Parenting is hard. There are so many choices to make, and I'm often left wondering if I made the wrong choice. Take car seats, for example. The American Academy of Pediatrics has said for awhile now to keep your child rear-facing until the age of 2 or until they reach the height/weight guidelines for their car seat. This isn't law, just recommendations. Recommendations that I believe in because I have read some of the research myself (there are a few AAP guidelines that I haven't followed).
Brayden turned 2 in July, and we kept him rear-facing. Adam switched him a month ago, even though he's still five pounds away from the weight limit. It didn't feel right to me, but I let him stay forward-facing. Until yesterday, that is. I was driving by myself with Brayden and it hit me. Something was happening that was making it unsafe for him to stay forward-facing, at least for right now.
He's in the typical two year old "the world is all about me" phase. One aspect of that plays out with him saying "Look at me, mama" or playing peek-a-boo by covering his face and saying "Where's Brayden?" He's doing it in the car now, and even if I say "Mommy's driving," he continues demanding my attention. I decided to switch him back and see if that would get him to stop. It did.
I'll fully admit that part of it was my fault. In attempting to make myself okay with it, I tried to make it fun for me. I'd push that little thing on the windshield to make it so I could see him and he could see me. Obviously that has led to him thinking that it's okay for me to pay a lot of attention to him while I am driving.
So, he's back to rear-facing. And I don't think this will be a decision I second-guess.
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