TOTALLY GEEKED!

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Rear facing car seats

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

It varies state by state, but it's usually one year rear facing, although the experts would prefer two.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

So what about kids who get car sick?

Caitlyn did, still does.

She had to be able to see out the front window.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
So what about kids who get car sick?

Caitlyn did, still does.

She had to be able to see out the front window.

With infant carseats, they are not really going to be able to see out the front window anyway. And they shouldn't get carsick looking at the back of a seat - they have things to block the sides if necessary.

And honestly, I've never heard of a carsick infant - how would you even know?

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I knew cause she would throw up every time.

Took her to the doctor, he agreed when nothing else fit.

But at a year, they are out of the infant car seats and in a bigger seat.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

OK, so obviously I'm off. Car sickness is caused by confusion between the eyes and the ears. Fixed point vision in side the car vs. the ear knowing you are moving. So, put the baby next to the window so they can see the movement.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I don't know.

Been a long time since mine were that little.

Like I said, a lot has changed.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
I don't know.

Been a long time since mine were that little.

Like I said, a lot has changed.

Oh yeah. They have to be in flippin booster seats until they are 8. Which is fine in your own car, but gets to be a pain when you are trying to take other kids someplace.

chef · Guru

I think the current recommendation is at least until age 2 for rear facing and longer if possible. Reason being the child is safer in an accident if he/she is rear facing.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Ma. is age 8 for the booster which is ridiculous. I do believe there was lobbying on the part of the Greco type companies. In NH it's not 8, it is a weight thing. DD was in a booster until 6.

Rear facing? How does that work for a 2YO? Their legs would be too long, wouldn't they?

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Lawyerlady wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
I don't know.

Been a long time since mine were that little.

Like I said, a lot has changed.
Oh yeah. They have to be in flippin booster seats until they are 8. Which is fine in your own car, but gets to be a pain when you are trying to take other kids someplace.

And, to me, that's just ridiculous.

Jesse was able to come out of his car seat at 3, met the height and weight requirements. Of course he had a booster but not a 5 point restraint, just the regular seatbelt.

But not 2 months later, the law changed and he had to back into a 5 point restraint.

He was heartbroken.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

And think, when we were 8, we were already "driving".

I remember sitting in my pawpaw's lap driving through fields and from one end on the farm to the other.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

And what about little people?

I have an aunt who is only 4 feet tall in heels.

And she barely weighs 100lbs.

Divine Geek · Guru

lilyofcourse wrote:
And what about little people?
I have an aunt who is only 4 feet tall in heels.
And she barely weighs 100lbs.

That's why there is also an age requirement. There wasn't when the law here was first written, just height. My mom qualified for a booster seat. They quickly added the age.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

What's funny, my aunt uses a booster.

She use to use pillows.

FNW · Guru

I hate that rear facing stage. I can't tell you how many times I pulled the car over to check and make sure someone wasn't choking on their reflux. It was horrible.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

FNW wrote:
I hate that rear facing stage. I can't tell you how many times I pulled the car over to check and make sure someone wasn't choking on their reflux. It was horrible.

Me, too.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

I used the mirrors. I actually had a mirror with lights and music with remote control on it. If DD started fussy, I could push a button and music would start and colorful lights would dance to the music. Worked like a charm.

And the mirror system allowed me to see her.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I had a mirror, too.

Still had to pull over a lot.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Like this one -

https://www.amazon.com/-Sight-Magical-Firefly-Mirror-Safety/dp/B00B7M7CMO/ref=sr_1_14_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1476802998&sr=8-14&keywords=car+seat+mirror

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
I had a mirror, too.

Still had to pull over a lot.

I can't see how this would be any different front facing.

FNW · Guru

Front facing I could look back and see they were breathing. Rear facing, who knows.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Craning your head around to look behind you while driving cannot be safer than simply looking in the mirror. And if you are using the mirrors, you see the same thing whether front facing or rear facing.

NAOW · Vette's SS

Do you really want to know? I hope so, because I am about to post a lot of stuff, lol.

It's recommended to rear face as long as possible, but at least until 2. A lot of states have the law set at one- but that is a minimum, not what is safest. That's not based on height/weight, it's based on their spinal cord 'solidifying' into bone so that if they are thrown forward in a crash their neck and brain aren't damaged.

We would all be safer rear facing, but the physiological differences in a child lessen the older they get. By the fourth birthday, spinal ossification is far more mature than a toddler’s, and a child’s head is also much more proportionate to the rest of their body and better able to withstand the forces of a crash. For more about the science behind rear facing, check out our blog post: Why Rear Facing, the Science Junkie’s Guide.

http://csftl.org/rear-facing-car-seat-myths-busted/

Did you know that the recommendation of "rear facing to age 2" is a minimum recommendation, not a maximum? Rear facing offers enormous safety differences and children over the age of 2 continue to benefit from those safety differences. We strongly encourage you to keep your child rear facing until the upper height or weight limit of their seat is met.

http://thecarseatlady.com/5-times-safer/

That site has all the information and video of what happens in a crash-which are interesting, but I will summarize

As far as their legs being too long- Kids joints aren't fully formed- they are a lot more bendy than adults and can sit in lots of different positions comfortably. People worry about nleg injuries in rear facing car seats, but for one, there are actually more leg injuries in Forward Facing accidents when the legs are thrown forward than in rear facing accidents. Leg injuries in RFing accidents are almost non existant. Two, even if it does happen, it's easier to fix a broken leg than a broken neck.

DD is a tall two year old and has no problem rear facing- and it looks like she has plenty of room to keep rear facing for quite a while.

Motion sickness- If your kid gets motion sickness, they will probably have it no matter what way they face. Car seats actually help in that they have really deep sides that keep the side view blocked, so they can only see out the front/back window which helps them from feeling sick.

But this is one of those things that you just have to make a personal choice on, weighing the pro's and con's. Same with where it's really hot. People worry (with good reason) about their kids overheating facing backwards where the air can't reach them. Just have to make a decision about what works for you.

Anyway, if you really are curious about it- those links have a lot of useful information.

Image result for rear facing memes

The most important reason..

Image result for rear facing memes

FNW · Guru

I didn't have mirrors in the back of my car (which faced the boys) and never heard of them. So no, I could not see their faces.

NAOW · Vette's SS

All that said, I cannot wait to turn DD around. I bought a car seat that she should be able to RF in until at least age 4 (she is 38 inches tall now, which means she's as tall as some 4 year olds already) but I am going back and forth on if I will switch her at three or keep her RF as long as possible. I mean, the only reason to do it would be convenience, which makes me feel bad because there's no good reason to switch her forward besides that I'd like to, lol.

Vette · Owl drink to that!

I think I would prefer a kid who's carsick over a dead kid

FNW · Guru

If sitting in the back seat is so dangerous, why don't car manufacturers put the seats in facing backwards?

NAOW · Vette's SS

FNW wrote:
If sitting in the back seat is so dangerous, why don't car manufacturers put the seats in facing backwards?

Because people would be up in arms about it if they did.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

VetteGirl wrote:
I think I would prefer a kid who's carsick over a dead kid

Right?

DD12 gets carsick all the time, and I still make her sit in the backseat most of the time.

chef · Guru

"Same with where it's really hot. People worry (with good reason) about their kids overheating facing backwards where the air can't reach them."

This is us. My truck doesn't have a/c in the backseat and the summer sun beating down on DS through the back window made him way too hot. We rigged up fans where he couldn't reach them and hung a shade over the back window so he didn't overheat but he'd still sweat buckets. If we had known about the Noggle back then, we likely would've kept him rear-facing at least till 2. Instead, we turned him forward-facing when he was about 16 months old because it was starting to heat up and we didn't want him enduring another summer without direct a/c.

FNW · Guru

I would be up in arms. Perhaps seats that can face either way then I'd be on board.

I get carsick. Ginger helps. Has anyone tried giving their children some ginger?

NAOW · Vette's SS

chef wrote:
"Same with where it's really hot. People worry (with good reason) about their kids overheating facing backwards where the air can't reach them."

This is us. My truck doesn't have a/c in the backseat and the summer sun beating down on DS through the back window made him way too hot. We rigged up fans where he couldn't reach them and hung a shade over the back window so he didn't overheat but he'd still sweat buckets. If we had known about the Noggle back then, we likely would've kept him rear-facing at least till 2. Instead, we turned him forward-facing when he was about 16 months old because it was starting to heat up and we didn't want him enduring another summer without direct a/c.

I hear ya. My last car had the vents in the back and I didn't realize what a luxury that was until it was gone.

FNW · Guru

Does anyone remember the station wagons that had that rear row that flipped to rear facing in the back? We were never allowed to ride like that in my aunt's car because we'd be inhaling gas fumes.

chef · Guru

NAOW wrote:
chef wrote:
"Same with where it's really hot. People worry (with good reason) about their kids overheating facing backwards where the air can't reach them."

This is us. My truck doesn't have a/c in the backseat and the summer sun beating down on DS through the back window made him way too hot. We rigged up fans where he couldn't reach them and hung a shade over the back window so he didn't overheat but he'd still sweat buckets. If we had known about the Noggle back then, we likely would've kept him rear-facing at least till 2. Instead, we turned him forward-facing when he was about 16 months old because it was starting to heat up and we didn't want him enduring another summer without direct a/c.
I hear ya. My last car had the vents in the back and I didn't realize what a luxury that was until it was gone.

I didn't give the back seat one iota of thought when I bought my truck. At the time, I was 18, single, and not the least bit interested in having a bf. Next vehicle purchased will have a/c in the back for DS' sake.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

FNW wrote:
Does anyone remember the station wagons that had that rear row that flipped to rear facing in the back? We were never allowed to ride like that in my aunt's car because we'd be inhaling gas fumes.

My Taurus wagon, the one Caitlyn drives, has that.

It's come in handy more than once.

Once, we were coming home from Myrtle Beach, we were in my Taurus and mom and dad were in their suzuki.

About 4 hours from home, we stopped to eat.

Mom's car wouldn't start again, I forget why.

So, we put all the luggage on top of mine and what didn't fit went in mom's car.

7 of us came on home in my Taurus and mom went back to get dad. He stayed to get the car towed.

My Taurus has 8 seat belts.

But the one in the middle front is for absolute have-to cases.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Only there are no fumes in mine.