AAP reccomends rear-facing until 2 yrs or longer

[huntr1]

There is nothing stopping a parent from keeping their child in a rear facing seat as long as the child can comfortably sit in it and meets the weight requirements, regardless of the age of the child.. If your child can fit, there is nothing legally to stop you from having your 10 year old in a rear facing infant seat.

 

[Larry Gude]

There is nothing stopping a parent from keeping their child in a rear facing seat as long as the child can comfortably sit in it and meets the weight requirements, regardless of the age of the child.. If your child can fit, there is nothing legally to stop you from having your 10 year old in a rear facing infant seat.

And I'd be happy with PSA's to that affect instead of the heavy hand of the law.

 

[pebbles]

I agree and think it is silly, in general. While I support extended rear facing I would never suggest the laws to force it. I guess I just believe in changing minds through education, not [forced] laws.
especially since I switched my son right after one because he screamed bloody murder in the car, which quickly stopped when he was FF :whistle:

Mine too! actually about a month or so before he turned one, he met the requirements & neck was fused & all that.

 

[Dymphna]

And we always road around in the back of the station wagon, playing, no seats.

My aunt had 8 children. There was no other way to travel. I'm not sure that 12 passenger vans existed then, but if they did, they sure as heck couldn't afford one with all those kids. Now a conversion van with everyone sitting on the floor was an option....we did that too.

 

[Hawkeyewife]

Correct link...

I apologize for the link not working earlier.

Here it is:

Keep your toddler in a rear-facing car seat until age 2 (not 1) -- O’Keefe 30 (4): 12 -- AAP News

The reason I am excited to see this change in the AAP's recomendations is that it has been known for years that in a forward facing crash, children under the age of two are at a much higher risk for internal decapitation in a forward-facing seat.

My 16 month old is still rear facing, yes his legs are a bit cramped, but they are at actually a lower risk of injury rear-facing cramped than if he were to be forward facing in a crash.

Children are 5 times safer rear facing than forward facing.

YouTube - Crash Test - Forward vs. Rear Facing

Some of you may think I am an overprotective mother for posting this info. In a car, I chose to keep my children in the safest seats we can afford. If the unthinkable does happen I hope they are safe, that is all.

 

[bohman]

And I'd be happy with PSA's to that affect instead of the heavy hand of the law.

But Larry, if we do that, then some politician will be deprived of the ability to crow about how many laws he has passed to protect the dear, sweet children. Stop trying to bring common sense into this discussion!

What really bugs me is that this sort of approach NEVER takes into account the fact that there is so much variation in how fast children grow & mature. All I have to do is look at my own kids. My 10 month old weighs almost as much as my 3 1/2 year old. He's growing so much faster than her, and barely fits in his rear-facing seat now.

 

[huntr1]

I apologize for the link not working earlier.

Here it is:

Keep your toddler in a rear-facing car seat until age 2 (not 1) -- O’Keefe 30 (4): 12 -- AAP News

The reason I am excited to see this change in the AAP's recomendations is that it has been known for years that in a forward facing crash, children under the age of two are at a much higher risk for internal decapitation in a forward-facing seat.

My 16 month old is still rear facing, yes his legs are a bit cramped, but they are at actually a lower risk of injury rear-facing cramped than if he were to be forward facing in a crash.

Children are 5 times safer rear facing than forward facing.

YouTube - Crash Test - Forward vs. Rear Facing

Some of you may think I am an overprotective mother for posting this info. In a car, I chose to keep my children in the safest seats we can afford. If the unthinkable does happen I hope they are safe, that is all.

No, we don't think you are over protective. We just don't want MoM & the Nanny State to make it LAW. Put out PSA's out the wazzo for all I care, just don't make it law.

 

[Larry Gude]

But Larry, if we do that, then some politician will be deprived of the ability to crow about how many laws he has passed to protect the dear, sweet children. Stop trying to bring common sense into this discussion!

What really bugs me is that this sort of approach NEVER takes into account the fact that there is so much variation in how fast children grow & mature. All I have to do is look at my own kids. My 10 month old weighs almost as much as my 3 1/2 year old. He's growing so much faster than her, and barely fits in his rear-facing seat now.

Well, the good news is that some pol can get to work carving out exceptions.

 

[luv2bfishin]

Here's Grandpa's 2 cents.

I've been away from the car seat scene for some time. My kids are in their thirties. But last Labor Day, my grandson was in a front impact collision that made me look at this stuff a little closer.

My grandson, Joel, was 18 mos & 33 lbs at the time of the accident. Strapped in a friont facing car seat, in the back seat. Big, sturdy boy...well above the minimum threshold of 12 mos / 20 lbs to FF your child. Should be pretty safe, right?

Wrong! He broke his neck. Why? Because in a FF car seat, a childs head is not restrained. Hold back the body, and the head continues forward. When rear facing, this does not happen. Whether it's with kid's or adults. It's just physics. Adults get whiplash, while a kid could possibly break their neck. As for their legs possibly being injured. Sure, but broken leg.or broken neck? Seems a no brainer to me. The bones in a child's neck don't substantially ossify (turn from cartiledge to bone) until around 3 yrs old, give or take. Regardless of their external growth.

I did some heavy duty research on this. I'm not a scientist, but the evidence of RF benefits is overwhelming. You can read about the whole thing, watch a video, and read other RF reasearch studies on his website @ Joel's Journey

What I learned in my old age is that motor vehicle injuries are the #1 killer of children in the USA. I think former Surgeon General said it best “If a disease were killing our children in the proportions that injuries are, people would be outraged and demand this killer be stopped.”
I'm not a big fan of laws governing freedom of choice. If you want to smoke, go ahead. If you want to drink, go ahead. I do both. But I'm mature enough to make my own decision........babies aren't. So I am in favor of basic safety laws for our kids, who are too young to decide for themselves.

Grandpa

 

[Hawkeyewife]

Dear luv2bfishin,

I hope your Grandson has recovered and is doing well. I am so sorry to hear about the accident. Thank You for sharing your story, maybe a few more parents will keep carseats rear-facing a little longer or turn them back around if they are forward-facing for thier little ones.

 

[mindy]

AAP reccomendations make something law?
Wow..


but really, I'm glad they aren't all laws because I'd be screwed, but this is seriously a good idea to do it anyway just like keeping them harnessed as long as possible. My almost 22 month old is still rear facing. He is perfectly fine and not squished. Bending the legs is okay.
My 4yo was rf as long as he could be. His seat was only until 33lbs I think it was though.


I do think a 13yo in a booster seat (which I HAVE seen a couple of mamas saying they had their kids in seats a that age) is beyond ridiculous... but then i was 120 and 5'2" when I started 5th grade so I might be a bit biased besides the whole teen thing lol. If a teen is going to be in a booster, then why not make adults, kwim?