Car seat safety is a passion of mine and is often times over looked by well meaning parents. Even parents that have a toddler or older child can and often DO make car seat mistakes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that babies should remain rear-facing until they reach the maximum height and weight allowed by the car seat manufacturer. This is because rear facing truly is the safest way to ride in the car.
I knew nothing about car seat safety
One of the most humbling times of my life was when an acquaintance told me that I did not have my infant son buckled in the car correctly. All the horrible thoughts went through my head. What if we had gotten into an accident? Would my son be injured or dead because of my unknowing mistake?
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One of my life motto’s – Know better, do better.
Many parents take it the wrong way when a friend tells them that their little is not buckled in correctly and become offended but I urge you not to. We did not know we were wrong. We just fix our mistake and pass on the car seat safety knowledge to the next parent.
How do I know my car seat is installed correctly?
Easy! You can have your car seat installed or inspected by a car seat technician in your area. They will show you how to install your seat or how you can improve the installment of your current seat. Take the 10 minutes and go. Car seat safety is more important than that netflix marathon.
What car seat does my child need?
Check out the ultimate car seat guide to find the perfect car seat for your child. Remember, it is best to max out the height and/or weight on your rear facing car seat before turning your child forward. Try buying a car seat that has a higher weight and height requirement so it will last longer rear facing. Technicians and crazy car seat moms like me recommend you buy one of those seats if able.
A technician can also help you find the best car seat for your child. Children can often rear face until 4 or 5 years of age, it doesn’t hurt them and yes, their legs are okay all scrunched up like that.
Why rear face longer than the bare minimum?
“A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body.” – Dennis Durbin, M.D., FAAP
Simply put, the impact of a crash on a child’s body is cradled better in the seat rear facing. This creates less risk of internal damage such as internal decapitation.
Related: How tummy time benefits your baby
Or physics
“Rear facing is not a choice to be made based on parenting style or opinion; it’s one based on scientific fact,” according to the non-profit Car Seat For The Littles. “The more we know about physics and physiology, the better we’re able to protect our kids from severe injury.”
This article from Fatherly does an amazing job of explaining the physics behind why rear facing is safer.
Find more car seat safety information from:
- Safe Rides for Kids
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- HealthyChildren. org
- SafeKidsWorldwide
- The CDC – Centers for Disease Control
