My daughter had her 1 year check up today and the pediatrician told me that guidelines had changed and she should stay rear facing until she is 2. She also said not to be surprised if by next year the recommendation is rear-facing until 3 years old. Many of my friends have children the same age and have not heard about this. I would love to hear what people know about this and what everyone else is doing. Also, if you keep your child rear-facing until 2 how do you keep them happy back there?
Thanks!
The law allows children that are one year AND 20 pounds to face forward, however, it is much safer to keep them rear-facing as long as possible.
Most pediatricians are incredibly ignorant to this fact, so MAJOR KUDOS to your pedi for letting you know this. YES YES YES YES YES keep your baby rear facing!
If you actually meet with a car seat technician they will tell you the exact same thing, the longer you can keep your kids rear facing the better. car-seat.org is a great resource and so is your local SafeKids Coalition, you can call Safe Kids Tarrant County at ###-###-#### , and Dallas area at ###-###-####, Plano Presby has a permanent fitting station as well, you can call them at 877-THR-WELL - I URGE you to make an appointment to get your seats checked, as many as 90% of car seats are installed and used incorrectly.
Here are a couple of really great videos about how important rear facing is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8 - this one was made by Joel's grandfather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo - this one was made by one of the forum members on car-seat.org
Please know that the ONLY reason that the law is 1 year and 20lbs is because WHEN the law was made (over 10 years ago) the car seats only went to 20lbs rear facing, now there are multiple seats on the market that allow for rear facing to over 30lbs, and actually a handful of car seats go to 40lbs rear facing now, its amazing how much these seats have changed over the past couple of years. I got certified as a technician in 2007 and there was 1 seat that went to 35lbs rear facing, now here in 2009 there are at least 3 car seats that go to 40lbs, and one that goes to 45lbs rear facing!
Anyone who posted and said it was ok to turn your kid at 1 year, is completely ignorant and has simply not researched the benefits of rear facing, please do not listen to them.
This should answer all of your questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8
Also read
http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/qt/rear_facing.htm
http://www.aap.org/family/Carseatguide.htm
http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html
You can find many more websites by googling "rear facing car seat."
Please take this info seriously. I have a 15 month old and we are keeping her rear facing as long as possible. Just think in Europe they are rear facing until 5. We spoke to our Ped about the differences in info from Pediatricians he says that it's just a programmed response and change is coming slowly, Europe is just more advanced/progressive. When I learned of these new regulations I also spread the word to friends with young children only to find them installing their convertible car seat forward facing. It drives me crazy. I also see tons of kids being put into forward facing car seats in line at day care/church. What can I do? With all of the info right here for you, with the studies and statistics, how can you not keep your child rear facing. It would be stupid, ignorant and dangerous, and then some. Are they not the most precious important cargo in that car? Don't you want to do the absolute best for them. If you ask me it would be irresponsible to not follow the new regulations.
I didn't have this info when mine were turning 1. I turned both of mine forward facing at 1 and would probably still turn them around(or at least by 18 months)even with the new information. Do what is best for your child and you.
I am not sold on the fact that it really matters a whole lot. You are going to get a reboung injury no matter which way the seat is facing. Now, if the car seat flies off of the base, then having them rear facing would help because they wouuldn't be thrown face first into the seat in front of them. But auto neck injuries are worse when adults or children have their heads turned, as when a baby cranes it's neck to the front to look for mommy or daddy or to look at big brother in the back seat. The injuries are more severe when the neck is turned that way during an accident. However, the biggest thing is the safety of the car, the installation of the seat, a seat that fits the car and is proven to be safe, etc. We turned our older son (now 4 1/2) forward facing at 12 months because of his size...he just wouldn't fit the other way any longer. Our younger son is taller so I'm not sure how long we can wait. he is 6 months but 28 inches and 19 lbs already. :)
We will definitely wait as long as possible, but his neck is already very strong. And I'm not sure his neck will be much stronger at 2 than it will be at 1. When he is in his car seat, he almost never relaxes. He is constantly picking his head up, trying to sit up, etc. He's been doing that since 3 months. So if we were in a crash, his head would slam to the seat regardless I imagine.
It's all up to you. Do what you feel if best with the info you have. Here is a good article on these child seats. I was amazed to see what happened with the Infiniti EX35 SUV.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/mar/01/nation/chi...
I turned both boys at a year with no fear. Do your own research on the web and make your own decision.
The longer you can keep them rear facing, the better. The data shows that babies/toddlers, do better in accidents. they have more neck support when they're rear facing. That said, mine was much happier when he turned around (he's 95+ percentile for weight and height) when he was over a year. I would have loved to have kept him rear facing; however, he outgrew his rear facing car seat and we got him a really nice (Britax) forward facing car seat instead. Your mileage may vary. ;) Board books, stuffed animals and cheerios work wonders imo.
It's amazing to me how peds (and their advice) vary. I chose mine because she was up on her research. Do what you're comfortable with, just do your research.
My 18 month olds still rear face - based on what I have read, I just "feel" that they are safer in that position. HOWEVER, they are way too long and we need to add their headrest on to the carseat (TrueFit)...which will push passengers forward and put them in an unsafe position. So, you really need to look at the entire situation. My kids are very comfortable and don't seem to have any problems either playing with something or just looking out the window.
You need to read the manual for your carseat. Even though you may hear "1 year and 20 pounds", the manual may have a different weight limit. I think my TrueFits say they have to be 22 pounds before turning them forward facing. I'm not sure why - perhaps due to the way they did crash testing?
Also, I had Frisco PD install/inspect my convertible carseats in a 2nd vehicle. I was so adament about keeping them rear facing if possible, but we couldn't on one of the seats. He asked me why I wanted to keep them rear facing. I mentioned that although the law said they should rear face until 1 year, blah, blah, blah. He said it is NOT a law. He said the law is that the child is restrained appropriately (I think he said in an "age appropriate" device). Anyway, he said it is a "federal recommendation" that kids rear face until 1. I was really surprised to hear that. Here is a link showing "recommendations" from Texas:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_inform...
Then, if you click at the bottom to read on "seatbelt laws":
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_inform...
Notice part of the sentence: "...and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system."
This sounds like you can't just switch them at 1 yr / 20 lbs if your seat manual says a heavier weight.
Yes, the APA recently updated their recommendation to 2 years rear facing. Again, this is a recommendation and not mandatory. Yes, Europe keeps them rear facing forever. They also breastfeed them forever too.
Read up on the net. Evaluate your vehicle and how everyone will be situated (adults and children) and ensure that everyone is in the safest position possible.
You can also check out www.car-seat.org ...there are lots of car seat technician who will give you tons of info about keep them rear facing.
Mine will remain rear facing as long as there is a seat to accomdate her weight rearfacing.
You've gotten lots of link & I'm going to add to the list:
www.car-seat.org
Awesome carseat safety resource! Check out the forums.
