would either not go or fly...however other kids may travel better than mine. ;-) Driving to FL would probably take me 3-4 days -- depending on the part of FL I was going to...
Otherwise, regarding "entertainment" -- my kids both tend to sleep in the car and at 6 mos, could care less about DVDs, lol! At the end of a 6 hour jaunt, I usually end up sitting in the back and making faces, etc. at the baby to keep them as entertained that way as possible until we get somewhere we can stop for the day.
Good luck to you and I sincerely hope you have a good trip!

I think you can use a forward facing car seat at around 20 lbs. or so but you need to still use it rear facing until a year or longer.

My child was in an infant carseat until 6 months then moved onto a Britax Marathon which is a convertable carseat in a rear position until a year and then did the same with my youngest and didn't flip her around forward facing until 18 months.

I've never done a long road trip so I can't offer advice on that. I'd bring kiddy CD's if he becomes irritable and take stops as needed.

HE has to be at least a a year and at least 20 pouds to face forward.

Children cannot face forward until they are one year old AND weigh at least 20 pounds. they are safer rear facing. There should be a sticker somewhere on the seat that you can see that gives you the weight limit for rear facing. some go to 25 or more. He is safest staying rear facing until he reaches that weight (and is 1 year and 20+ pounds). YOu can buy a set of mirrors - one to put on the seat by him and one on your rear view mirror so that you can see him.

There is ABSOLUTELY no way he can be turned around for your trip. Sorry for the caps, but I just want to be sure I'm being 100% clear. A child can face forward at a year at the very earliest, but it is now suggested they stay rear-facing until age 3 if possible...it's the safest for them (although I've turned my children around shortly after a year when they reached the appropriate weight and height along with the age requirement).

As for keeping your child entertained in the car, it sounds like you've got a good plan in place already with driving at night and planning on long stops along the way.

Have a fun and safe trip! What a great memory for your family!

It has less to do with age, and more to do with height and weight. Carseats say right on them (or in the owner's manual) what weights they can accommodate. If you have a carseat that is convertible from rear- to forward-facing, it should note at what
height/weight you can switch it. The manufacturer's website would be another good resource.

The rule I've heard the most for forward-facing seats is 1 year old and 25 lbs.

My son was always in the 90% percentile for height and weight. He outgrew his infant rear-facing seat rather quickly. I couldn't even tell you the age, but it was way before he was 1 year old, and then we put him in a forward-facing seat.

We took a long car trip (MN to MI) when our son was 7 months old. One thing, give yourself lots and lots of time to get where you need to go. As a mom, you already know that there's no rushing babies if they need to eat or they need some time to crawl and stretch. We brought a big blanket and got out and let our son crawl around every 2 hours.

My two cents worth: Driving at night is not the safest idea; most fatal accidents occur between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Also, don't count on the fact that your son will sleep during the night, or that he'll keep his same sleep/nap schedule while you're on the road.

As everyone else has said, they have to be at least 20 lbs AND 1 year old before you can turn them forward facing.

As far as the long drive ahead of you...how well does your son ride in the car on a normal shorter trip? Does he sleep well in his carseat? If he doesn't sleep well in his carseat now, he probably won't on your trip so that will help you determine when to travel. Our girls traveled well at night because they slept in their carseats, but my son was a completely different story. He was a tummy sleeper and he couldn't do that in his carseat, so no night-time driving for us. We used to live in Nebraska and our parents were in North Dakota, so we've done lots of LONG car trips. Also, their favorite snacks, new toys, music, singing, frequent stops are going to be your best friends! If your son doesn't sleep well in his carseat, you'll want to look more at doing the driving during the day and stopping soon enough in the evenings that he can get out and run/crawl around and play and get some good rest that night. It'll make your daytime driving much more pleasant if you have a rested baby! Good luck on your trip! Let us all know how it goes!

Its legal to turn baby forward facing at one year, if they are 20 lbs and 29 inches tall, I think it is. It is safer to keep them rear facing longer, though. Some states are working on making a law about rear facing until at least 2. My one year old is still rear facing most of the time and will be for a while. I can't think of any reason to turn him forward facing yet. I have a mirror that allows me to see him so thats not a problem. He is comfortable.

Wait as long as possible to turn him around. Our toddler is almost two, and we still have her backwards. Just imagine if you get into an accident that is a front impact. Their little heads and neck aren't strong enough for the force, so they will get some serious whiplash. They don't know anything different, so don't use the excuse that they will enjoy the car more if they turn around. She loves the car. I know, all kids are different, but just because you turn a kid around, it doesn't mean that they will suddenly love car rides.

Have fun on the trip. Take a lot of time, and remember the enjoy it!

I hope that your son enjoys this time. I'm sorry that you have been unable to make it work with his father. It's so hard when that happens. Boys really needs dads, so hopefully you are able to give him that!

Good luck!

T.,
Infants under 20 pounds and under 1 year of age must be in a rear-facing infant seat according to Minnesota Statute 169.685 (child passenger restraint law) or longer if possible. That is the safest place for your child.

When he is 1 year old AND at least 20 pounds. A portable DVD player will be your best friend. Good luck!

S.

As the others have stated, you CANNOT FORWARD FACE A CHILD UNTIL THE BARE MINIMUM of 1yr AND 20lbs. Its not either or, its both.However the AAP is now recommending that children remain rear facing until the rear facing weight limits of thier convertible carseat, which is 33 or 35lbs. There is not one carseat on the market that allows a child to forward face before 1yr old. READ THE MANUAL of any car seat, if you use it foward facing before 1yr old, it will void your warranty, so if your child is injured in a crash, even if the seat is faulty, and he's foward facing before a year, too bad, you didn't use the car seat to the manufactureres specifications and they are no longer liable. Again NO CAR SEAT ON THE MARKET WILLALLOW FORWARD FACING BEFORE 1yr AND 20lbs.

A car seat is outgrown rear facing when one of these two things happens... there is less than one inch of hard shell carseat above the child's head, or the child goes over the rear facing weight limit of the convertible car seat of 33 or 35lbs. Until then, a child can safely rear face, and its safest to KEEP a child rear facing until at least 33lbs.

Please google 'internal decapitation' and 'extended rear facing' to get some good information. I have two big boys who were both out of their infant seats by 5mos old, and both rear faced until close to 2yrs old, when they reached 33lbs. Their legs will not break in a crash... but even if they did, I'd much rather have a baby with broken legs than a broken neck, wouldn't you?

As for entertainment... He's only 6mos old, take turns sitting in the back seat with him, get some fun toys to hang from linkadoos from the clothes hanger in the back seat (NEVER LEAVE THE HANDLE ON THE INFANT SEAT UP unless SPECIFICALLYU STATED ITS OK TO DO SO IN THE MANUAL!)

Pleasa do not turn your son forward. A childs neck is not strong enough to with stand a crash until way over a year. I have taken many classes for carseat safty and every single one of them has told me not to turn my child forward until they are at least 1 year and 30 to 40 lbs. Even if your shild has out grown their infant seat you can still buy rear facing seats that will acomodate there hight and weight. To keep him entirtaned you can buy many toys and mirrows. If you want to read more please google carseat safty there is alot of information out there including videos that will make you fallow all of the federal guide lines. Sorry I dont want to scare you I just really am passionate about keeping kids safe in the car. Another good reasorce is your local fire department they will instal your car seats for free.