So, it confused me when it came to researching the next stage car seat for little Finny, that there was so little advice for parents about Rear Facing seats?!
To be totally honest, I didn't even realise rear facing was an option for older babies and toddlers until I started having a good old nose on the Internet (and it did take a while to find if you don't know what your looking for!), But what I did find sealed my choice for rear facing in an instant!
Rear facing seats are proved to be 5x safer in a collision than forward facing seats!!
I saw this video on the website Rear Facing: The way Forward showing how a collision impacts on a child's body in a forward facing seat Vs a Rear facing seat and it really shows how the forces act upon a little body, flinging the head forward so sharply, it's scary. Babies bodies are so different to adults in make-up and proportions, that their bodies respond differently to an adults in a collision. An impact can be much more devastating to a baby than an infant. This is due to the babies head being 25% larger in proportion to its body than an adults. A babies skeleton has also yet to solidify into bone, so the force can stretch and snap the babies neck easier than an adults - sad, scary but true (I am not trying to scare tactic anyone into Rear Facing, I just want Parents to know the risks fully, so they can make up there own mind). In addition the rib cage, still soft can not protect the vital organs against forces exerted from the straps which can lead to devastating damage. In a rear facing seat, the head, neck and Chest are cushioned from the impact by the seat, the head is not flung forward.
As I found more and more information, I didn't understand and still don't that with such a large number of facts and Scientific Literature proving Rear Facing is safer, the information to parents is still so so limited. We are inundated with Front facing seats on the Market, but very few Rear Facing. In fact the UK even recommend that a baby can be moved Forward Facing at 9 months - Would you not think Front Facing was safe, if this was all you knew? These Seats do go through a vigorous assortment of safety test, to which they must all pass to a high degree - but they are NOT tested on how the force of a collision will act upon a little ones neck!
I have spoken to a number of people about Rear facing and the common consensus for Forward facing seems to be:
'My baby wants to be able to see where he/she is going and enjoys seeing forward' and/or 'My babies legs are too long to sit against the back seat'
I would like to point out that a baby.... (Well anyone actually) can see more rear facing than forward facing. In a forward Facing seat, a baby can not see out of the front window, they are positioned in a way that they can see only out of the door window. At this angle objects are rushing towards them between 30 - 70mph and we all know its impossible to focus on anything like this. A baby can actually see better facing rearwards, as they can see everything that has passed. They also, depending on the model of your car can see out of the back window!! So to any Parent who is worried about there nosey baby missing out, don't be, they can see just fine!
Also the Rear facing seats have lots of leg room, the majority sit slightly further back in the seat allowing for room for little legs to dangle and as they get bigger, toddlers will naturally cross there legs in most cases anyway.
What about broken legs in accident? Well if the force is strong enough to break your child's leg during a crash Rear facing, then the force forward facing is a lot more stronger and would do a lot more damage to your little ones neck - I know what I would rather want fixed! However, there have been no reported cases of Rear Facing Infants hurting their legs in comparison to the multitude of neck injuries sustained by Forward Facing Babies -See this list of literature on Rear Facing. So again, don't worry about this, there's tonnes of room for your little one!
**UPDATE: Rear facing have written a brilliant article about leg room Here! **
On a final point, We all think we are the safest drivers on the road and we wouldn't put ourselves in harms way and I agree us parents wouldn't, but what about the hooligan driving over the speed limit on the wrong side of the road coming round the bend?? It can happen, when you least expect it - its other people you can't trust!
I guess what I would like to say in this post is I am all for personal choice, I want you to make your own decisions and that the choice currently is yours to make. However I want parents to know the risks associated with choosing Forward Facing seats. I am not a Nazi, which I have seen so many people get called, who promote Rear Facing, but I get confused when I see parents doing everything they can to keep their babies safe in every other aspect of there life, but are so quick to dismiss Rear facing. I believe this is just down to lack of knowledge. We are led to believe that forward facing is best, when really its not.
I would highly recommend that anyone looking for their next stage car seat to have a look through the Rear Facing website, there is some great information there. I think all parents should be advised of these facts before purchasing a car seat. If then you still chose to go forward facing, then that is your choice. As I have mentioned I am all for personal choice, I just want to ensure all parents know the facts before they make that choice.
One last point I would like to make is how expensive Rear Facing Car seats are in comparison to Forward Facing and it I find it such a shame that some parents may who may want their child to remain rear facing are priced out. There shouldn't be a price on a child's Safety, but it seems currently in the UK there is!
Rear Facing Car Seat Suppliers:
No comments:
Post a Comment