Car Seat PSA

This is for all 3 people who read my blog. :-) I am lucky enough to have a friend that is a car seat tech and once she told me to watch some You Tube videos on car seat safety, I have been a car seat nut!

It makes me sad to see kids in car seats that are installed wrong or straps not tight, etc., but I know most people don't know much about car seats. The only reason I know anything is b/c of my car seat tech friend and the fact that I spend too much time on the internet. :-)

Rear Facing
Newborns are rear faced for a reason- b/c it is the safest way to ride in the car. The law in Alabama is 20 lbs and 1 year of age to forward face, but that doesn't mean it is safe to turn your child at 1 year. People do it because it is legal, but it is legal to smoke. Doesn't mean it is safe or good for you!

Forward facing has little to do with weight and mostly with the strength of the neck bones. At one year your child's neck bones are not strong enough to withstand an accident and could result in a broken neck. I recently read a story about an 18 month old that weighed 33 lbs that was forward facing. His mom hit a tree going 35 mph, and he broke his neck and is paralyzed. http://www.joelsjourney.org The pictures are heartbreaking!

John Henry rear faced until he was over 2 1/2 years. I think we just think our kids want to turn forward facing, but if they have never sat that way, they don't know a difference. I just put JH's DVD on the back of the seat and he would watch that. It was really easier b/c whatever toys or pacis I gave him stayed in his seat, rather than falling onto the floor.

A lot of people think that when their legs get too long and hit the back of the seat that they have to turn their children because their legs will break in an accident. My car seat tech friend told me that there has never been a documented case of a child breaking their legs due to rear facing too long, but there have been plenty of cases of a child breaking their neck because of forward facing too early. Here are common rear facing myths- http://www.carseat.se/rear-facing-myths/

Check out this video:




There are lots more videos I wanted to post, but you can just go to you tube and search "forward facing vs rear facing." Scary stuff!

Also, when your children are rear facing, the straps should be at or below their shoulders. The chest clip should always be at armpit level. It won't work if it is down by the crotch strap! Straps should always be pulled tight- only 2 of your fingers should fit between the baby's chest and the straps. Your child has outgrown rear facing in height when his head is within 1" of the top of the shell of the seat. Leg length doesn't matter!

Just remember- rear facing is ALWAYS safest (as long as your child fits the seat requirements, most are 35 lbs) no matter what your mom, friend, or pediatrician says!! Do your own research! The American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends that children are rear faced for 2 years now.

Adding one more article- http://www.carseat.se/rear-facing-to-age-4-making-the-news/

If you don't want to read it, here is an excerpt- "The facts are still that rear facing is 500% safer compared to forward facing until age two."

If you are wondering why the kids in the picture don't have chest straps, it is b/c Sweden doesn't have them. They have to be able to get the kids out in one motion in case of an accident I think. Our car seats are designed for chest chips though, so you still have to put yours up at armpit level.

5 pt harness

Just like rear facing is safer than forward facing, 5 pt. harness is much safer than a booster seat. Many people put their child in a booster seat at age 3 or 4 because it is legal, but it's not safe.





This is the shortest video I could find of 5 pt harness vs. booster seat, but there are tons of children who died because they were in boosters too early. :( The seatbelt isn't enough for a child in a car accident.

Most car seats have a 5 point harness until 40 lbs, but many more are starting to harness to a higher weight, like 65-80 lbs. It is so important to harness your child until at least 5 years old!

For forward facing, the straps must be at or above the shoulders (opposite of rear facing. JH had to skip a level when he switched), straps must be really tight, and the ears have to be below or even with the top of the seat shell.

I know y'all think I am nuts, but I just see so many kids in car seats incorrectly in blogs. It makes me sad, so I decided to give y'all a Public Service Annoucement. :)