Today, we're going to discuss the topic of extended rear facing. I know what you’re thinking . . . what on earth is that?! If you’re the parent of a toddler or preschooler, it’s likely you have heard the term before. If not, then you may not have heard of it. Extended rear facing refers to how you install a car seat. Up until recently, pediatricians were telling parents to turn their kids forward facing as soon as they turned a year old. The law says your child must ride rear facing until he or she is one and 20 lbs. That means you flip them around as soon as they hit both of those requirements, right? Well, not exactly. Those numbers are just the minimum. The truth of the matter is, it is SAFEST to leave your child rear facing as long as possible, meaning to the rear facing limits of their car seat.
Why would you want to leave your child rear facing, you ask? Wouldn’t they be uncomfortable once they have to bend their legs funny to sit rear facing? Won’t they break their legs in an accident because of the way they have to prop their legs up or bend them so they fit that way? Won’t they prefer to look out the front window? Won’t my kid get car sick sitting backwards? And besides that, I want to see my kid’s angelic face smiling back at me in the rear view mirror! All valid questions, and all have good answers. I’ll address them one by one, and then I have several videos to show you that I’d like you to watch and seriously consider
- Why would you want to leave your child rear facing? Believe it or not, it is actually safest to ride rear facing, even for adults. This is most important for babies and young children though. You see, their bones don’t begin fusing until they hit about 2 or 3. As newborns, their bones had to be pliable in order to fit through the birth canal, and they remain quite flexible throughout infancy and well into childhood, as any parent can tell you. Their skeletal system is not fully fused until they hit about six years old. Also, the heads of babies and toddlers are proportionately larger than the rest of their bodies, meaning it takes more effort to hold that head up than it does for an adult or older child. Now, think about the forces exerted in a car crash. Whiplash, anyone? As your vehicle hits or is hit, and the direction changes, inertia exerts its force upon you and everything else in your car, and you find your body thrown from one direction into another and back again. When a child is facing forward, the harness on his child restraint holds him firmly in place so he’s not physically thrown from the vehicle. That’s what it’s supposed to do. But that child’s head, neck, and limbs are not restrained, and are therefore subject to the full wrath of inertia. His head and limbs are thrown violently forward at impact, as is torso is held firmly in place. Since his bones are not fully fused yet, this violent whiplash action can actually cause the spine to stretch, and even snap, causing what is called “internal decapitation.” In other words, your child could break his or her neck in a car accident if forward facing. If your child survives the accident, he or she is likely to be severely injured and will likely either be paralyzed for life or wind up spending a great deal of time in physical therapy regaining the use of his or her hands and legs. Arms and legs are also at risk of being broken due to this violent whiplash action. While rear facing, children are much better protected. The reason is that as the vehicle’s occupants are thrown forward in a collision, a rear facing child restraint absorbs the full force of that energy, and the child actually moves very little. The car seat cradles her head, neck, and spine in such a way that the chance of injury is reduced by as much as 500%. This is why it is so important to leave your child rear facing as long as possible, and why you should not turn your child around as soon as he or she turns a year old. That may be the law, but it is merely a minimum. Your child deserves to be protected as long as you possibly can protect him or her. Do the right thing and leave your child rear facing until he or she outgrows the rear facing limits of a convertible car seat.
- Won’t my child be uncomfortable having to bend his legs while sitting rear facing? Not at all! Kids are actually more comfortable rear facing, because they can sit slightly reclined. Have you ever watched a child fall asleep in the car? The ones who are riding facing forward get that head droop thing going on. Sometimes you wonder how they are even able to breathe as their heads loll all the way down to their chests. The ones who ride rear facing sleep quite comfortably as they recline. Not even a hint of that annoying head droop. And kids are so flexible . . . they can get themselves into very odd positions, and be perfectly comfortable that way. Bent legs? No problem! My very tall daughter rode rear facing until she hit the height-limit of her Britax Boulevard shortly after she turned two. She just crossed her legs or hung them over the side of the car seat, and seemed perfectly comfortable sitting that way. My son, who is now 16 months old, is still rear facing, and is perfectly content to prop his legs up on the back of the seat. Neither of my children has ever complained about being uncomfortable while sitting rear facing in the car.
- Won’t they break their legs in an accident sitting that way? Not likely. There are actually no documented cases of a rear facing child breaking limbs in an accident due to having their legs bent or propped up against the back of the seat. In fact, your child is more likely to break a leg or an arm forward facing due to the way a child’s limbs flail when his or her body is thrown forward in an accident. Besides that, car seat safety techs have a saying . . . broken leg, cast it; broken neck, casket. Better to risk a broken leg by rear facing your child than a broken neck by forward facing them. A broken leg is more easily repaired than a broken neck, which could cost your child his or her life.
- Won’t my kid prefer to look out the front window? If they are used to facing the rear, they don’t know any different, and therefore don’t know they have the option to look out the front window. Besides, they have their own view. They can still look out the side windows and the back window. The only difference is they see where we’ve been, not where we’re going.
- Won’t my child get car sick facing backwards? If this has not been an issue before, it will not magically become an issue as soon as they turn one. If your child is not prone to car sickness facing the rear currently, there is no need to worry about leaving them rear facing, because the likelihood of them developing car sickness any time soon is very slim.
It is my hope that this post helps parents to think twice about turning their child rear facing as soon as they turn a year old. Believe me, this is not a milestone you want to look forward to! It’s a milestone to dread, as the second you turn your child around, he or she is not nearly as well protected in a car accident. It must be done eventually, as car seats simply cannot hold them that way forever, but I think any parent would agree that we all want to keep our children as safe as possible as long as possible.
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