I'm one of those car seat nuts - you know, the ones who won't put a child in a seat wearing a thick/puffy winter coat, who still has her 2 year old rear facing, and who cringed when she saw a child going into a booster seat at daycare pickup (this at an infant/toddler center which doesn't have children older than 3). I took my car to a seat check and was told by a tech that after 3 hours of checking seats, mine was the first one they saw that was correctly installed. Did you know that up to 73% of car seats are not correctly installed or used? That's a scary statistic, especially since I think all parents would do anything they could to protect their children. Car seat misuse isn't because parents don't care, it's because it's confusing and can be difficult to get right.
I've read the NHTSA studies and it's pretty convincing - keeping children rear facing as long as possible prevents injuries and saves lives. Rear facing kids under the age of 2 are 5 times less likely to die or suffer serious injuries than forward facing kids. FIVE TIMES. The AAP's current recommendation is: "All infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Seat until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car seat’s manufacturer."
Lily is still rear facing in both of our cars in her Britax Boulevard 70 seats. This seat is designed with a 40 pound rear facing limit (70 pounds forward facing) although realistically most children will outgrow it by height well before reaching either of the weight limits. That's the case for most convertible seats on the market today. She has at least 2" of hard shell over her head, and the limit for this seat is 1" of hard shell. After the age of 2, children will gain around 1" of torso height per year so we should be able to keep her rear facing until around 3 years old in this seat. Developmentally, her musculoskeletal system will be more mature and able to better withstand crash forces at 3 than it is at 2, and we'll be OK with turning her when the time comes.
She's not at all uncomfortable - she either props her legs up on the seat back or sits cross-legged in her seat. I'll give her a book or small toy if she wants one (we don't snack in our cars). Rear facing is all she's ever known and she doesn't think it's weird. It's not terribly difficult to get her in and out of the seat (I don't have her climb in because she uses the headwings for leverage, and I don't want to break them). We have a mirror so that I can see her and she can see me, but Mark doesn't have a mirror in his car and she's just fine without it. In the winter when we're driving home from daycare in the dark, I may pick up one of those DVD players that has the screen that attaches to a head rest. Really, does this look like a toddler who just hates to be rear facing?
(Yes, she removed her shoe and was chewing on it. Mother of the Year, right here!)
When we took Lily in for her 2 year well child visit, the doctor asked about car seat use and started off with, "She's probably forward facing now..." and her face lit up when we told her that she was still rear facing and would be for as long as possible. We hadn't seen this young pediatrician before, but she said that car seat safety was emphasized during her residency and it's something she talks to all families about - she said she's had patients who were in boosters at two years old, so it was wonderful to have a family who follows the recommendation.
This is a great blog post, written in easy-to-understand language, about the AAP recommendations and what a good car seat progression would be. It doesn't have to be expensive and complicated. And please, regardless of what car seat or booster your child is in, go to a Safe Kids seat check or contact your local car seat tech. They are certified to make sure that your seat is installed and is being used correctly!
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