carseats/extended rear facing?

[tessa_s212]

They cross their legs, or put their feet up. Or, they don't quite cross their legs, but just sit with them bent out.

Google Image Result for http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v365/emmitsmom/IMG_3591.jpg

 

[darkchild16]

That cant be comfortable for long trips or period iknow my legs cramp up after being like that for awhile. Plus they learn ALOT about the world around them looking out the window. I love how its now extended rf when we were little only the pretty well off had carseats past the infant age. And now we want to keep a 2-3 year old staring at a seat rear facing?

 

[tessa_s212]

I always wonder what would happen if you were rear ended really hard while a kid was rear-facing.

This is the answer that I got to that same question

According to the physics of it, what's going on in a crash is that the car accelerates (changes speed) in one direction and everyone in the car experiences force in the opposite direction.

So when a car moving forward runs into something, the car accelerates toward the back of the car, and the people in the car are forced toward the front of the car. Whereas if a car experiences acceleration toward the front of the car, for example if the car is hit from behind, then the people are forced toward the back of the car.

SO - according to that it does seem like in rear-end collisions, it is safer to be forward facing.

BUT - you have to consider what is safer overall.

The facts are
(1) rear-end collisions are far less common than all other types
(2) rear-end collisions result in far less acceleration of the car, which in turn results in the people feeling much less force
(3) when a car is rear-ended it is often pushed into another car, and the force resulting from the front-end collision is usually much more than the force resulting the original rear-end collision

So, OVERALL it is much safer to be rearfacing.

and

One of the greatest benefits of rear facing is in side collisions which is not often talked about. Forward facing seats offer very poor protection in these cases since real accidents rarely occur the same way as in those tests in the lab.

A forward facing child is often thrown forward just before impact from the side due to "pre-impact breaking" leaving head and neck area virtually unprotected (applies to both boosters and harnessed seats).

A rear facing child is pushed further into the seat due to "pre-impact breaking" providing excellent protection for head and neck

And I even ran across pictures and first hand account of serious rear end collision with babe in rear facing.

Rear facing in Rear end collisions

 

[CaliTerp07]

WOW, people in the link Tessa posted talk about rear facing their kids until they are FOUR?!

I get waiting until they're 2, I guess (though man, that looks cramped for anything longer than a grocery store run), but 4 just seems like a lot.

 

[darkchild16]

Bev was cramped at 11 mths her head was at the top of the seat and she was fussy which made it more distracting to drive. Im less likely to get in a crash if im undistracted. I just looked it up and they say forward facing they are more of a distraction yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa bev is alot calmer and comfortable streaching her legs and being able to see me. I dont see how they can expect that child to be comfortable on a long road trip bev would be downright Hell and PISSED. Plus I can SEE her if she is eating something or drinking something to know if shes alright or not if she was rearfacing that would be harder. I find way to many flaws in that system. 2 i geuss i can see, especially if you have a small child or short child. I ended up with a string bean who outgrew a infant at 11ish months (might have been sooner i dont remember.) and couldnt afford a convertable.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Yeah, I mean if your kid is okay with it than go for it, but if it makes your kid fussy and miserable, that's not helping anyone.

What about the mini-vans where the seats in the middle section can swivel and face backwards? Then you could have the kid sitting the regular way in the car seat, but still facing backwards. Is that safe? I would imagine it's a heck of a lot more comfortable.

 

[darkchild16]

for me its also being able to see them, at that age they can eat and drink in the car fine and most want at least a cup with them and I wouldnt feel comfortable not being able to see her with it because i know even now sometimes she will drink to much at one time. So I can keep a eye on her and make sure shes just coughing and not choking.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Ahh, that makes sense. We were never allowed food or drinks in the car, so I didn't even think of that!

 

[darkchild16]

When you are driving 2+ hours with a 2 year old or driving right after her nap for your sanity you need to LOL. But they are spill proof these days when we were kids they werent LOL.

 

[tessa_s212]

I have fears about Mason hating being RFing too. He is a big, long boy. I hope he's fine with it.. but if not, oh well. The way I personally see it is this.. as an infant, he HATED it. He cried being strapped in, he cried being placed in, and would cry until the car 'rocked' him to sleep. Because he was colicky I'm actually pretty good at selective hearing and ignoring him if I need to, such as in a car when I'm driving. I didn't take him out of it just because he didn't like it. No way. So I see this as the same. I didn't at first, but after I started watching the crash tests and reading about it.. everyone thinks that it couldn't happen to them, but things do happen. And in the event that my baby was killed or paralyzed because he wasn't rear facing, I'd be *glad* to go back and hear his screaming, just to hear it, instead of him being dead, you know? IF he REALLY hates it, I might consider switching earlier than I'd like to, but I know now that I won't switch him at 1 year/20lbs. I'm a safe driver. I can't guarantee everyone else is. It is just remembering that driving is the most dangerous thing we do all day long.

 

[darkchild16]

Crying is one thing bev would SCREAM like someone was murdering her. There was no calming her, even getting the crying down to normal and there is NO way to ignore that. Plus Im sorry if my child is that uncomfortable im not doing it to her, this is the girl who bumps her head on wood, brinck terrazzo (i swear shes going to relize one day being rough and tumbly hurts LOL) without crying.

 

[tessa_s212]

No need to be sorry. We all do what we feel is best for our own. If the screaming is too distracting, perhaps it is safer to be forward-facing.

 

[darkchild16]

NO i didnt mean it that way that I was sorry, LOL. I heard about it from the pedi too and i told him to shove it. I just cant see how any kid can be comfortable like that at 4 either. I know I couldnt be and I remember even when I was little i hated being cramped.

 

[AGonzalez]

For those that keep them rearward facing for longer, how on earth do the kids legs not get crammed up under their chins? Carson had nowhere for his legs to go and was constantly kicking the back of the seat (that he was facing) and finally got to where he screamed whenever he had to get into the car. When I turned him forward, he seemed forever grateful and hasn't cried yet when going for a ride....guessing because his legs now have room to "be free".

That's one of the issues I had in my Mustang. Because of the size of the interior, little legs were always cramped up. All 3 outgrew the infant carrier around 6-9 months old and got switched to the large forward facing seats. Not to mention the infant carriers don't fit behind the seats unless you are really short (which I am, but it would only fit behind the driver seat).

I can tell you one thing, when I got into the accident in November (rear ended while sitting still merging into traffic at approx. 35 mph), I hit the back of my driver seat hard enough (while wearing a seatbelt) that I broke the pin that holds the back up and it slammed full force of my body weight into Shannon carseat (and Shannon was at home, luckily) had it been rear facing it would have smashed it into the back of the rear seat - face first for her. As it was it probably wouldn't have hurt her bad because the sides of the carseat held my seat up. That scared the hell out of me, realizing that even in the carseat they are not safe from a front seat smashing into little legs


Here's a question I have. How many of you use only the seatbelt to secure it, vs. the anchors, or both? I use both to secure, the built in carseat anchors and I also run the seatbelt through it, just in case.

 

[darkchild16]

seat belt because I lost the anchors with Bevs in the move because we couldnt figure out how to get moms to work in her car. This one I will see how it turns out.

 

[zoe08]

I hate driving with Mason rear facing. It is more distracting to me because I can't see him. I rarely drive him anywhere by myself. Usually DH drives and I am in the back, or my sis or mom is with me and they sit back there to see him.

I really can't imagine having to make your kids cram their legs up to ride in the car for very long. I understand trying to keep them safe, but I also know that there is only so much misery I am willing to go through just in case something happens. I would rather have lived a life I enjoyed and die earlier, than to live a miserable life trying to prevent every little thing that could happen and live til I'm 100.

 

[tessa_s212]

While on the subject of carseats, I never knew how dangerous it was to have baby in a snowsuit while in a carseat. I never put Mason in a snowsuit,.. we always just put thin jacket and blankets tucked in around him, but not because I knew any better, just because I hated snowsuits for infants. Too puffy. It never occurred to me before that they could slip right out of loose straps with a snowsuit on when in an accident.

 

[Miakoda]

ACampbell, I just use the latch system. I cannot remember where I read about it, but I have read that using both is actually contraindicated for quite a few reasons. Seems it actually is worse for safety and for the carseat than just using one or the other.

 

[tessa_s212]

My car is too old to have that latch thing. We just use the seatbelt. If/when we do get a new car, we'll experiment with both and see what we think is best.

 

[sparks19]

We u se the tether for through the base of the carseat that latches to the anchors in the seat and then we have the over the seat anchor too. I don't like using the seat belts. they seem too flimsy and I can't get them to lock to keep the carseat secure.