So let’s get this straight. At ages of up to twelve months, you have to seat your baby in a rear facing position; ideally on the back seat. You may only elect to install your rear facing baby seat in the front passenger seat if your car is not protected by an active frontal air bag. If it is, you absolutely must tuck your baby and baby seat in on the back seat. (And apply the same restriction to front facing and rear facing car seats if your car is fitted with side impact air bags.)
Rear facing seats (sometimes known as infant carriers) have the advantage of being easy to take out of the car, hopefully with baby still sleeping (as they’re wont to do on car journeys – fortunately for us)! Of course the rear facing seat is chiefly designed to provide vital support to the infant’s head and neck at this vulnerable stage in his or her development.
After twelve months, your child gets to turn round and view the world forwards instead of backwards. That’s good news for them, but it can be a hassle for you if you have to ditch the old rear facing seat for a front facing seat. So, if you hadn’t been expecting to have to buy another baby seat, we can at least reassure you that a good forward facing seat should last right the way through to age four; in some cases age six (or about 25kg in weight). Seat sizes, like toddler sizes do vary! So make sure you choose a comfy fit seat for your little passenger.
Forward facing car seats are necessarily heavier than the rear facing equivalents and aren’t generally provided with carrying handles. In fact, for the sake of your convenience (as much as for your child’s safety) they’re designed to be left in the car. So once that seat’s securely fastened, it’s not going anywhere!
Alternatively you could choose a combination seat and save yourself the hassle of trading up as your baby gravitates to forward facing seats. Combination car seats work equally well facing forwards as facing backwards; in fact they’ve been expressly designed to offer absolute safety before and after the 12 month switch around. So a new view on the world for your child doesn’t necessarily mean a new expense for you. Just make sure your chair is listed and sold as a combination chair. There’s a simple rule here: if it doesn’t say it’s a combination chair, it isn’t!
Again be careful about airbags. The same rules on side impact airbags apply when your child graduates to front facing car seats, but consult your car handbook for advice on frontal airbags. (Stipulations vary from car to car.)
Whatever kind of car seat you use (front facing, rear facing or combined model) the same rules for fitting the seat apply. Check out our guide here if you’re in any way unsure about how to do that. Get that sorted and you’ll all be able to look to the future with confidence (whichever way you’re facing)!
© Car Safety Seats.org.uk 2008
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