My son's feet touch the seat and are cramped in his rear facing car seat. Is this safe?

Question

He is only 5 months old and we had to put him in a convertible car seat and now his little legs are pushing into the seat. Is this safe? We bought the Britax car seat because we wanted the best, but now I am worried about his legs if we were in an accident.

Answer 1

Hmmm, I guess I'm in the minority here. I asked my pediatrician about that with my son and he said it was fine. He said that a lot of people will take it as a sign that you should turn them forward facing, but its more unsafe to have them forward facing under a year old than to have their feet touching the seat.

Answer 2

I have a Britax seat as well, The marathon. It is completely safe to have his legs touching the seat behind him. There has NEVER been a documented case of a child's legs being broke in a car accident due to rear facing.

I commend you for buying a seat that can rear face to 33 lbs. Some kids make it to 5 years old this way.
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/FFalbum.aspx
There are some much older kids in that album RFing.

I've included some other links on why RFing is safer then Forward facing even after 1 year old.
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx

You'll want to watch this video as well
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

Congrats on continuing to properly rear face your child. Remember that it is the safest place in the car.

Answer 3

we've the Evenflo Triumph improve DLX. that is meant to be practically as good because the Britax seats, yet purely prices $100 and fifty. It suits large in our Chevy Trailblazer rear-dealing with, and seems a lot extra take care of than the Graco service ever develop into. it really is going to rear-face to 35 lbs (i'm distinctly certain, it will be 30 although), and we plan to keep her rear-dealing with till then. It also has countless shoulder harness adjustment. fairly of slots that the shoulder straps thread by, they're on a song and could be adjusted to the precise height of your newborn's shoulder. yet another mission i like about the Evenflo products is they have stickers with the teachings on the area - no extra digging for the guide each and every time you flow the carseat, the teachings are excellent there! really I purely truly LOVE our carseat. Our daughter seems a lot extra smooth and possibility-free than she ever did in an infant service. If/after we've yet another infant, i'd be going with this carseat from delivery!

Answer 4

Taken from www.cpssafety.com

"Won't my child be uncomfortable? Where do his legs go?

Many parents have the misconception that children are uncomfortable or at risk for leg injury by having their legs up on the vehicle seat or bent when kept rear-facing. These concepts are completely incorrect. First, children are more flexible than adults so what we perceive as uncomfortable is not for children. Think about how your child sits in everyday play. Do they sit with their legs straight out in front of them? When they sit on the couch, do they purposely sit so their legs dangle out over the edge? No. In real, everyday life, toddlers and preschoolers CHOSE to sit with their legs folded up - that IS comfort to them.

Second, there is not a single documented case of children's legs, hips, etc. breaking or being injured in a crash due to longer rear-facing. There are plenty of cases of head and neck injury in forward-facing children that could have been prevented if the child had remained rear-facing. However, even if a leg or hip were broken or injured, it can be fixed. A damaged spinal cord (from forward-facing too soon) cannot be repaired and subjects the child to lifelong disability or death."




Hope this clear things up. I am amazed at how many parents actually think turning their child around before one year of age because they are "too tall" is safe. This website has great answers to many of questions about car seats. Hope it helps.

Answer 5

Check the info on the seat to see what it says about weight and length.

He should remain rear facing until he is BOTH 12+ months AND 20+ lbs. Better a broken leg rear facing than a broken neck front facing.

Answer 6

How tall is he and whats the height limit on the car seat? They outgrow them pretty fast. My son outgrew his around 5 months. You may need to get the one you can use forward or rear facing. He must stay rear facing till he is one year old and 20 lbs.

Answer 7

Either your son is very long-limbed (which I doubt), or you have the car seat installed incorrectly. You can bring your car and carseat to the local police station and have them install it for you. We plan on doing that this weekend, just so we don't take any chances with our first child. Ask the police officer to show you what you did wrong and how to correct the problem. Don't leave without knowing how to do it yourself! Britax seats are highly recommended so I'm sure it's not the seat itself. Best of luck to you and your family!

Answer 8

Generally the infant seats accomodate up to 21 inches. My daughter had to have a bigger carseat at 7 months due to this and I had to turn her around to facing forward not long after that because she is so tall. She was not yet 1 and not yet 25 pounds...she is 2 and now is 25 pounds. You could try out different seats at the store to find a better fit.

Answer 9

All those answers telling you it's unsafe amaze me! People don't research at all anymore. Actually, it's pretty common for babies to outgrow their infant carriers between 5-7 months, and move into convertible car seats. Britax was a good choice, b/c it has higher weight/height limits for both front and rear facing. (33lbs for rearfacing 65lbs./55lbs front facing depenging on which seat you purchased.)

YIPPIE to the few posters who actually said to keep him rear facing (rf) AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. This is how babies are safest. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep babies rf to the height/weight limits of their seat. There is absolutely no proof saying their legs touching the back seat is unsafe, whereas there is tons of proof showing that front facing (ff) is more dangerous for them. Their bones are not completely ossified (melded together, strong) for years, and can not withstand crash forces like an adult can. They are at much higher risk for fatal (yes, that's deathly) injuries when they are seated ff. So, keep him rf as long as possible. Is he complaining about his feet? Probably not. In fact, many kids that rf up to 2 years actually like the fact that they have something to rest their feet on.
Ever see the way kids sit on chairs, with their tiptoes trying to touch the floor? Kids don't like it when their feet are just dangling in the air, so he's probably more comfortable rf. Lots of CPST (child passenger safety technicians) even recommend buying a cheap Cosco Scenera ($40 Walmart/Target) when your baby hits 33lbs, b/c the Scenera goes up to 35lbs. rf.
Check the links out for the nitty gritty on rear facing, or extended rear facing as it's referred to. Remember that 1 yr/20lbs is the bare minimum for when to turn babies ff, and who wants to do only the bare minimum in safety for their kids?

Answer 10

Make sure the seat is adjusted properly. He should be rear-facing until he is 1 yr. old and 20 lbs.