Well, my son is almost 2, so it's not a big concern for me at this moment. But to be honest, I cannot imagine that he would fit into a rear-facing seat comfortably, since he's almost 3 feet tall. Nor do I think it would be very easy to get him in and out of a rear-facing seat, since you wouldn't have him in the infant carrier that can just "pop" into the base. Though, if you have a small child, I guess you could do that. As for the booster until age 8...one of my nephews is 9, and he is still in the booster seat, since he's on the smaller side. So, it actually helps him see better out of the window, and feel taller in the car. The booster seat that we purchased to put in my mom's car for my son goes up to 120 pounds, so I guess it is quite feasible to use a booster longer.

I agree with Wanchalee....I don't believe that a 2 year old will be able to fit or sit comfortably in a rear-facing car seat. I have a daughter who was born premature (5 weeks early), and when she was about 18 lbs she was getting too long to be in the infant carrier. I didn't like having to prop her feet on the seat. As far as the booster goes, 8 years old is not a bad age to keep them in. I'm sure my little one will end up being in one for a long time.

2 year olds are perfectly fine and comfy rear facing, I keep my kids rear facing till they max out their seats rear facing or hit age 4 which ever comes first, I do not understand why people keep saying they don't see how they could fit comfortably rear facing, kids are super bendy and flexy, I often catch my kids sleeping folded up in weird positions, so having their legs bent in the car seat is not a big issue at all. 2 years old is just the minimum now, we have test after test proving that rear facing is 5 times safer, I have known this for 4 years now, I am shocked that this is news to people.

I wish I could post a pic of my daughter when she was 4.5 rear facing in her radian xtsl well with in the limits, happy and comfy, just last night she said to me "mommy I wish I was little again cause I miss rear facing in the car, it was so much comfier. (she is 5 now and rides in a 5 pt harness forward facing.)

I think people need to try it before they knock it.. it is safer so why not give it a go, when we know better we do better!

Trisha your little one needs a convertible car seat rear facing. that is the next step if she is getting too tall for the infant seat :)

I think both are a good idea. I took a lot of flack from friends and family for keeping my kids in booster seats until they were the appropriate height/ weight (they were at least 8). The booster safety issue is really about the kids' size rather than age. If your kids are smaller, they need to stay in the booster longer.

I think the current IL law says they must be in a booster til 8. My older ones were already out of boosters when the law changed and I put them back in the boosters til they were 8. My parenting rule of thumb is to never do anything that I would regret if the worse happened. I took the same flack that Stephanie did but I knew it was the right decision for my family.

Trisha, if she is forward facing already that is actually illegal.. if the law in your state does not state rear facing to age 12 months AND 20 lbs, it has what is called a proper usage clause which means that you have to use the seat per manufacturers instructions.. there is no convertible car seat on the market that will allow you to use it forward facing before the child is 20 lbs. most are 22 lbs.. and 1 year.

This is because the seat has failed to protect the child that is under that weight and age. Not trying to sound like a jerk or like I am mean, and I by no means am judging you or anything, just a friendly fyi.. what seat are you using for her?

Ohh I am sorry I thought for some reason we were talking about an 18 lb 11 month old lol eek.. sorry about that!

I think if rear facing is what will protect my son the longest that is what I will do. My son is 8 months old and weighs 19lbs and is 29inches. He is already to long for the infant carrier so we will need to put him in a convertible seat. Just remember not all car seats can face rear facing. The one I have for my daughter does not rear face.

To those people saying they can't understand why parents think a two year wouldn't be comfortable.... I would like you to sit "cross cross applesauce" in a car seat on a road trip and see how comfy you are. My one opinion is that new data comes out all the time. Tomorrow could be a totally different study. You know your kids. You know if they are comfortable or not. However if it's a serious enough accident I don't think it matters which way they are sitting. I'd like to see the information on being hit from
behind in a serious accident. The childs body would do the same thing as facing forward in a front collision. We were all better off without all these books and opinions by everyone user the sun. We all grew up without them and you don't see us with half of the issues kids these days have. Allergies, sleep problems, etc. I don't think it's wrong if you want your child facing backwards but don't keep them that way if they show signs of being uncomfortable or are clearly too tall.

IT matters a lot, Rear facing studies have been going on for upwards of 10 years, we have been saying it for years and years, I learned about it 5 years ago when I had my second child.. the fact is.. rear facing is 5 times safer, your child is 5 times less likely to suffer spinal injuries, neck injuries, head injuries, believe it or not they are even less likely to break their legs in a crash lol.

This is not a NEW passing fad.. this has been studied all over for ages. Kids rear face to preschool in Sweden and they have some insane stat like 2 child passenger deaths in moter vehicles in the past 10 years.. (I can't remember for sure but it is insane how awesome their car seat standards are)

here is an article.. called the Orphan seat.. which explains why child passenger safety techs all over call the rear facing seat the orphan seat.. because the rear facing child is usually the only survivor in a terrible crash.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-carseats-20110323,0,4004734.story

http://myangelsaliandpeanut.tripod.com/id5.html
here is what happens when hit from behind at 65 mph with rear facing. Hope that helps.

Meg thank you for the link! Studies are never done with back and side collisions because they are less common, but the drunk driver, texter or red light runner doesn't care what side they hit you from. Just because they aren't as common doesn't mean they should be disregarded. This helps. Thank you. I just wish more of these studes included more scenarios and were a bit more well rounded.Thanks!

I have to agree with the most recent comments. I have two sons, one of whom just turned one, and they are both very tall (95 percentile) for their age group. Before my youngest was turned forward facing, his legs would push up against the back of the seat. It seemed uncomfortable to say the least. I understand that having children rear-facing helps to protect the neck, but it makes me wonder what would happen to his legs being all crunched up.

Regardless, we turned him forward facing before the new findings were released. I’m not sure he will put up with it if we turn him back around…it will for sure involve some screaming!

This is some great information to have since my youngest son will be turning 1 in June. My plans were to switch him to a convertable car seat facing forward. Since he seems to be doing just fine facing rear, I will definately keep him that way; until 2 yrs old....we will have to see.

It has been awhile since I have had to worry about this kind of thing but I think that there are a lot of variables in all of these accidents. The type of car, the nature of the accident, where the child seat is located based on where the car is hit and so on. It should be up to you as a parent though to make the decision about your child based on the findings and your own personal circumstances.

I agree with Marie, studies get a little over rated and are always bias to some degree. Both my children are in the 95% + range in both height and weight and by the time they are one, they have well passed the restrictions of the rear facing car seat. Not to mention, taking a long trip with a child that has nothing to stare at but the back of a seat is in tolerable. I'm all for the safety of my children but enough is enough. Recommendations should be just that if you as a parent chose to follow them then that is your choice. We all made it just find without seatbelts, bike helmets, knee pads etc. Who doesn't need a few scars to reminisce about? Tragedies happen every day and it's sad but really are we all going to eventually live in bubbles so nothing bad can happen to us.