car seat safety question?
Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at
5:41 pm
my daughter is pushing the 20 lb mark so will need to be out of the infant carseat very soon. since she is under 1years old do i need to keep the bigger car seat rear facing still? my son is 7 and never did this for him but have times changed?
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The recommendation from safety experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics is to rearface (RF) to the limits of the seat which is 30-35lbs on all seats sold in the US. My own daughter is 2 1/2 years – 28lbs – 36in tall and still RF in her Britax Marathons. She will RF until she reaches 33lbs. She is much safer this way.
I have included several links with great pictures and videos of what happens to childrens necks when they are FF in a crash.
Most people are concerned about their child’s legs being scrunched or broken in a crash. There is absolutely no evidence that shows a child’s legs are in danger and I would much rather deal with a broken leg, than a broken neck.
Your next seat purchase should be a convertible carseat that can RF to 30-35lbs, then forward face (FF) to 50+ pounds. The 40lb FF weight limit seats are usually too small to get a child to booster age (at least 4 years and 40lbs). Spend the money now and it will cost you less in the long run.
ALSO – Please make sure your daughter hasn’t already outgrown her carrier by height. She needs to have at least 1 inch of plastic shell (pull back the cover to see) above her head to keep her safe. My daughter outgrew the carrier at 6 mos by height, but didn’t hit 20 lbs until she was 14mos.
Yes rear facing till 1 year old!
The next car seat will be for rear or forward facing and should be good for around 15 to 35 lbs.
Seat belt needs to be tightened and the miles this person drives needs to be at the regular rate.
Keep her rear facing until she is at LEAST 1 year old… Statistically, babies are 4-5 times safer facing rear, the center of the back seat is also best…
the longer you keep her facing the rear, the safer she’ll be.