The Decision to Keep It Rear
I’ve had quite a few people approach me in comments and email about my decision to keep Addison rear-facing. I’m a little burnt out on controversy so hopefully this isn’t too controversial!
This issue is important to me because it seems like such a small and simple thing to do to protect our kids from fatal injuries in the event of an auto accident, the leading cause of death in childhood. We may be hyper-vigilant about child-proofing the medicine cabinet and putting up the baby gates, we may feed our kids organic foods and breastfeeding to provide for better health but the true biggest danger to our children is so easy to protect against and yet is so seldom acted on by parents.
Would it surprise you to learn that in Sweden, children remain rear-facing until they are 3 or 4 years of age? The US is (very very slowly) following this trend but we are pretty far behind other countries in this area. But if you’ve had kids as long as I have, you will remember that only 13 years ago, car seats that were rated beyond 20 lbs rear-facing did not exist. Now it is easy and inexpensive to find a car seat with a 30+ lb rear-facing limit. Addison’s car seat is rated to 35 lbs rear-facing and one of the cheapest convertible seats on the market, the Cosco Scenera, is rated to 35 lbs rear-facing.
The official recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics is that parents use their car seats until their child meets the maximum rear-facing weight so long as the top of their head is below the top of the car seat. The AAP recommends that doctors advise patients to use convertible car seats that have higher rear-facing limits as well. And most telling of all, they recommend that car seat manufacturers be encouraged to make car seats that are safe rear-facing to 45 lbs or 4 years old.
Maybe you are reading this and have heard nothing about keeping a baby rear-facing beyond 12 months and 20 lbs? What the media and doctors sometimes fail to relay to parents is that 12 months and 20 lbs is the absolute minimum weight and time a child can be turned forward facing safely - not the *recommended* time! Many countries and some states in the US actually have laws that make it illegal to turn a child sooner than this. But let’s consider for a minute whether the minimum safety standard is good enough for our children?
So what makes a rear-facing car seat so much safer?
Most of all, it is simple physics. Facing the rear in the event of a frontal (head-on)or frontal-offset crash is safer for all people, including adults. Because of the physics of a frontal crash, the rear-facing seat spreads the impact over the entire occupant, including his legs, neck, head, etc. It also serves to protect the occupant from deadly whiplash-type injuries that are so common for forward-facing occupants. The minute you turn your child forward facing, there is no longer protection of any kind for their head, neck or legs. There is nothing to support the child but the harness itself.
Don’t think it really makes THAT much of a difference? Auto-related injuries for rear-facing children in Sweden are almost zero. During one 5 year period, there were only 9 deaths to properly restrained rear-facing children TOTAL!! To me, the proof is in those stats. But if that’s not enough, check out these two crash test demos to see just how radically different it is! They are very short and if you haven’t seen them already, they are well worth the 20 seconds of your life you take to watch:
A Rear-Facing Crash Test:
A Forward-Facing Crash Test:
So if rear-facing is so much safer, why aren’t we all rear-facing? Why do they recommend 12 months or 20 lbs, whichever comes later? There was a research and accident review done in at the University of Michigan in 1993 that measured injury related to age and the data showed a break in data around the 12 month mark. At this point injuries went from severe to more moderate. But the researcher is quick to point out age 1 is not a magical moment when suddenly things become safe, it is just a convenient benchmark to be used as a minimum standard.
Every month beyond 12 that a child can remain rear-facing is a month they are many many times further protected in the event of a serious collision. My goal is to make it to age 2, Addison will surely outgrow the height of her seat prior to the weight. Any time beyond age two is just a bonus for us.
One final note: I love recommending Addison’s infant seat. She’s just finally outgrown it in the past month, at 15 months old but many Vietnamese babies would be able to stay in it a lot longer. When I bought it I had hoped to use it until she could face forward becuase a convertible carseat is just really big and bulky. I wasn’t that fortunate but I sure got a lot of use out of it! So if you are shopping for an infant seat that you hope to get a lot of wear out of, check out the Graco SafeSeat - it is rear-facing to 30 lbs and 32″ and is all but guaranteed to still fit your child at a year old unless you have one very very tall or chubby child 
September 26th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Good topic! It makes me sick when parents say that their child would scream if they had to face backwards…ugh. My baby WILL be facing backward until she hits 30-35 pounds (can’t remember the exact age on the carseat right now) but it IS the safest so of course that is what we will do! Carseats should also be in the MIDDLE of the backseat, it is much safer than being on either side of the car.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Wow - thanks for posting this. I have to admit, I had no idea. That video told me everything I needed to know. Of course I’m who-knows-how-far-away from having the little guy, but I will definitely be checking on the guidlines of the carseat I have picked out and will remember this. I appreciate you sharing this!
September 26th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
i totally agree that the longer you can keep your children rear facing in a vehicle the better, the safer the better is my motto.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
We had R rear facing until she hit 20 pounds, which was well past 12 months… but I confess I was very excited to get her turned around, because she was happier that way. What I’m confused about is, how will a 35 pound kid fit rear facing? R is about 35 pounds and her legs are waaaaaay too long to fit that direction! Is there an age/height thing along with it?
September 26th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Well, Annslee is front facing (she is 34 lbs) but my comment is more about in the middle. We only have one child so it is the obvious choice for us. I am so worried about when we have two and I have to move her by the door…
September 26th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Chris - if you look at those crash test videos, I think the dummies they use are at about the height max. There is a height max for facing rear and it depends on the car seat but the usual limit is when the top of the head reaches the top of the seat back or an inch below, depending on manufacturer. Depending on your kid’s torso length, the height could vary a lot so there isn’t a standard height maximum. Addy isn’t the tallest baby in the world but she’s pretty average for her age and I think she’ll probably outgrow the height on our (very taller - taller than average) seat in another 2-3 inches or so…long long LONG before she hits 35 lbs!
September 26th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I’ve actually been thinking about this topic for quite some time. I’ll be honest and say I’m looking forward to the day that Petunia is no longer in a rear-facing carseat. She HATES riding in the carseat, and I bet she’d be happier when she’s able to see better. Having said that, I really believe she’ll be rear-facing for longer than required.
September 26th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Yay Nicki! Most people honestly don’t know this (at least I hope they’re not willfully putting their child in danger!) Regarding height limits rear-facing, it is really not a problem if a childs legs are too long. They will cross them or prop them up on the seat back. Kids are much more flexible than adults and are usually comfier when they’re legs are crossed. Watch your kiddo sit sometime (that is if you can get him/her to sit!) The spinal column on an baby is much more delicate than their legs. Broken legs can be fixed, but a broken spine is forever. : ( Furthermore, there are no documented cases that I can find of a child’s legs being injured because they were touching the seat back.
Here’s some good links: http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4209/Car_Seat_Safety:_Rear-facing_is_safest.htm
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFalbum.aspx
So Nicki - when’s the PSA on extended harnessing?! : )
September 26th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Bwa haha - I think this one puny topic was long enough. I could do another long one about extended harnessing for sure and then another one about booster seats and another one about car seat placement! Where’s your blog, Tina? Your PSA would kick my PSA’s ass!!!!
I almost always put my feet up (oh so safely I might add) when we are in the car longer than a short trip (unless I’m the driver obviously). Noah HATES having his legs dangling and my boys curl their legs up too. I think the rear-facing kid with the built-in leg support is the only comfy one!
September 26th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
I suck. I know all this and I still turned L. around. I just could not take the crying. I suck. Anyway, he is now 35 lbs., so at least I don’t have to feel guilty going forward. This time if we keep the baby rearfacing as long as possible at least there will be more kids back there to entertain her.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Nicki, I had no idea how unsafe a front facing car seat can be. The crash test video sure puts it all in perspective. Thanks for sharing your research!
September 26th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Thanks for the great post !!!!!!!!!
September 27th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Sienna is going to be rear-facing until she is quite old. She is now only 17 lbs at 17 months. I can’t say as I am sad about this. Not only is she rear-facing, but she is still in her infant car seat (She still fits in every way, so why buy a new one when the one we have is fine for quite a while)
September 27th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Great post! I have to admit that I really knew very little about this topic! Glad I came across this before we bring our baby home! The video says it all.
September 27th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Yeah, I seriously considered leaving the girls rear facing but they just started having fits, so we turned them around. Also, their legs actually were butting up against the seat.
I do agree it is definitely safer. But now we have scream free car trips…I don’t know, screaming kids while mama is driving safe?
September 27th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
You know what else is a hazard that I see ALL the time? Infant car seats that people leave the cary handle up on, because???? I don’t know why? Too lazy to push in the buttons and put it down? That’s a SERIOUS SERIOUS danger.
September 27th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Missy - we put our handle down all the time and this used to be a HUGE pet peeve of mine but recently I learned that several seats actually allow for this safely. I don’t really get it myself but apparently it is within the manufacturer’s allowable guidelines on several new seats, including our’s. I still didn’t do it, regardless. I’m with you, it just doesn’t seem safe.
September 27th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I’m glad you brought this up. Looking back I really wish I had kept Ava rear facing a bit longer. We waited until she hit the 20 lb mark and immediately switched her (about 15 months old). She never had much of a problem facing backwards, and I wish I had kept her that way for a while longer.
Now that Ava is older it gets frustrating because my research has shown that a child her weight (
September 28th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Nicki, Thanks for mentioning this. I didn’t even know it was an issue until I read your post. (Yeah, I’m going to be a great mom.) We will definitely be staying rear-facing for as long as we can…THANKS!
September 28th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Great post Nicki - I can’t believe people were giving you crap for keeping Addy rear-facing. Jackson probably won’t need to be turned forward until he’s in kindergarten at this rate - hahaha! Just kidding, but he’s got another 14lbs and 2 inches to go before his seat can be turned forward. We’re in NO hurry!
September 29th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Remember when you and were wondering if Lydia and Dalton would ever stop using their booster seats? LOL
Great post!
September 29th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
That should be “you and I were wondering”.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Oh how I agree with you!! My kids were rear facing until they were 18 months or so. Neither cared and I never had an issue. I always get mad when I see people that are so proud of having the most expensive car seats (company starts with B, from England), but they don’t use them correctly. My nephews were turned well before they were 1, even though they probably weighed close to the 20lbs. They had HUGE heads and were NOT safe. They were also taken out of those great car seats well before they would have had to be, to be placed in a cheaper 5 pt hbb. WHY?!?!
October 6th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Thank you! My 15-month old just passed the suggested length max for her infant seat but has not reached her seat’s 20-lb max. I was considering turning her around although I know that rear-facing to an older age is safer. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of keeping her rear facing.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
[...] In order to best picture the following scenario it is important that you know, up front, that Addy is still rear-facing in her carseat and if you want to know why, read this. [...]
March 6th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Wow, I had no idea. Here in South Africa car seats are not even mandatory - although of course those of us who are educated of course use them all the time. The trend here is to have the child rear facing until 6 months. I’m due with my second child in just under 6 weeks but after reading your article, that kid is staying in his rear facing car seat until he reaches the weight limit this time!