When is it the right time to turn your child’s car seat from rear-facing to forward-facing? This question is one that troubles many caregivers and honestly, it can have a lot of (right) answers.  Keep reading below to find out what the “good, better and best” practices are when it comes to switching your child to a forward-facing car seat.

Written by: Sarah Peters, car seat technician 

Good practice for switching to a forward-facing car seat 

Good practice with a rear-facing car seat is when the caregiver stays at the minimum amount necessary to be safe.  This means they are within the state law when it comes to the use of the car seat and within the car seat manufacturers minimum height and weight limits. 

Example of good practice:

• 13-month-old child weighing 23 pounds, who lives in a state where the law says they must be rear-facing until the age of 1
  • This child will be using a car seat with a forward-facing weight limit from 22-65 pounds, and the child has no development delays.
    • If a caregiver chooses to put this child forward-facing in the state and seat described, they would be using “good practice”.  It is within the law and the car seat manufacturer standards.

Good practice is completely acceptable for a caregiver to choose and it ultimately will be their decision, however this practice leaves room for improvement in safety on many fronts.

Better practice

Better practice would be when a caregiver may be at or surpass safety standards by following the state law, as well as being within the limits of the car seat, but they are not maxing out the limits on their rear-facing car seat.  

Example of better practice: 

• 2.5 year old child weighing 30 pounds and lives in a state where rear-facing is required until the age of 2.  
  • The car seat being used has a rear-facing limit of up to 45 pounds and this child has no development delays.  
    • The caregiver chooses to turn him forward-facing because “he’s too scrunched up and his feet touch the back of the seat”. Looking at the state law he has surpassed the age limit of two which is great, however this child still has 15 pounds left before he maxes out his rear facing car seat.  

So again, this caregiver is keeping the child safe and is within the state law, however, there is room to protect further.  The caregiver making this decision is using “better practice”. 

Best practice

Best practice is the “gold standard” in safety measures. This would mean a caregiver chooses to keep a child in their rear-facing car seat as long as possible by maxing out the height and weight limits of the car seat per the manufacturers standards.  

Example of best practice: 

•  Four year old child weighing 46 pounds, who lives in a state with a minimum age requirement of 2 years old.  
  • The car seat has a rear-facing weight limit of 45 pounds and the child has no developmental delays.  
    • This is best and safest time to move a child forward-facing.  This is what we call “extended rear-facing” and we have found that children who stay rear-facing beyond two and even up to five years old, show less devastating injury to the head neck and spine in the event of a crash versus the child who is forward facing. Click here to read more from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on this topic.

Keeping your child rear-facing longer has been made easier in recent years with the improvement of long-term car seats (some allow your child to stay rear-facing until they reach 50 pounds!) If extended rear-facing is something you’re interested in but don’t know where to start, read our favorite car seats for all ages post or schedule a consult with Renée to help you choose the right car seat for your family. 

Remember that as the caregiver, it is up to you to make the best decision for you, your family and the child or children you care for.  This blog post is our way to educate you so you can make the best decision for your family.

• Most states now require children to be rear facing until the age of 2, so check your local laws to verify
• Children with medical or developmental disabilities may require additional consideration when it comes to car seat safety. 
• Touching the back of the seat or having crossed legs is NOT a reason to turn a child to forward-facing.  Click here to read more about this!

Do you still have questions? Book a virtual or in-person consult with Renée, she is a national certified car seat technician and can help you!

Recorded car seat workshop – We also have a recorded car seat workshop that is very helpful for all stages (including booster seats!)

How to properly harness your child – watch here!

Other helpful blog posts: 

• 10 common car seat misuses
• Car seat safe coats + covers
• Renée’s favorite car seats for all ages
• 5 things most parents don’t know about car seat safety

**This post is educational and not meant to take the place of your provider.