Infant Rear Facing Car seats???
5/6/10, 09:03 PM
#41
I can't help but add my two cents here.
Nothing is more important than an infant or even a childs safety. Car seats are something that can be easily controlled by the parent and its the parents duty to do the very best they can for the child. That includes not only to the minimum of the law, but also to the best of their ability beyond that as they deem necessary for their own situation.
We've been blessed with 5 kids and we have another one on the way. The past few years its been made very clear that it is best to keep them rear facing as long as possible. The position and the fact that most collisions are head on make it the safest position I guess for an infant with weaker and tender muscles and tendons and such and lets face it softer gand growing bones. I feel comfortable with doing what so many experts recommend and our own state government demands.
All I know is what we have done. And my wife is a stickler for these things. I've got kids that are still in car seats that in my opinion are too big to be, but my field of expertise is something else. I trust the recommendations. Same goes for booster seats. They've started pushing booster seats for kids under a certain height. I think its 4'-9". And we have booster seats for those kids too. Kids never ride in the front until they are at least this height, and even then its only my 13 year old teenager that rides in the front, because its just not as safe as the rest.
We just end up buying more than one car seat for the child as they grow. I know its added expense and there are convertible ones, but it just works better for us. We use the carrier system with the base while they are under the 35 lbs. mark and then switch to a seat with a base that can be either rear or forward up to the proper weight, and then switch to the booster seat till they reach the right height.
Also the biggest thing you can do is make sure it is installed properly. My brother in law is a state trooper and occasionally they do these friendly car seat checks up at the trooper office and he said 9 out of 10 aren't even installed properly. Read the instructions and follow them. Make sure the tethers are snug. Make sure you pull the belt all the way out before pulling it tight. Make sure no belts or tethers are twisted. Make sure the angle is correct. Usually they have some type of level device you can visually check. And if possible put it in the middle of the rear seat. It may be easier to reach on either side, but that's not whats best for safety.
And last but not least I've always been bugged about the poor little infants neck when its not strong enough to hold its head straight and falls asleep. It looks so painful laying there with its neck on its own shoulder all crooked like. I've noticed some of the new seats have inflatable air bags on the sides that allow you to keep the infants head in position when young, and then let the bags deflate for more room when the baby is growing.
Nothing is more important than an infant or even a childs safety. Car seats are something that can be easily controlled by the parent and its the parents duty to do the very best they can for the child. That includes not only to the minimum of the law, but also to the best of their ability beyond that as they deem necessary for their own situation.
We've been blessed with 5 kids and we have another one on the way. The past few years its been made very clear that it is best to keep them rear facing as long as possible. The position and the fact that most collisions are head on make it the safest position I guess for an infant with weaker and tender muscles and tendons and such and lets face it softer gand growing bones. I feel comfortable with doing what so many experts recommend and our own state government demands.
All I know is what we have done. And my wife is a stickler for these things. I've got kids that are still in car seats that in my opinion are too big to be, but my field of expertise is something else. I trust the recommendations. Same goes for booster seats. They've started pushing booster seats for kids under a certain height. I think its 4'-9". And we have booster seats for those kids too. Kids never ride in the front until they are at least this height, and even then its only my 13 year old teenager that rides in the front, because its just not as safe as the rest.
We just end up buying more than one car seat for the child as they grow. I know its added expense and there are convertible ones, but it just works better for us. We use the carrier system with the base while they are under the 35 lbs. mark and then switch to a seat with a base that can be either rear or forward up to the proper weight, and then switch to the booster seat till they reach the right height.
Also the biggest thing you can do is make sure it is installed properly. My brother in law is a state trooper and occasionally they do these friendly car seat checks up at the trooper office and he said 9 out of 10 aren't even installed properly. Read the instructions and follow them. Make sure the tethers are snug. Make sure you pull the belt all the way out before pulling it tight. Make sure no belts or tethers are twisted. Make sure the angle is correct. Usually they have some type of level device you can visually check. And if possible put it in the middle of the rear seat. It may be easier to reach on either side, but that's not whats best for safety.
And last but not least I've always been bugged about the poor little infants neck when its not strong enough to hold its head straight and falls asleep. It looks so painful laying there with its neck on its own shoulder all crooked like. I've noticed some of the new seats have inflatable air bags on the sides that allow you to keep the infants head in position when young, and then let the bags deflate for more room when the baby is growing.
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