articles

Rear-facing Car Seat Guidelines

By Dana Hardek December 26, 2014
A few years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new recommendations on car seats that include important information for parents of infants. For years, parents have followed the rule of placing their children in a rear-facing seat until they reached 12 months of age and weighed 20 pounds. So by the time kids were enjoying their one-year celebration smash cake, parents often turned the car seat around if they had a convertible seat, or started shopping for a new forward-facing seat.

Now, the recommendation is that children should stay in a rear-facing seat at least until they turn two. The reasoning for this change is that your baby’s head and spine will be more firmly supported and protected during a crash when in a rear-facing seat. That’s because the force of a crash will be more evenly distributed throughout the entire body. Studies have found that a child is much less likely to be injured or to die in a vehicle crash when they are in a rear-facing seat.

While parents recognize that these safety issues are for their child’s benefit, it can be hard to wait yet another year to be able to glance into your rear-view mirror and see your baby’s face.

Here’s what many parents think when they hear their baby should be rear-facing until they're two:

My baby’s tall! He’s only 12 months old, and already his legs touch the back of the seat.
Rear-facing is still the safest position for your child until they are at least two years old. As uncomfortable as it may look, babies’ legs are perfectly safe this way (yes, really!), and in the event of a crash, their legs are unlikely to be injured. When children in a forward-facing seat are involved in a car accident, they are more likely to be injured when their legs collide with the front seat.

If your child has outgrown a rear-facing infant seat, look for a convertible seat that can be used in the rear-facing position and has a weight limit of 35 to 40 pounds.

I hate not being able to see my baby.
Of course! Every parent wants to see their baby’s face and to make sure that they’re comfortable. For the most part, though, you can tell what they’re doing just by hearing the sounds they are making. If you’re becoming concerned about your baby’s behavior, it’s best to pull over someplace safe and see what’s going on.

They cry when they can’t see me. They hate being in the car seat!
Well, sure. Your baby loves you and wants to see you. Since they can’t, you should bring your child’s favorite music or be ready to tell a story or two so that your baby can hear your voice. When my son was an infant, he loved hearing me read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I’d read it to him so much that I eventually could recite it word-for-word and when he started to fuss in the car, I’d begin “reading” to him. He immediately quieted down. Yes, I had to say it over and over, but it made the hour-long trip to grandma’s house much more pleasant.  If you’re not the only one in the car, enlist your partner or a sibling to help entertain your little one.

Remember, one day your child will be big enough to safely ride in a forward-facing seat with a harness. Until then, know that the safest place for your baby to be while riding in the car is in a rear-facing seat.