Extended Rear Facing--Nicholas

Common myths of rear facing are: broken legs, uncomfortableness, my baby gets car sick when riding backwards, etc.


Broken legs--The reality is that any crash severe enough to break your child's legs can severe their spinal column and kill a child. There is NO documented case of broken legs due to rear facing. However the most common injury for forward facing children is broken legs.


My child is uncomfortable--Children are weird. They are comfortable in positions that would leave an adult in desperate need of a chiropractor. Most children prefer rear facing because they have a place to prop their legs and are reclined.


My baby gets sick when rear facing--There is no guarantee that forward facing will alleviate the car sickness. In the very rare case that nothing works to alleviate the car sickness then it is a parent's decision to turn their child or keep them rear facing.


My child hates rear facing / forward facing is easier--Over the course of your lifetime you will tell your child "no." and "you can't do that" or make decisions that don't make them happy. Safety is not negotiable. Rear facing is safer and they need to know that you are keeping them safe, not just being mean. If your child never knows that they can forward face there is no way to be sure that forward facing them will make them love the car seat. Many children dislike forward facing because if they drop their lovey or sippy cup they can't reach it but they can if they are rear facing and the cup/lovey drops into their lap and not the floor.


What if I am hit from behind? Won't my child be safer facing forward?--Frontal and side impacts are the most common type of crashes. They account for 96% of all crashes. They are also the most deadly type of crashes (especially side impacts) and rear-facing children have MUCH more protection in both types of crashes than forward-facing. In the 4% of rear impact crashes that a rear-facing child would be in, they have at least the same amount of protection that a FF child would have in a frontal impact, with the added benefit of less crash energy being transferred to them, and the fact that the rear impact is usually not as severe.

The forces in a rear impact crash are much different from the forces in a frontal impact crash. In a frontal impact, the forces are much greater because the vehicles are usually traveling in opposite directions. Experts suggest that a frontal crash is the same as hitting a concrete barrier - the vehicle and all occupants come to a dead stop within less than 1 second. When you are struck in a rear impact, the vehicles involved are traveling in the same direction, and the vehicle that is hit in the back has room to move forward. The crash force on the occupants is much less than in a frontal impact. The movement of the impacted vehicle, in addition to the crush zone, absorbs a lot of the crash energy, so it is not transferred to the child. Additionally, the majority of rear impacts are at low speeds.


My child wants to see out the window---They probably also want to eat chocolate cake all day everyday. It doesn't mean you will let them do it. Safety and health outweigh what a child wants to do. Besides, they can see out the windows rear facing.


My doctor / police officer / firefighter / emt / mother / etc. said that I can forward face my child--These people are not required to take a certified child passenger safety class by SAFE KIDS and NHTSA(National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration). Asking a doctor about car seat safety is like asking your cable man how to preform brain surgery. They just don't know anymore than the general public does. The AAP(American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends rear facing up to 2yrs and 30lbs.


I'm a safe driver---You might be a safe driver but what about the teen texting while driving? What about the drunk who got behind the wheel? What about the trucker who lost control of his big rig? What about the mom who was distracted by her kids? Weather can change road conditions instantly. You might be a safe driver but everyone else might not be. You need to be proactive to keep your child safe.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• ERF
• Extended Rear Facing
• Child
• Baby
• Toddler
• Car Seat
• Child Passenger Safety
• Safety
• Extended Harnessing

[xopaula1993xo]

Clean his dirty shirt and turn your child around and show him the good view and buckle up lady!

[babyboomboom0029]

@xopaula1993xo Turning him around at this time would drastically reduce his safety.  It's 5x safer for a toddler to be rear facing than forward facing. As shown in the video he has a great view. I am buckled up, you would be surprised as to how far you can reach across a short backseat. And I apologize that my son has a spot of ketchup on his collar from being out to dinner. I guess I'm just not that great of a mother since he has one spot on his shirt.

[ebone2009]

Is your child small for his age? My Grandson is 33 inches 26 lbs and 12 months old. I have a my ride 65. I don't think we will be able to keep him RF as long as we would like...

[babyboomboom0029]

@ebone2009 Yes. He's very small for his age. You should be able to keep your little one RF for a long time. Remember a child outgrows rear facing when they are over the weight limit of the seat(so 40lbs for the MyRide) or they have less than 1inch of hard plastic shell above their head.

[23423SpringBaby27657]

@babyboomboom0029 He isn't small, this is average...... My son is 35 inches and 30 lbs.... and he is 29 months.

[babyboomboom0029]

@23423SpringBaby27657 According to his pediatrician, nutritionist, and gastroenterologist he is small for his age. In this video he was 27months, 23lbs, and 33in head to toe. According to the growth charts at this age he was under the 3rd percentile for weight and height.

[luv2bfishin]

Great video Mom!!! As an advocate of ERF, I hear alot of complaints about the leg room. Your video shows it like it is. Their legs are all over the place!! And they are happy! But above all, much safer

My grandson, Joel, was 18 mos and 33 lbs, when he broke his neck in an accident while in a front facing car seat. His video is also posted on you tube "Front facing or Rear facing?"

My kudo's to you for this video. I think I'll add a link to Joels website if that's okay....

Grandpa

[misswhitegrape0225]

@xopaula1993xo Every kid gets a stain on their shirt every once in a while. I'm sure he isn't bothered by it one bit. Plus rear facing is 5 times safer. He should rear face as long as possible. And how do you know she is unbuckled?

[laurenklein19]

Thank you!! My son is 14 months, 24 pounds, and 31.5 inches and he is still rear-facing and will until I feel comfortable with switching him. Definitely not until after he is two! We have a RECARO Proride and he loves it. He never complains and can just bends or folds his legs. :) Thanks for keeping your precious son safe!!

[MommyJessica1]

He is so cute! Good for you keeping him RF! I'm a tech and my almost 3 year old is still RF, my middle son made it to 2 months short of his 6th birthday RF(his choice) when he maxed out the RF weight for his radian. :)

[Nemmigay1987]

I live in australia, you cant get a legal car seat that rear faces over 12 kilos here =( and my lo is 16 months and 12 kilos (his was a 9 kilo rear face) =( i wish the government would bring us up to the safest options!