If you know me, you know that I'm sort of a carseat nut. Really, it is all about the safety of my kids. Car crashes are the leading cause of death in children, so of course I want to do everything I can to keep my kids safe in the car. People tend to get really defensive about their carseat usage though, like you're judging their parenting. There are so very many parenting hot-button issues; breastfeeding or formula, cloth diapers or disposables, co-sleeping or crib sleeping...you get the drift. All of these things are reasonably arguable but then it comes down to it, they really are a "what works for our family" type of issue. Carseats are not. A friend posted this a while back, just after the AAP officially released their statement recommending that children stay rear facing until AT LEAST 2 years and 30 lbs, and I wholeheartedly agree with her:
"Every other parenting issue can be turned into an "it works better for our family" argument, but you cannot argue with the laws of physics. It might work better for me if my children could float, but gravity does not care what I think. The same goes for momentum and force when it comes to a hunk of steel traveling at a high rate of speed coming to a sudden stop. It really doesn't matter what you think you know or what you want; physics cannot be overcome by your opinion. It infuriates me that people think this is a "it works better for us" issue. No, no it's not. Your opinion is not above the laws of physics. It may make your child happier to forward face. It may make it easier for you to get them in the car or keep your seats cleaner or feed your child in the car. But when an accident happens, none of that "better for us" stuff makes a bit of difference."
See that's the thing, people hear that the government is trying to tell them what to do with their kid, and to an extent, yes they are, but they also mandate that you, as an adult, wear a seatbelt, and most people agree that that is the safe thing to do. And yet everyone gets their panties in a bunch when it comes to carseat safety. The law says that a child MUST rear face until 1 year AND 20 lbs, this is the absolute legal minimum, and even that some people have a hard time with, apparently a whole lot of parents don't know what the work "and" means and decide it is either or, it is not, the word is "and" but this is the bare minimum. When it comes to safety don't you want to do what is best practice? I do. Research indicates that it is 5 times safer for a child under 2 years old to be rear-facing. The AAP and the NHTSA both recommend rear facing until at least 2 years and 30 lbs, but preferably to the limits of your rear facing convertible seat.
There are exactly 2 words that it took to convince me that rear facing for as long as possible was the bet choice. Those words are "internal decapitation" The spinal cord is only capable of stretching about 1/4" before it severs, however in small children the cartilage and bone around the spinal cord have not fully ossified until somewhere between age 3 and 4, due to the large size of a small child's head in proportion to their body, in a car crash a forward facing child's head can slam forward and with the not yet fully developed bones to keep their spinal cord from stretching, they can suffer severe, sometimes life ending, damage to their spinal cord.
This is why at 2 years 9 months old, my older son is still happily rear facing.
A lot of parents have 'reasons' for forward facing their kids...and a lot of those reasons are crap.
*They can't see out the window....I call serious BS on this one. My sweet little Carson tells me each and every thing he sees out his windows when we're in the car. "look mom a red car!" "look mom a bird" "mommy I see horses" you get the drift. he absolutely can see out the car.
*Their legs are uncomfortable....Actually, most forward facing kids will complain that they are uncomfortable because their legs fall asleep since they don't reach the floor and dangle. A rear-facing kid's legs may seem uncomfy to you, but think about all the crazy positions kids sit that would make an adult sore just looking at them....remember those not-yet-developed bones and cartilage I talked about? That is what makes them so very bendable and totally fine in the car.
*Their legs will get broken in a crash....Also untrue, there are FAR more cases of broken legs in forward facing children than rear facing kids. In crashes that are severe enough to cause broken legs in a rear facing child, there is a very good chance that the same crash would cause severe spinal damage or death in a forward facing kid. Plus its a heck of a lot easier to heal and broken leg than a broken back. "Broken leg? Cast it. Broken back? Casket" The saying may be harsh, but it is valid.
So fellow parents, have I convinced you?
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