When I put my kids in our vehicle, I sometimes get questions or comments from friends and family members about my 3-year-old.
- “Isn’t she a little big to be in that car seat?”
- “She doesn’t look very comfortable.”
- “Wouldn’t she rather be facing the front so she can see better?”
Folks ask these questions because my 3-year-old is still rear-facing in a convertible car seat. If you’re curious, she’s not too big for the car seat (in fact, she is way below the height and weight limits for it), she’s perfectly comfortable, and she can see quite a bit out the windows. Like these friends and family members, you may be wondering why my 3-year-old is still rear-facing. Isn’t she big enough to be facing forward?
Car seat safety recommendations change frequently. One of the current recommendations that is relatively new is that children remain in rear-facing car seats until a minimum of age two or until they reach the height or weight limit of their seat (source).
This didn’t used to be the recommendation; however, safety experts and emergency room physicians know a lot more about car seat safety today than they did 40 years ago, 14 years ago, or even 4 years ago. Today we have a greater understanding of the human body, more thorough research findings from accident victims, and new technology to use when building car seats.
If you’re anything like me, then you like to see the evidence for yourself. You don’t like to simply take someone else’s word for it; you want to verify that the recommendations are truly sound. I asked “why” in regards to keeping my kids rear-facing in their car seats. Here’s what I found.
The science behind rear-facing car seat recommendations
There are some critical pieces of information to keep in mind when talking about car seat safety. One is that the vast majority of accidents (80%) are front or side impacts. This means that only 20% of accidents are rear impacts, and many of these occur at low speeds (such as when a driver taps another vehicle while pulling out of a parking space). Subsequently, recommendations are based on the reality that most crashes—especially those occurring at high speeds—will be front or side impacts.
A second critical piece of information is that the bodies of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers aren’t fully developed. Their vertebrae are connected via cartilage instead of ossified bone. These cartilaginous connections, called synchondroses, slowly close over time. However, prior to the age of two, none of the synchondroses have completely ossified. Some may close during the second year, but many don’t ossify until well into the childhood years.
During a vehicle crash, occupants move towards the point of impact, putting a lot of stress on the neck and spine. In young kids, this sort of stress can stretch the synchondroses by up to two inches! This is alarming because a stretch of only one-quarter inch is sufficient to rupture the spinal column, causing paralysis or even death. This risk is especially high because a baby’s head is so large in proportion to its body. A baby’s head comprises 25% of its total body weight!
When a young child is in a crash while forward-facing, his or her head, neck, arms, and legs are thrown forward in a whiplash motion. When a young child is in a crash while rear-facing, the forces of the crash are more evenly diffused along the back of the car seat, holding the neck and spine in line. His or her arms and legs often become cocooned in the car seat. Therefore, it’s not surprising to learn that the odds of severe injury are much greater when a child is facing forward.
- In children under 12 months, the odds of severe injury for forward-facing infants is 1.79 times higher than for rear-facing infants.
- In children aged 12-23 months, the odds of severe injury for forward-facing toddlers is 5.32 times higher than for rear-facing toddlers.
This does not mean that the reduced risk of injury while rear-facing ends when a child turns two. It simply reflects the limited research that has been conducted on the topic. I’m confident that studies looking at older children will be completed in the near future.
Final thoughts
As parents, we want to do everything we can to keep our kids safe. The reality is that we can’t protect them from everything, but I’m certainly going to do everything in my power to protect them from significant threats. It would be easier to turn my kids forward-facing. It’s easier to get kids buckled in when they face this way and my husband wouldn’t have to worry about pushing into a car seat when he moves the driver’s seat back. However, what’s easiest isn’t always what’s best. We’ll continue to deal with the inconveniences because the tradeoff is that they are safe.
As I’ve had conversations with other parents about rear-facing car seats, I’ve heard dozens of reasons why parents choose to disregard these recommendations and turn their toddlers so they face forward. If this is you, then I encourage you to check out these rear-facing car seat myths. Likewise, I encourage you to check out the laws in your state. Though the laws in many states lag behind these guidelines, a number of states have now made it law that children must remain rear-facing through age two.
For more information on car seat safety, please visit my sources:
- Car Seats: Information for Families from the American Academy of Pediatrics
- Why Rear Facing: the Science Junkie’s Guide from Car Seats for the Littles
- Why ride rear-facing? from The Car Seat Lady
Were you aware of these recommendations? How do you feel about keeping your kids rear-facing for longer?
Shared at the following:
Modest Monday, Homemaking Linkup, Encouraging Hearts and Home, Friday Frivolity, Awesome Life Friday, and Tuesdays with a Twist.
Thank you for sharing these facts! So many times we don’t KNOW what’s best and it’s so important to share information to help others make the best decisions- even though sometimes we might be afraid of offending. We also are still rearfacing with the same age you have and get those same questions you mentioned- so it’s also good to know we aren’t alone in that.
As parents, we have so much going on that it is difficult to find time to research everything. When we hear recommendations, though, it’s so important that we verify if they are accurate or not. I’d be foolish to keep the info I’ve found to myself!
You’re definitely not alone! As families understand the reasons for the recommendations, I think more and more are leaving their kids rear-facing for an extended period of time.
Thanks so much for sharing some helpful truth. All four of my “babies” are well past car seat age and size. However, they were all a little smaller than most children their size. We received all sorts of comments. I always had a hard time understanding why people thought it would be better for me to consider their comfort or desires above their safety. Visiting you from the Raising Homemakers linkup. 🙂
You’re welcome, Amanda! Their safety was definitely most important.
I’m glad you mentioned size because one reason parents turn their kids around too early is because of size. However, it’s important to remember that a tall or heavy baby isn’t necessarily more developed than a short or light one. The development has to do with age, not size. Thus, both big and small babies benefit from being rear-facing.