Keep your child rear-facing until 4

TanyaR

319

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EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 21:01

There have been a couple of threads on this topic in the past. Dubai (Just Kidding) started stocking rear facing carseats about a year ago - I had been asking about them for quite a long time, and fortunately they arrived just in time for DS to go into one (hopefully they are still stocking them as we will need another one shortly) - otherwise we were considering shipping one, which costs around 250 gbp for the shipping alone. DS has been in it for about 8 months, he is a big kiwi boy (in the very top percentiles for height in particular - taller than his friends who are 6 months older!) for his age, but he is quite happy and comfortable being rear facing - as he doesn't know any different. I am sure he would prefer to be front facing if he knew it was an option! He hasn't started getting carsick yet, but I have always suffered really badly from it (still do) so it may become a problem at some point. The research is fairly 'new' in that I think it has only been out for 3 years or so (I think), so not incredibly well publicised - particularly not here! I think you just work with what you have, at the end of the day, having a correctly fitted and sized carseat is the main priority, rear or front facing, and you make the decision that is right for you and your child, and your circumstances.

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sandfly

504

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EW GURU

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 15:31

| wanted to keep DD rear facing as long as possible, but at about 20 months she started being very car sick even on fairly short trips, and decided in the end to go with moving her to face forwards which fixed the issue, much as I didn't want to.

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parkernz

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 15:06

Forgot to mention my daughter is now 28 months and yes we have the mirror on the back seat also!

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Sandy1784

153

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 13:16

There was a thread on this a while ago - http://www.expatwoman.com/abudhabi/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=140407 My DS1 is still happy in his rear facing seat at 22mths. We have a mirror on the headrest of the back seat where we can both see each other and no problems with comfort or ease of use of the seat.

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kiwispiers15400

2782

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 09:31

To be honest its always safer to be rear facing, even as an adult. We're going through this at the moment as have just grown out of the rear facing (still under the weight limit but too tall) and already own the forward facing. The dilemma is that DS has started getting carsick in the rear facing, (vomiting even on short trips) but the more I read [url=http://journeytocrunchville.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/the-importance-of-keeping-toddlers-preschoolers-rear-facing/'>(loads of info here)[/url'> the more I feel that forward facing is not safe, what to do what to do......

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parkernz

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 September 2011 - 08:41

I brought a rear facing seat from carseat.se and had it sent here. It was all very easy, the man who runs it is lovely and very helpful and it ended up costing the same as buying a car from Dubai! I have a britax and it goes up to 25kg. I think people worry about how a child wouldnt like to be rear facing when they are older, but it is not a problem for us my daughter is happy and very comfortable. We also have a Maxi Cosi forward facing in my husbands car and my daughter doesnt worry about switching between. She actually seems to prefer my seat, even though her legs have to be slightly bent against the back seat and now when she sits in the Maxi Cosi she always crosses her legs for more comfort!! The only con is that they are harder to install so you cant really swap easily between cars. It will take you around 5-8 mins to install. Thats why we have a second forward facing seat in my husbands car for any unexpected trips, so most of the time she will be rear facing and I'm ok with that! Would really reccommend carseat.se if anyone is thinking about rear facing and cant source from the UK.

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DubaiCat

2937

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 22:21

Try www.carseat.se or www.rearfacing.co.uk. We chose forward-facing for DS when we had to get his new carseat, but it was one of the most difficult decisions to make regarding his care since he was born. I'm still not sure we made the right decision but lots of factors swayed us towards the seat he has (not least the lack of suitable alternatives that were rear-facing.

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guinness24707

1238

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 21:34

Apparently there is a few Britax that work and a maxi-cosi too. I had no idea until I googled Swedish car seats!

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Green-ish

2340

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 17:10

If I could have bought rear-facing seats that my very tall children could safely and comfortably fit in, then yes. Absolutely. I haven't looked very recently, but even a year ago the rear-facing weight limit was about 12kg for any car seats available here in Aus. My children all hit 12kg at about 12-14 months old. In fact, my 'little' one is not 2 until November and she's almost at the weight limit for the 5 point harness in her Safe n Sound Maxi Rider!

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Hello.Again.Kitty

1861

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EW EXPERT

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 17:08

yeah, of course it's safer to be rear-facing, but as to whether we will or not will largely depend on what car-seats are available - if you can't get them, then it's better to have your children in a suitable forward-facing than nothing at all. So, how many brands and models of rear-facing toddler seats are there... and how many are readily available here in Dubai? I really don't like the kind of guilt-trip scaremongering that goes on with all these new reports. We all want the best we can for our children, after all, but have to work within the parameters we're given.

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Annabelle0921001

236

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 16:06

I did not know that rear facing seats for children even exist!

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guinness24707

1238

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 25 September 2011 - 15:34

New guidelines recommend keeping children rear-facing until 4 years. Are you going to keep your kid facing the back?? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=7818004&page=1 "Indeed, there is little doubt that the seats represent the safest means available to transport children in a car -- even after their first year of life. And a new recommendation published Thursday in the British Medical Journal suggests that children up to the age of 4 are safest if placed in such seats when riding in a car. "Many parents and health care providers may be unaware that it is safer to leave children in rear-facing seats for as long as possible or that rear-facing seats for toddlers exist," the paper's authors, led by Dr. Elizabeth Watson of Meed Surgery in Woking, United Kingdom, wrote in their report. "Health care professionals should advise that rear facing seats are safer than forward facing seats for children aged under 4 years." <em>edited by guinness on 25/09/2011</em>

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