My son is 3.5 years and still rear facing, he just tucks his legs up and is quite comfortable! I’ve got no plans to turn him forward facing yet, so my April baby is no where near forward facing!
It's best to leave them rear facing as long as possible as their spine is still developing until 6/7. You'd be surprised they can fit their legs in all sorts of ways when they are much bigger than they are now and I'd rather him be safe but slightly uncomfortable any day. I'm going to wait until her is at least 5 as he's big I don't think we'll have room until 6 unfortunately
They just bend their legs! I need to buy car seats for my three soon and will get them extended rear facing seats with plenty of leg room. The spin seats tend to not have so much room. 6 year old will continue to FF but nearly 4 year old will RF and so will April baby
Legal doesn't mean safe. Smoking is legal, but not good for us. Lots of very good information online about the reasons why rear facing is the safest option for as long as humanly possible. Children are incredibly bendy and flexible, and while my hips ache at the thought of sitting like that they can do it happily. My daughter is 3.5 and 98th centile for weight and height (in 5-6 clothes) and she's in a rear facing seat and is perfectly comfortable. I'd recommend finding a local retailer that sells Axkid and the like and go and have a look at some. Depending on your car and the space you have, some extended rear facing seats are on a runner that can be moved back to give them even more leg room. It's definitely worth going to a shop to have a look and a talk! But a specialist shop with specialist training. Places like Halfords and John Lewis don't have proper training in car seats.
My oldest is 3 and he is still rear facing. The law says 15months, which has no dependency on size or weight but safety, I would rear face for as long as possible. My little boy has never once complained about being rear facing, he just bends his legs. It's all he's known and he's comfortable with it. You can get extended rear facing to help with some extra room if necessary
My oldest was 15 months but very big for his age, my youngest sometimes goes front facing now just because of how hysterical he can get if he can’t see us but mostly rear facing as I time naps with car journeys, but he will front face at 15 months. Do what you think is best for your LO 🙂
Ill be keeping my baby read facing until at least 5, we have the axkid minikid 2 car seat that is designed for long lasting rear facing. They dont run out of room for their legs, they can cross them or put them down the sides or wherever they feel most comfortable.