21 Mar
Obligatory Car Seat Guideline Post
Today the AAP released new guidelines regarding car seat and booster seat usage. I’m going to be honest, as it isn’t yet even close to on my radar, I have not done any research or formed an opinion on the booster seat guidelines. I have, however, done a lot of research and have a rather strong opinion on the car seat guidelines.
The new car seat guidelines (which are discussed here) recommend that toddlers remain rear facing until they are either two years old or until they reach the maximum rear facing height/weight limits for their car seat.
I am thrilled about the new recommendations. Children under the ago of two are 75% less likely to die or sustain a serious injury if they are rear facing during a car accident. 75%! I don’t care if it’s 2%, anything that I can do to minimize injury to my child, I will do.
Personally, I feel that there is an immense amount of “peer pressure” that’s out there to forward face your child the second they hit one year and 20 lbs (which is the law in PA). When Jack turned 1 year, he was just barely 20 lbs. I had already done my research on extended rear facing and had decided that we would keep Jack rear facing as long as possible. Almost everyone I knew thought I was crazy and conservative and basically just being an over-protective mom. We eventually turned Jack forward just after he turned 18 months. I wish that we had waited, but it is what it is. We will make every effort to keep X rear facing until he is two. Part of me is glad that I now have the AAP guidelines to point at and validate my decision to keep X rear facing. I know I shouldn’t feel like I need to validate a parenting decision, but sometimes I do.
One thing that has really bothered me today about this whole new guideline thing is the number of people that I have seen who said they likely will not follow the guidelines because their child can’t possibly be comfortable rear facing until they are two. (To be fair, I’m not talking about a child who pitches a fit, screams, cries, throws up because they are unhappy in the car seat. If you child is so unhappy that they are a distraction to the driver, then you need to make sure that your child and everyone else is safe. If that means forward facing, then that’s what keeps everyone safe). The “comfort” argument just doesn’t hold any water with me. First, I would much rather have a uncomfortable child that one who is seriously injured or worse in a car accident. Second, have you ever actually looked at the way a toddler sits or sleeps? They never look comfortable yet somehow, they don’t mind. I guess my ultimate question is if your child doesn’t want to wear a bike helmet because it isn’t comfortable, will you tell them that they don’t have to wear it? I’m guessing not. Will you tell your pre-schooler who doesn’t know how to swim that they don’t have to wear a life-jacket because it isn’t comfortable? What about your teenager who doesn’t want to wear a seat belt? I could easily name a dozen safety guidelines that could be perceived as causing discomfort, but we follow them without question. Why not this one?
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I had the same issue with Juliana. Everyone wanted me to turn her around when she turned one. Since she was only 18lbs, I pointed to that number. I finally switched her at 18-months. We switched the boys at 18-months as well. I was surprised to see people talking about moving young preschools to a booster seat. I er on the side of caution. We just moved Juliana to a high-back booster from a seat with a 5-point harness in the past month. No reason to move up as soon as possible.
Dagny is still rear-facing, so we might actually make it to 2 years. But I will say that her knees are practically in her face and she looks uncomfortable but has never complained. Usually she splays her legs out and up against the seat. I worry that they’d get crushed in an accident but I guess the alternative is a broken neck or brain injury…so yeah, we’re rear-facing still.
The absolute *only* reason we switched Alexis around near her first birthday was because she was a giant. She was right at the edge of the weight limit for her convertible seat to be rear-facing and had long before blown right past the weight limit to even be near her infant seat. I hated switching her around.
She’s staying in a 5-point harness until she’s 15, though. I will find a way.
My sister moved Little C to a front-facing seat a long time ago (around 1.5 years?) because she, also, is a giant, and heavy (although she is basically a twig on feet. No idea how that works, but she’s a skinny, tall, weighty gal.)
BION I’m impresesd! Cool post!
Sorry, I’m a little late catching up on my Reader!
I totally agree! In the SUV (where the kids are riding most of the time) Spenc is still backwards, and B was backwards until she was almost two- she was only 18lbs at 12 months, and barely over 23lbs at 24months! And the only reason we moved her to her new forward facing car seat is b/c we were going to need the convertible for Spenc!
And we had a car sickness incident when she went forward facing in the car, so we were in no rush!!! Spenc is definitely staying backwards until after our vacation at the end of June! When we’re on a long trip, it’s easier for him to sleep (nap) in the car in the backwards seat! Plus, you know, I’d like to avoid the whole car sickness thing with him… 
I think when B was ~18months and still sitting backwards, my pediatrician was pleased and suggested that there was no rush to turn her around. He said that he wouldn’t be surprised if they changed the law to be two years old before turning forwards. I think this may be the first step- they’ll have this recommendation for a while, and then eventually it’ll turn into law.
Whvoeer wrote this, you know how to make a good article.
I’m way late on this, but I just found your blog (and am now catching up with the archives) and I wanted to say I’m right there with you. My son is almost 22 months, on the tall side for height and pretty much average for weight (definitely over the limit by now, which is also 20 pounds in Ohio by law), and we’ve still got him rear facing.
His legs are starting to seem more bunched up, but he has never once seemed “uncomfortable.” I don’t really understand that argument, either … If a kid is used to a rear-facing seat and hasn’t been forward facing yet, how can they possibly have a preference? They don’t know any better!