The Car Seat Safety Enthusiast

Last term I wrote a research paper on extended rear-facing. Let's just say I became even more enthusiastic about rear-facing. I'm not going to ask anyone to read the whole paper, I'm just giving you the highlights!

• Most people have heard (and some doctors still say) that you should turn your child forward facing when s/he is one year old AND 20 pounds. This is outdated. Those are the absolute minimum requirements. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that you keep your child rear-facing to the limits of your car seat (usually 30-35 pounds)
  
  
• "Children are 5 times safer than when riding in a forward-facing seat into the second year of life." (From the AAP's Pediatrics Journal)
  
  
• It is not true that children's legs are more likely to be injured when rear-facing, in fact the opposite is true. "Some convertible child restraints indicate in their instructions that a child should face forward when his/her feet touch the vehicle seatback, or alternately when the legs must be bent. This prohibition is not justified by any accident experience or any laboratory evidence, and we are hoping that these instructions will soon be revised." From this article. If you have time, read the whole thing, it is awesome, and not too long.
  
  
• The National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration has a list of every carseat produced in the U.S. along with ease of use ratings, and weight and height limits.
  
  
  A picture of what happens during a crash in a rear-facing car seat vs a forward facing car seat. You can see how far the head extends. It's possible for children to have their spine detach from their skull in frontal crashes.
  
  
  
  
  Here is Aimee still happy in her rear-facing car seat. She's about 31 pounds, so she still has about 4 pounds until we turn her around. Which if you know how much she eats, you would think it would be soon!

You are free to think I am weird for being adamant about rear-facing. I don't care, at all. My kid will be safer in a car accident than yours, and I try to be "better safe than sorry". Honestly, the "convenience" of forward facing is not anywhere near the added safety of rear-facing.

*Now I am done. I will resume using my blog for posting pictures of the kids.*