Children's bones haven't formed fully, and, because they're more flexible, they can sit comfortably in positions that adults might find difficult. Lower-extremity injuries in car crashes begin to show up when children sit facing forward. Rear-facing safety seats are not only far more effective at preventing fatal injuries as well as those that could permanently disable a child , they're also much better at protecting your child's arms and legs. Hoffman recommends keeping your child in a rear-facing seat for as long as possible, or at least until the age of 2.
Rear-facing safety seats provide children with good protection in the event of a rear-end crash, according to a study by Ohio State University. The study team tested multiple types of rear-facing car seats. They found that all of the safety seats tested, when used correctly, were effective at absorbing the energy from a rear-end impact and at protecting a child's head, neck, and spine.
Another factor is that most rear-end collisions tend to be relatively minor compared with average front and side impacts. Car seat mistakes parents make and how to avoid them. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world.
When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Child passenger safety.
Digest of Motor Laws. AAP updates: Recommendations on car seats for children. American Academy of Pediatrics. Car seats: Information for families. SafetyBeltSafe U. Join now to personalize. When should I switch my child to a forward-facing car seat? How can I tell if a rear-facing seat is the right size for my child? Should I turn my child's safety seat forward when she outgrows an infant seat? I already changed my toddler's car seat to forward facing. Should I switch it back? What are the laws on age for rear- and forward-facing safety seats?
Why is rear facing safer than forward facing with safety seats? What if my child's legs seem too long for a rear-facing seat? Many parents want to know the right age for a forward-facing car seat, but this is not as straightforward as it may seem. But don't be tempted to rush into making the switch.
There are lots of good reasons why many parents choose to increase the age before facing their baby forward in a car seat. Why is rearward-facing travel safest for babies and young children? Children travelling forward-facing can be thrown forwards in a head-on collision. That puts stress on the fragile head and neck, which can lead to serious injury.
If your child is travelling rear-facing, the car seat spreads the forces across the whole back, protecting the delicate head and neck. What is the i -Size rear-facing car seat law? If you have chosen an i -Size car seat, your child must travel facing the rear until they are 15 months old by law. Besides worrying about leg injuries, many parents worry about leg discomfort in the rear-facing child.
As kids get older, their feet will touch the back of the vehicle seat; this is both comfortable and safe. Ever wonder why a 5-year-old can sleep comfortably with his chin on his chest and never wake up complaining of a stiff neck? Kids have much more flexibility and range of motion in their ankle, knee and hip joints than adults do. Parents of forward-facing children will know that kids often try to put their feet up wherever they can — often the back of the front seat which drives many adults crazy!
This is NOT correct. Many many years ago, in the days before the iPhone was invented, the minimum to turn forward facing was 1 year and 20 pounds. The AAP now recommends that kids sit rear-facing until at least age 2 and for longer if possible. Your car seat is confusing you! All convertible seats on the market in the US have for many, many years allowed rear-facing until at least 30 pounds, with most going to 40 or more pounds rear-facing. However, the labels on the car seat confuse many families, leading them to think a child must be forward-facing starting at 22 lbs.
However, many people confuse this to mean that after 20 pounds you must turn the car seat forward-facing — which is NOT what it is trying to say. A child can be either too heavy, too tall, or both—but all of this depends on the specifications of the car seat. Each car seat has its own height and weight limits for rear-facing children. Most convertible seats allow children to sit rear-facing up to 35, 40 or 50 pounds.
This inch ensures that as the child slides up the seat in a crash, his head will stay protected. Given the design of most car seats, the majority of children become too tall for rear-facing seats before they become too heavy. Therefore, when you purchase a convertible car seat, try to select one that is taller in seated height. The rigidity of bones and the strength of ligaments in the spine is likely the same in children of the same age, no matter their size.
And a 95th percentile baby likely has a much larger, heavier head, which will pull forward which much more force than that of a 5th percentile child. Click here to learn about seats that can best accommodate the biggest kids rear-facing. Convertibles with high height and weight limits, enabling rear-facing for as long as possible.
Older kids can ride quite upright so they can see out the side and rear windows. When we know better, we must do better. A few months ago when you turned her forward facing you did what you thought was best, but now you know differently. Avoid regrets, and give your child the best protection. Many parents worry that it will be a disaster turning an older child back rear-facing.
He has been sitting forward facing for over a year and can be strong willed when it comes to change. However, after hearing how much safer it is I was willing to try.
We ignored and distracted and I was about to give up when I noticed that although he still complained about sitting rear facing it happened less and less. Now after about three weeks he asks maybe once every other drive if he can sit forward facing and was even mostly fine the other day when his friend joined us and sat forward facing. It was a tough first few drives, but I am very happy we did it and I feel so much safer.
Of course you would buy them the clothes! The same should go for the car seat! The car seat is one of the only products you will ever buy for your child that has the potential to save their life! Just like your child needs new clothes frequently, they may need a new car seat sooner than you thought.
If you are in a crash, you will be relieved knowing that you gave them the best protection possible. The recommendation to keep children under age 2 rear-facing is not based on a single study, but rather on a broad body of research from the US and Sweden. These citations are included below for easy reference.
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