I have had quite a few people asking me why I am rear facing Daiden now, after he has been forward facing in the car since he turned one. Well, the thing about parenting for me, is educating myself. I haven't always looked into things before I made decisions, but when I get new information I feel like it is my duty as a parent to reevaluate my position if it means a safer life for my children. Rear facing in the car is one of those things.
Up until about a year ago, the American Association of Pediatrics recommended that children rear face until they are 22 pounds AND one year old, and the law reflects that. Those infant "bucket" seats that are so popular only hold a child that is 22 pounds or less, so after the child outgrows that, parents automatically assume it's time to face forward. There isn't really much information that is offered to oppose this change either. For me, as well as many other parents, it was a milestone to turn Daiden around. It made me feel like he was a big boy and less of a baby....until I heard the facts.
"New research indicates that toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear-facing in a car safety seat up to their second birthday." States the American Association of Pediatrics. "Rear-facing seats provide better support to the back, head, neck, and pelvis. Many parents worry that a child may have a leg injury if a car accident occurs when he is rear-facing. This is more a perception than a reality, based on actual crash evidence. And, leg injuries are much less serious than one to the head, neck, or spinal cord."
The major risk involved in forward facing before a child's spine is properly developed is known as 'Internal Decapitation'. This happens when, in a collision, a child's head is thrown forward causing the spine to stretch and sever the the spinal cord. Only half an inch of stretching is required to cause internal decapitation, however, in a 48MPH collision a child's spine can stretch up to two inches.
One of the fears of extended rear facing is the child's legs being injured from being pressed against the seat, however there are no documented cases of breaks or dislocations resulting from a child rear facing during a collision. There are documented dislocations from the child forward facing and the force from the impact causes the hips to dislocate.
Car seat manufacturers are now producing convertible seats that allow rear facing up to 65 pounds because of this new found information. The minimum that a convertible seat sets their weight limit at is 35 pounds and all car seat manufacturers recommend that the child remain rear facing until the weight limit is reached. All of the convertible seats that have a limit of 22 pounds for rear facing are out of production and most are already expired. Please check your seat for recalls and expiration dates.
Another common argument against rear facing is a child being "large for their age". A 12 month old child that is 30 pounds is no safer forward facing than a 12 month old that weighs 22 pounds. In fact, the larger child has a greater risk of injury because their spine is no more developed than the smaller child, yet will have to support greater weight shift in the instance of a collision.
If you are curious about finding more information on extended rear facing, please visit the American Association of Pediatrics website at http://aap.org, the Car Seat Safety Organization at http://carseat.org and http://carseatdata.org
Here are some crash test videos documenting rear vs forward facing car seats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA&feature=related
If you are interested in purchasing a convertible car seat, but don't know where to start or are concerned about the price you can find a great selection of convertible car seats at Wal-Mart and Target. I purchased my Cosco Scenera at Wal-Mart for $45.
Up until about a year ago, the American Association of Pediatrics recommended that children rear face until they are 22 pounds AND one year old, and the law reflects that. Those infant "bucket" seats that are so popular only hold a child that is 22 pounds or less, so after the child outgrows that, parents automatically assume it's time to face forward. There isn't really much information that is offered to oppose this change either. For me, as well as many other parents, it was a milestone to turn Daiden around. It made me feel like he was a big boy and less of a baby....until I heard the facts.
"New research indicates that toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear-facing in a car safety seat up to their second birthday." States the American Association of Pediatrics. "Rear-facing seats provide better support to the back, head, neck, and pelvis. Many parents worry that a child may have a leg injury if a car accident occurs when he is rear-facing. This is more a perception than a reality, based on actual crash evidence. And, leg injuries are much less serious than one to the head, neck, or spinal cord."
The major risk involved in forward facing before a child's spine is properly developed is known as 'Internal Decapitation'. This happens when, in a collision, a child's head is thrown forward causing the spine to stretch and sever the the spinal cord. Only half an inch of stretching is required to cause internal decapitation, however, in a 48MPH collision a child's spine can stretch up to two inches.
One of the fears of extended rear facing is the child's legs being injured from being pressed against the seat, however there are no documented cases of breaks or dislocations resulting from a child rear facing during a collision. There are documented dislocations from the child forward facing and the force from the impact causes the hips to dislocate.
Car seat manufacturers are now producing convertible seats that allow rear facing up to 65 pounds because of this new found information. The minimum that a convertible seat sets their weight limit at is 35 pounds and all car seat manufacturers recommend that the child remain rear facing until the weight limit is reached. All of the convertible seats that have a limit of 22 pounds for rear facing are out of production and most are already expired. Please check your seat for recalls and expiration dates.
Another common argument against rear facing is a child being "large for their age". A 12 month old child that is 30 pounds is no safer forward facing than a 12 month old that weighs 22 pounds. In fact, the larger child has a greater risk of injury because their spine is no more developed than the smaller child, yet will have to support greater weight shift in the instance of a collision.
If you are curious about finding more information on extended rear facing, please visit the American Association of Pediatrics website at http://aap.org, the Car Seat Safety Organization at http://carseat.org and http://carseatdata.org
Here are some crash test videos documenting rear vs forward facing car seats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA&feature=related
If you are interested in purchasing a convertible car seat, but don't know where to start or are concerned about the price you can find a great selection of convertible car seats at Wal-Mart and Target. I purchased my Cosco Scenera at Wal-Mart for $45.
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