New Car Seat Recommendations

I think all parents would say that keeping their kids safe is important to them. Sometimes I think I would like to put each of my girls in a little bubble, to keep them from ever being injured or sick. To never get their feelings hurt or feel disappointment. It breaks my heart when they cry. I wish I could take their pain and their sickness upon myself. I, along with probably every mother, can say without hesitation that I would give my life for either of my kids.

So what does this have to do with a car seat?

Well, back in the spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations regarding child seats. Because of them I am seriously reconsidering my current car seat situation and definitely postponing the ever-exciting forward-facing debut for Elly.

So many people have responded to delaying turning car seats with annoyance or disinterest. People complain that their child's legs are touching the seat and they can't be comfortable. Or that their other children were turned at age one without problem. Or their kid is big for their age so they don't even want to wait til age one.

What is more important than your child's safety? If it comes down to being a little less comfortable in the car versus dead, are you really going to choose dead? Really? It blows my mind than anyone would even consider not following the new recommendations.

Although Evie meets the age and size minimums to be forward-facing, the statistics show that rear-facing is SOOO much safer, that I'm strongly considering turning her back rear -facing. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children under age twelve. One reason is that people disregard car seat safety.

Yes, car seats are a pain. The five-point harness is a big hassle and with a wiggly kid it can take an eternity to get them buckled it. And with the new recommendations saying that children should ride in a booster seat until they are 4'9" (a height I probably didn't reach until middle school honestly) more parents are likely to shrug them off. But this is your child's LIFE.

None of us plan to get in a car accident. We don't hop in the car and hope to risk our lives and the lives of our children. But think about this statistic...if you are going 30 mph and are in front-end impact accident, everyone in the car continues to go 30 mph. An impact to your child's head at that momentum is the same as dropping your child head first off a three-story building.

Children in a rear-facing car seat are 75% safer than forward facing. This is because 72% of auto accidents are head-on (car meets object with forward-moving impact). Children are born with softer bones than an adult. They are still growing and developing. Between ages 2 and 5 the bones in their spine begin to harden and fuse and can withstand more impact without damage. Until those bones are fully hardened your child's spinal cord is very weakly protected. Whip lash for a child can be the same as internal decapitation. That's right DE-CAP-I-TA-TION.

So what about rear-impact collisions? Where someone hits you or you back into something. Well, these accidents only account for about 4% of all accidents. But even in the case of this type of wreck, a rear-facing child's head and neck are usually cushioned by the recline in the rear-facing seat, dramatically reducing the force on their head and neck. Also, in that type of collision, the cars continue to go forward, distributing the momentum of the accident over the car instead of on the passengers.

I seriously doubt that a child who had never been forward facing would complain about their legs being cramped. As adults, we have a much different opinion of what "comfortable" is. Toddlers sleep contorted and twisted up. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were wadded up inside their mom's belly. They're still incredibly flexible. And children are more than happy to prop their feet up or sit cross-legged. As for a child's legs being injured by being rear-facing when their legs touch the seat, a leg fracture is very, very rarely fatal. Yes, a femur fracture can be life threatening. But the majority of the time, it would be one of the more fragile lower leg bones that would break before the hefty femur. And a leg fracture leads to a cast. Breaking your neck though? Well, a cast can't fix a spinal cord injury.

And the new recommendations do make exceptions for children that are especially big for their age. While they don't budge on the one-year requirement, there are allowance for those children who exceed the limits for their seat's rear-facing height and weight limits. In those circumstances, parents are told to turn the child forward facing. So, if your convertible car seat sets 30 lbs as the weight limit on rear-facing and your 15 month old weighs 31 lbs, you should go ahead and turn them forward. Most children however, do not hit the 30 lb mark until after their second birthday.

I have all these dreams for my children. I want to see them start school, ride a pony, play sports. I want to help them do their hair for school dances and help them with their grammar homework. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. It is something I would give anything and do anything to prevent from ever happening. I would like for it to be something no one has to go through. And to experience that loss and to know that you could have prevented it? That would be a guilt that I cannot imagine living with.

I have read the complaints and the arguments against waiting until age 2 to turn your child forward-facing. And I don't feel that any of them are worth a grain of salt when you're talking about the safety of your children. It isn't a law. Yet. Though there is a tremendous push from a lot of groups to enact more of the car seat and booster seat recommendations into law. Which, for the record, I think is a great idea.

So, to all the parents out there, please read the AAP's new recommendations. Take an honest look at your child's car seat situation. I'm going to start telling my girls early that they'll probably be in a booster seat when they get their driver's license. I'm only 5'3" and my husband isn't giving NBA stars a run for their money in the height department. There are some tall genes in my family somewhere because my younger brother is 6'2" but my kids shouldn't count on inheriting any of that. And their safety is far more important to me than whether or not they look cool getting out of the car. haha!

I don't feel bad for turning Evie forward facing at age one. I'm glad that she wasn't one of thousands of children injured under age 2 by a car accident. But at the time, doctors, scientists and pediatricians all said 1 year and 20 lbs was okay. My 6 month old met the 20 lb requirement, but I assure you that turning her car seat around hasn't even flitted across my subconscious. Let alone surfaced in my conscious thoughts. I won't be turning her til age 2, regardless of the fact that Evie survived.

So, my second day back to blogging and I have a seriously biased rant. Sorry guys. I just feel really strongly about child safety. I work in emergency services. I hear too many stories about children killed in car accidents. I don't want any of those stories to be about your kids! I want those stories to stop completely. So please, take care of your children. They are precious gifts.

Links for more information:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Time article

American Academy of Pediatrics