Tell us what you think Thanks for adding your feedback. All rights reserved. Close Sign in. For how long should my child travel rear-facing? However, many experts advise longer than this. You'll see a considerable change in your baby's development every month as they grow stronger.
The longer you can continue to strap your child into their seat rear-facing, the better. Some experts even recommend waiting until they are four years old before switching to forward-facing travel. Luckily, car seat manufacturers like Maxi-Cosi have made it possible for parents to make this choice.
You can opt for an i -Size car seat that allows rearward-facing travel until your child is cm tall, or around four years old, when muscles and bones will have developed further. When a child is in a forward-facing seat, the head pulls forward, which puts stress on the neck.
When rear-facing, the head, neck, and back all move in unison and are cradled by the shell of the rear-facing car seat. This video helps explain. The bones running down a young child's neck and back are not yet solid bone they still have a lot of stretchy cartilage. A young child's head is also much heavier, in proportion to the body, than that of an older child or adult. So the head pulls forward with proportionately much more force on bones that are stretchier.
As the bones stretch, they can force the spinal cord to stretch. After it is stretched more than one-quarter of an inch, the spinal cord breaks. Riding in a rear-facing car seat helps reduce that risk by supporting the child's head. The incidence of severe head and neck injuries for babies and toddlers is greatly reduced in rear-facing car seats. The additional support the rear-facing car seat provides to the head and neck reduces your child's chance of being injured or worse in a crash.
With the forward-facing child, the car seat isn't able to absorb as much of the energy, and more of it is transferred to the child—in particular to the head and neck as they pull away from the chest.
The difference can be seen in a video comparing rear-facing and forward-facing car seats in a crash test. Even if your child's legs are touching the seat back , or they cry when rear-facing, you should still keep your child rear-facing until they reach the rear-facing weight or height limit of the car seat. Most convertible car seats have rear-facing weight limits of 35 to 50 pounds, so most kids can ride rear-facing until age three to five.
Some children never like sitting in a car seat, and they may cry. However, being properly restrained makes it more likely that a child will survive a crash to cry another day. Many parents worry that their child will suffer broken legs or hips in a crash because the child's legs touch the seat back or look cramped when rear-facing.
In fact, there are more leg injuries when forward-facing, as the legs fly up and the feet go into the back of the front seat. As everything moves forward, compression forces into the hip and femur can break the leg of the forward-facing child.
Studies of real kids in real crashes shows that leg and hip injuries in rear-facing kids are very uncommon. When they do happen, it is in side impacts where another vehicle hits the child right where their leg is, breaking the leg. Rear-facing kids do not get hip or leg injuries from being scrunched up. In fact, during the instant of the crash, rear-facing kids become even more scrunched, with their legs pulling up into a cannonball position.
This is not a cause of injury. Kids often fuss because they are strapped in, not because they are rear-facing. To reduce fussiness in a rear-facing child:. When babies turn one, many parents think about moving past the infant car seat with the carrier handle. His shoulders are above the top harness slots. Types of booster seats High-back and backless are 2 standard types of booster seats.
Watch the video: How to Use a Booster Seat If your booster seat has lower anchors or tether attachments, check its manual for installation instructions. What is the difference between high-back boosters and backless boosters? High-back boosters should be used in vehicles without headrests or with low seat backs. Many seats that look like high-back boosters are actually combination seats.
They come with harnesses that can be used for smaller children and, later, removed for older children. Backless boosters are usually less expensive and are easier to move from one vehicle to another.
Backless boosters can be used safely in vehicles with headrests and high seat backs. The lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly. Your child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her knees bent over the edge of the seat without slouching and can comfortably stay in this position throughout the trip. This leaves the upper body unprotected and adds extra slack to the seat belt system, putting your child at risk of severe injury in a crash or with sudden braking.
All passengers must have their own car safety seats or seat belts. Common question I've seen products that say they can help make the seat belt fit better. Should we get one of these?
No, these products are unapproved and should not be used. They may actually interfere with proper seat belt fit by causing the lap belt to ride too high on the stomach or making the shoulder belt too loose.
They can even damage the seat belt. This rule applies to car safety seats too; do not use extra products unless they came with the seat or are specifically approved by the seat manufacturer. These products are not covered by any federal safety standards, and the AAP does not recommend they be used.
As long as children are riding in the correct restraint for their size, they should not need to use additional devices. A higher price does not mean the seat is safer or easier to use. Look on the label for the date the seat was made. Check with the manufacturer to find out how long it recommends using the seat. Has any visible cracks on it. Does not have a label with the date of manufacture and model number.
Without these, you cannot check to see if the seat has been recalled. Does not come with instructions. You need them to know how to use the seat. Instructions can be found on manufacturer websites or by contacting the manufacturer. Is missing parts. Used car safety seats often come without important parts.
Check with the manufacturer to make sure you can get the right parts. Was recalled. Do not use seats that have been in a moderate or severe crash. Seats that were in a minor crash may still be safe to use, but some car safety seat manufacturers recommend replacing the seat after any crash, even a minor one. The NHTSA considers a crash minor if all the following situations are true: The vehicle could be driven away from the crash. The vehicle door closest to the car safety seat was not damaged.
No one in the vehicle was injured. The airbags did not go off. You can't see any damage to the car safety seat. If you have specific questions about the car seat, contact the manufacturer. About carpooling If your child is being driven by someone else, make sure: The car safety seat your child will be using fits properly in the vehicle used for transport. The car safety seat being used is appropriate for the age and size of your child. The person in charge of transporting your child knows how to install and use the car safety seat correctly.
In some states, school bus drivers need to have a special type of license. Staff to child ratios for transport should meet or exceed those required for the classroom. Every child should be supervised during transport, either by school staff or a parent volunteer, so the driver can focus on driving. School staff, teachers, and drivers should know what to do in an emergency, know how to properly use car safety seats and seat belts, and be aware of other safety requirements.
About car safety seats on airplanes The Federal Aviation Administration FAA and the AAP recommend that children less than 40 pounds be securely fastened in certified child restraints when flying. If you need installation help If you have questions or need help with installing your car safety seat, find a certified child passenger safety technician CPST or CPS technician. A child can Die of heatstroke because temperatures can reach deadly levels in minutes.
Be strangled by power windows, retracting seat belts, sunroofs, or accessories. Knock the vehicle into gear, setting it into motion. Be backed over when the vehicle backs up. Become trapped in the trunk of the vehicle. More information Ask the Pediatrician: Is it safe for my baby to travel in a car seat a few hours at a time? The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
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