Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Extended Rear Facing
Yes Hayden is now a year old and he weighs 25.5 pounds, but we will not be turning our car seat around until he reaches the maximum weight for his car seat, which is 33 lbs. The law currently states that children must rear-face until they are one year AND 20 lbs., but in the next couple years we might see the American Association of Pediatrics change their recommendation to 2 years AND 30 lbs. Another mom posted this video on my birth board and the crash tests speak for themselves. I would rather listen to Hayden cry than risk an accident that could result in a tragedy.
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11 comments:
Thank you for sharing this... I have seen another one similar, but this is the first time that my DH see it.
Same here and now he really sees how important it is.
so, are you implying that parents who turn their children forward are negligent?
Nope. If the law is one year and 20 lbs. then they're not being negligent. But, if the seat is rated to face the rear for a much higher weight then why not? The video I posted says what the law is, but recommends rear facing longer. Many people choose to turn their children around before they are one year because they reach the weight of 20 lbs. Some people don't realize that it's one year and 20 lbs. not either or. Oh and I love anonymous comments. Good thing I have site meter that gives a time stamp.
I thought I'd pipe in and thank Lea for her post. I don't think it was meant to imply anything... I think it was a simple educational tool for anyone who reads or stumbles upon this blog. It might answer questions for those who might see them in the car and wonder why Hayden is still facing the rear of the vehicle. I know that it can be harder to share things like this with people you know (especially family) than it is to discuss with a stranger! As the certified child passenger safety technician/seatbelt safety nazi of our family for the last 6 years I can testify to this!
A child over the age of one year and 20lbs that is secured in a correctly installed (and tethered) and properly used forward facing 5pt harness carseat has an excellent degree of protection in a crash. However, do you want your child to be "safe" or as safe as possible? It's so simple, it doesn't cost dime, and your kid won't know the difference since they've already been rearfacing for a year! Of all the recommendations out there for parents, I think this is the easiest to follow through with! I have heard stories from parents who thought their child would stop screaming in the car so they turned them forward facing, it didn't help and sometimes they turned them back around (sometimes forward facing makes it worse because they can see what you're doing, or worse--eating)!
The BARE minimum is 1yr AND 20lbs, that recommendation is based off of data that showed DEATHS dropped off for forward facing kids at age 1, not necessarily serious debilitating injuries... The American Academy of Pediatrics still gives 1 & 20 as the MINIMUM but recommends keeping children rearfacing as long as possible, some seats on the market allow children to rearface to age 4 or 5. I'd say on average a convertible carseat should be able to keep a kid rearfacing to age 2.5-3. In Sweden they keep kids rearfacing to age 3 (as a minimum I believe) and their number of deaths due to car crashes for children in that age group is in the single digits!!! My favorite saying is that although laws may vary between states and countries, the laws of physics are the same everywhere. There is a study that was published in the journal,Pediatrics (March 2008 issue), that looked at real-world crash data of forward and rear-facing kids from 1998-2003. They found that rearfacing carseats were given an effectiveness rating of 93% whereas forward facing seats were rated 15 points lower at 78%. I believe this was the injury prevention effectiveness. Some great websites are the American Academy of Pediatrics www.aap.org also CPSafety www.cpsafety.org and www.car-seat.org
I also give free and often unsolicited advice on what carseats are the easiest to use and will give you the most bang for your buck (these recommendations are not always the same depending on your child/children, age spacing, etc.)
I'm so excited that I didn't have to talk you guys into keeping him rear-facing, and now you are carseat missionaries preaching the carseat safety gospel!
BTW, we had a lot of fun at the birthday party and sorry for writing a book on your comments page...
Love,
Aunt Marie, Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician/Safety Nazi
Lea...I think it is great that you're keeping him RF to the limit of his seat...if you have one that does it...why not? lol. and just ignore the "meanie" they prob. just feel stupid b/c after they watched the video they realized that their kid is not as safe FF than your RFing Hayden. Elijah will be RF until his seat says otherwise.
Hey Andrea! How's Kansas City? Lauren and I missed you when we hung out a couple weeks ago.
There was no implication of anything. Lea had seen this video and re-published the video on her blog. There is a lot of information out there much more than there has ever been in human history about raising children and the dangers, precautions , etc. Each parent has to take the information they can find and make the best decision as to safety vs. practicality. Obviously there is only one way to be perfectly safe in a car for a child and that is to leave it in the garage (obviously without turning it on, and on a cool day) dang..its not ever safe. I am also not implying people who drive with their children in the car are negligent even though statistics would probably show that more kids are injured seriously riding in cars on the road then if they are merely parked in the garage with the kids in them, though obviously if the garage door is closed and the car is on its very dangerous so make sure to be detailed if following this safer car experience.
Just because information is passed and Lea puts on there what she would do does not mean she is condemning all those parents who decide to go forward facing at first opportunity as being negligent or bad parents, etc. She was merely showing a demonstration and making her conclusion as to what she will do.
Nobody need take any offense to that. My advice would be to do what you feel is right after review of all the facts and if you are confident on your decision than don't worry about being offended by what others say if its not what you agree with. If I took offense to all people who thought Republicans or lawyers were bad people I would be offended by 75% of the people I met, so says latest statistics.
I am also a car seat/belt nazi. I brought my girls home from the hospital in a car seat, long before it was the law.I am glad you are going to keep Hayden rear facing. Even though he weighs 25 lbs and is a year old, his head is a little big, (sorry, no offense) and his neck probably would not be strong enough to support it, if you were to slam on the brakes. I want to keep our grandson safe! Thanks, Lea.
It's hard not to take offense when someone shows that something you might do isn't the safest, but really, in the long run it's better for everyone.
I always get a little miffed at M (sorry M) when she points out that the strap on my carseat is twisted or I accidentally didn't get it over Lucy's shoulder. Then after thinking about it for a second I think, "Well, isn't it more important that she's safe than for me to be right?"
It takes a village, yada, yada....
I appreciated this blog very much!! My daughter is coming up on her 1 year birthday and I was questioning whether I should turn her around or not!! I will NOT be turning her around as of now!! Our car seat is big enough for her to stay rear-facing for quite awhile, and I think it is a great option!And, if it is the safest, I am ALL for it!! THANKS for the good and helpful information!!
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