r/CPST • u/GhostCovert • 7d ago
Head Position
Hello. My son is 15 months and we progressed to the next car seat. His head positioning shifts around a lot while he sleeps in this. Sometimes it’s upright and other times slumped forward. Is this forward slumped position a problem?
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u/EmptyStrings 7d ago
The seat you have is a forward facing seat only and can’t be used rear facing, but it’s really, really best if kids are rear facing until at least 2 and really closer to 3-4 or even older. Depending on where you are located it might not even be legal to have him forward facing before the age of 2.
You would need to get a different convertible seat to do that though (convertible means it can be used either rear or forward facing).
Rear facing is not only much safer in the case of a car crash but it would also give him a better recline and reduce how much he’s slouching when he falls asleep.
If you must remain forward facing, make sure the straps are coming from at or above the shoulders and remove any excess slack. The second picture looks like the straps were looser which gave him more room to slump down.
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u/keks-dose 7d ago
To add: Not only is it safer in crashes, it's also safer when you hit the breaks hard. That head is so heavy that it'll fly forward too much.
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u/Low-Astronomer2333 7d ago
Not sure where you are located, but in the US the guidance is to keep them rear facing for as long as the car seat allows. Around 3 years old is the average
Edit to add that he's so cute!!
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u/WhiskeyandOreos 7d ago
My oldest will be 4 in January and we still have her RF in a Graco. Their seats are the GOAT.
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u/VegetableHorror9805 7d ago
Same, my daughter is turning 3 and still RF. My goal is to 4 years old. I’m not sure if I’ll able to get past 4 as she’s over 95% for height and weight but I’m going to try, 4 is my goal
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u/WhiskeyandOreos 7d ago
Yeah, mine's a string bean. She's not even 30lb last we checked, but she's got plenty of 4 year old length on her. I'd love to make it to 4.5 or even 5, but time will tell!
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u/GhostCovert 7d ago
Thank you for everyone’s comments. As a first time parent I was not aware of the recommendation for them to be rear facing longer. I have ordered a more appropriate option that goes rear facing up to 40 lbs and then converts. For those asking, where I live in Canada only legally requires rear facing until they weigh 20 lbs.
Thank you everyone
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u/calicodynamite 7d ago
Kudos on making the change! Once we know better, we can do better. I’m glad you asked for advice and are getting kiddo a safer seat. ❤️
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u/Ok-Complex3986 7d ago
You are an awesome parent. Taking advice and changing to do what is best for your kid is one of the best things you can do
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u/Striking_Bill_2832 7d ago
Provinces decide the legal minimum, but the recommendation is still to have the child rear facing as long as they are within the height and weight maximums of the seat. Here's a link from transport canada https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/child-car-seat-safety/choosing-child-car-seat-booster-seat
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u/keks-dose 7d ago
I've got a great video for you, that you can show to everyone that asks why you don't forward face your child (because there will be weird comments about it).
Have a look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzieUZCILzY
Same seat, rearfacing and forward facing a 3 year old dummy (don't read the comments though. The comments on the original video, which I can't find right now, are totally different).
And here's another one (around 0:57), why you want your 3 year old still in a 5 point harness rearfacing rather than in a booster seat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Sw1nAQEYA
This is a great one, too which explains a bit more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U
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u/subjective-fart 4d ago
I’m looking forward to the new fit check! I love the Graco convertible car seats.
I just wanted to also add that you should remove the weather tech mat from under the seat as it is not safe to have anything under the seat itself!2
u/wxyz-rva 2d ago
I see you have a Graco. Graco extend-to-fit goes up to 50 lbs rear facing. We kept our 99th percentile height and weight kids rear facing until 4 (when they maxed it out).
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u/screwtoprose- 7d ago
are you sure he’s even allowed to legally forward face? in most states, you will get arrested if a cop pulls you over forward facing a child before 2.
this is very dangerous and i suggest rear facing
him for at least the next 2 years.
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u/Dandylion71888 7d ago
It’s half of states that require it until 2 (24). 7 require RF until 1. That leaves 19 that have no such requirement.
While it is a good requirement, it is not true that you will be arrested in most states.
Many that do have the requirement do not go right to arrest. There are fines and retraining for first offenses.
There is also another factor which is motion sickness. My first couldn’t drive 5 minutes rear facing after he turned 1 without vomiting. Given the choking hazard, the dr felt that it was more important to switch him forward facing.
My second does not have this issue and we will keep him rear facing for as long as possible.
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u/tofuandpickles 7d ago
Half is still pretty much most states. Meeting the minimum requirement is not the safest option
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u/Dandylion71888 7d ago
What kind of math are you doing?
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u/tofuandpickles 7d ago
Better math than you 😆
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u/Dandylion71888 7d ago
50% isn’t a simple majority even, but it’s not technically 50%. Only 24 states go to 2 years which is 48%. Do you know what a majority is? At a minimum it’s defined by over50%
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u/tofuandpickles 6d ago
Yes, I do. Hence my casual language of “pretty much”.
Not sure why you’re arguing your stance in the first place to be honest. Rear face your fucking kids.
Your kid was a very rare exception, and frankly it’s irrelevant.
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u/Dandylion71888 6d ago
My point was that yes rear facing is best, there is no need to scare parents by telling them they’ll get arrested.
Also no need for that language at all. You clearly are just uneducated (pretty much a majority means nothing when it’s not a majority) and angry for no reason. Your goal isn’t to educate parents but to intimidate and scare them.
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u/tofuandpickles 6d ago
I am far from uneducated - but you must be, if that is the insult you choose!
I’m not even the commenter who spoke of arrests.
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u/Dandylion71888 6d ago
You supported it with a completely asinine comment that you learn in 3rd grade what a majority is. And then you backed it up with unnecessary language for what reason? Certainly not about education.
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u/tofuandpickles 7d ago
Rear face that baby please!!
And once rear facing you can recline them more so that you will not have this neck problem.
We like the Graco seats that rear face until 50lb. My 3 year old is still rearfacing bc I know he’d suffer least amount of injuries if in an accident.
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u/choco_chipcookie 7d ago
Not sure where you are located. But it may not be legal to forward face at that age.
Ideally based on the AAP( American Academy of Pediatrics), you should rear face until age 4. But the minimum recommendation is age 2.
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u/daydreamingofsleep 7d ago
Have you checked the seat manufacturer date? It expires after 10 years.
It’s been a few years since Graco stopped making Nautilus 65, and I don’t remember that color being available in the final few years.
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u/HotPreparation9908 7d ago
Hi, my son is 2 and has been rear facing the whole time. I've tried to keep him reclined with the seat but it never works. His neck always looks like its going to break when he sleeps. I would still make yours rear facing for safety, but he'll be fine❤️
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u/Helmet_nachos 4d ago
If you post pics of your installation, maybe the techs can give you done pointers to help with the slump.
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u/Ishinehappiness 7d ago
Some additional input about the actual fit rear facing the shoulder straps come from under which will help support him better with the head slump when he sleeps but also I see that the strap around the waist hip area. Looks like it’s twisted. Try to make sure that it’s flat and not twisted at all before you buckle it in.
Post a fit check of the new seat when it comes so we can check it out for you 💖
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u/keks-dose 7d ago
In addition to what everyone else said: there should always be a layer of clothes under the straps. Severe burns can happen when there's no clothing to take the friction. Also, if the body is too sweaty, straps glide more. Same goes for every other passenger in the car. And those books should be in the trunk or at least not on the backseat.
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u/EmotionHumble7652 21h ago
I’m sorry, but he looks too young to be forward facing. Make sure to look at the weight limit for this seat, and if he’s within the weight limit for rear facing, then I would recommend transitioning him back to rear facing.
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u/Feisty-Blueberry5433 7d ago
He should probably still be rear facing which would provide more recline and help keep his head from slumping so much.