Car Seats

Sweet Pea is finally in her convertible car seat! "Now we all match!" says CC (a huge fan of all things that match).

This new "big girl" seat does not mean Sweet Pea is facing forwards, however. She's still facing backwards, as are Little Man and CC.

Why, you ask? Allow me to explain ... at length ... and if any of you aren't interested in car seat safety, you should stop reading now. 

I didn't know the importance of rear-facing until this past year, and I know that many other parents don't, either. So I want to share some facts that might make other parents reconsider -- like I did. All parents want to do the best for their children. So if there was one, simple thing you could do to keep your children so much safer, wouldn't you do it?

Most people turn their children's car seats forward-facing at age 1. That's the law, right? But the law is just the minimum. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend that children remain rear-facing up to the limits of their car seat -- which, in most cases, is between ages 3-4.

I know, you might think it's crazy. How on earth is a 4-year-old supposed to fit facing backwards in a car seat?

Easier than you might think. And it's well worth the effort. Click here for the detailed explanation, if you're interested in the science behind car seat safety. But the bottom line is that young children's bodies are much different than adults'. Their heads are much larger and heavier, proportionately. Their bones haven't hardened yet. And their vertebrae still contain cartilage instead of bone.

Under two years old, it is five times safer for a child to be rear-facing during a crash (source). There haven't been any official crash-test studies done on children older than 2 years, but the cartilage in children's vertebrae doesn't turn to bone until sometime between ages 3-4 (depending on the child). And in countries like Sweden, where children rear-face until age 4, there are dramatically lower child injury and death rates than in the USA.

Myths about rear-facing children:

- "My child can't fit facing backwards, because her legs are too long." You might be surprised to learn that children are perfectly comfortable putting their legs up, bending them at the knee, or sitting cross-legged. CC, for example, has never complained that her legs are uncomfortable, even during the long rides we've taken.  Many children complain that their legs are more uncomfortable when they sit forward-facing, because the legs dangle with nothing to rest them on.

- "My child's legs would get broken in an accident!" The most immediate answer that comes to mind is: better their legs than their neck! But actually, more leg injuries occur in forward-facing children. There are ZERO recorded instances of a rear-facing child sustaining any leg, hip, or feet injuries in a crash.

- "My child hates facing backwards in the car." At around 1 year to 18 months is when babies start to assert their independence and opinions, usually by screaming. So this is when parents start to think their children hate rear-facing. In fact, the child is likely screaming because he/she doesn't like being restrained at all. Turning the child forward-facing might help the screaming -- temporarily -- while your child is distracted by the novelty of a new view in the car. But it's not going to solve the problem for long. Try special toys in the car, a new book, or -- if all else fails -- just wait until this frustrating phase passes.

I know, parents get conflicting information and advice about everything, from everyone they know. But car accidents are the number one cause of childhood injury and death.  It isn't like the formula-vs-breastmilk debate. It isn't like comparing cloth diapers to disposables. In fact, it confuses me that pediatricians hammer home the message about laying babies down on their backs to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS, yet a pediatrician has never once asked me whether my children are still rear-facing in their car seats.

The bottom line is, in order to stay as safe as possible in the car, every child should remain rear-facing until they hit the maximum height or weight limit for their car seat. 

I return to my original question: If there was one simple thing you could do to keep your child significantly safer, wouldn't you do it?