I mentioned in the 7 month update that I would do a post soon about the convertible carseat we chose and why. Well, here it is. And I'll be honest, I'm probably going to get on a (small) soap box here :)
Choosing a carseat is hard. It's such an important decision since that seat could someday be the reason your child lives in a car accident. All seats made and sold in the US have to meet the same basic safety standards, though some brands have better safety track records than others and some brands do more extensive/higher levels of testing than others. But the fact remains that the same basic safety standards are met with any carseat that is purchased. People base their carseat decisions on brand name, price, fabric pattern/color, ease of use, recommendations from others, what fits in their vehicle, what features the seat offers, and all sorts of other things.
We based our convertible carseat decision on two things: safety track record and which one would allow Eleanor to remain rear-facing the longest. Yes, her seat is a really pretty purple color, but that's just an added bonus :)
Did you know that the AAP now recommends that children remain rear-facing in carseats until at least the age of 2? This is recently changed from the "age 1 and at least 20 pounds" criteria. Did you know that many other countries recommend children remain rear-facing until age 3 or 4?
Know why? Because rear-facing is the safest for a child in the event of an accident. There's no magic switch that goes on at a kid's first or second birthday that says they're able to turn forward-facing and be safe. Because small children's heads are so big in proportion to their bodies, in an accident their bodies and heads are thrown forward. The five-point-harness restrains their bodies, but their heads are thrown even further forward before coming back against the seat. This can cause serious head and neck injuries - including internal decapitation.
Check this out:
There was a great article about extended rear-facing in the New York Times. Here's a powerful and to-the-point quote from it:
“Our recommendations are meant to help parents move away from gospel-held notions that are based on a child’s age,” Dr. Durbin said. “We want them to recognize that with each transition they make, from rear-facing to forward-facing, to booster seats, there is a decline in the safety of their child. That’s why we are urging parents to delay these transitions for as long as possible." (emphasis mine)
Common reasons people say they turn their children forward-facing before they reach the maximum height and weight limits for rear-facing on their carseats? Their kids look uncomfortable or their legs are against the backseat or crossed. Guess what? Broken legs can be fixed. Broken necks/spines are much harder to fix.
And when parents do finally turn kids forward facing, it is safest for them to be in a five-point harness as long as possible. This helps restrain the child's body much better than the car's seat belt, not to mention that most car seat belts do not fit children properly until they are older.
More info about extended rear-facing:
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org (this is the website for a little boy who was killed in a booster seat at the age of 3; there is a short video at the top of the page)
So what carseat did we choose? The Diono RadianRXT. It has the absolute highest height and weight limits for rear-facing of any carseat sold in the US. With this seat we should be able to keep Eleanor rear-facing well past her second birthday. We will not be turning her forward facing until she reaches the maximum weight limit on her carseat. This carseat lets a child stay rear-facing until 45 pounds! And when we do have to turn her, the Radian can be used forward-facing with a five-point harness until 80 pounds (10-15 pounds more than most other carseats and 40 pounds more than some), at which point the Radian turns into a booster seat until 120 pounds. Because the frame of the carseat is steel alloy instead of plastic, this carseat has a longer expiration date than most carseats (yes, carseats do expire; the plastic starts to break down, rendering it less safe. Check the side/back of your carseat for the manufacture and/or expiration date). It will literally be the only other carseat we will purchase for Eleanor, aside from her infant carrier.
I'm not knocking other brands of carseats and in fact had narrowed it down to the Diono Radian and one or two other seats. But the final draw of the Radian was the ability to allow Eleanor to remain rear-facing as long as possible, and forward-facing with a five-point harness as long as possible before finally moving her to a booster with the car seatbelt. (Though the Radian does have other awesome features, like being able to fit three across the backseat of a regular car and folding up to be carried like a backpack - handy if you're traveling in an airport.)
This isn't a sales pitch for the Radian (though we do love it). In researching carseats I came across so many articles/videos/people talking about the importance of keeping children rear-facing as long as possible that I just wanted to share some of that information. Because really, it's all about helping each other keep our kids as safe as possible, right? There are many carseats on the market now with height and weight limits that will allow many children to remain rear-facing past the age of 2. Please, please, please keep your child rear-facing until they reach the maximum height/weight limits for their carseat. It could literally save their life.
Choosing a carseat is hard. It's such an important decision since that seat could someday be the reason your child lives in a car accident. All seats made and sold in the US have to meet the same basic safety standards, though some brands have better safety track records than others and some brands do more extensive/higher levels of testing than others. But the fact remains that the same basic safety standards are met with any carseat that is purchased. People base their carseat decisions on brand name, price, fabric pattern/color, ease of use, recommendations from others, what fits in their vehicle, what features the seat offers, and all sorts of other things.
We based our convertible carseat decision on two things: safety track record and which one would allow Eleanor to remain rear-facing the longest. Yes, her seat is a really pretty purple color, but that's just an added bonus :)
Did you know that the AAP now recommends that children remain rear-facing in carseats until at least the age of 2? This is recently changed from the "age 1 and at least 20 pounds" criteria. Did you know that many other countries recommend children remain rear-facing until age 3 or 4?
Know why? Because rear-facing is the safest for a child in the event of an accident. There's no magic switch that goes on at a kid's first or second birthday that says they're able to turn forward-facing and be safe. Because small children's heads are so big in proportion to their bodies, in an accident their bodies and heads are thrown forward. The five-point-harness restrains their bodies, but their heads are thrown even further forward before coming back against the seat. This can cause serious head and neck injuries - including internal decapitation.
Check this out:
And this video has some really powerful crash test videos with forward-facing and rear-facing child-sized dummies in carseats. If you don't want to watch the whole video, please just watch the first two minutes.
There was a great article about extended rear-facing in the New York Times. Here's a powerful and to-the-point quote from it:
“Our recommendations are meant to help parents move away from gospel-held notions that are based on a child’s age,” Dr. Durbin said. “We want them to recognize that with each transition they make, from rear-facing to forward-facing, to booster seats, there is a decline in the safety of their child. That’s why we are urging parents to delay these transitions for as long as possible." (emphasis mine)
Common reasons people say they turn their children forward-facing before they reach the maximum height and weight limits for rear-facing on their carseats? Their kids look uncomfortable or their legs are against the backseat or crossed. Guess what? Broken legs can be fixed. Broken necks/spines are much harder to fix.
And when parents do finally turn kids forward facing, it is safest for them to be in a five-point harness as long as possible. This helps restrain the child's body much better than the car's seat belt, not to mention that most car seat belts do not fit children properly until they are older.
More info about extended rear-facing:
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org (this is the website for a little boy who was killed in a booster seat at the age of 3; there is a short video at the top of the page)
So what carseat did we choose? The Diono RadianRXT. It has the absolute highest height and weight limits for rear-facing of any carseat sold in the US. With this seat we should be able to keep Eleanor rear-facing well past her second birthday. We will not be turning her forward facing until she reaches the maximum weight limit on her carseat. This carseat lets a child stay rear-facing until 45 pounds! And when we do have to turn her, the Radian can be used forward-facing with a five-point harness until 80 pounds (10-15 pounds more than most other carseats and 40 pounds more than some), at which point the Radian turns into a booster seat until 120 pounds. Because the frame of the carseat is steel alloy instead of plastic, this carseat has a longer expiration date than most carseats (yes, carseats do expire; the plastic starts to break down, rendering it less safe. Check the side/back of your carseat for the manufacture and/or expiration date). It will literally be the only other carseat we will purchase for Eleanor, aside from her infant carrier.
I'm not knocking other brands of carseats and in fact had narrowed it down to the Diono Radian and one or two other seats. But the final draw of the Radian was the ability to allow Eleanor to remain rear-facing as long as possible, and forward-facing with a five-point harness as long as possible before finally moving her to a booster with the car seatbelt. (Though the Radian does have other awesome features, like being able to fit three across the backseat of a regular car and folding up to be carried like a backpack - handy if you're traveling in an airport.)
This isn't a sales pitch for the Radian (though we do love it). In researching carseats I came across so many articles/videos/people talking about the importance of keeping children rear-facing as long as possible that I just wanted to share some of that information. Because really, it's all about helping each other keep our kids as safe as possible, right? There are many carseats on the market now with height and weight limits that will allow many children to remain rear-facing past the age of 2. Please, please, please keep your child rear-facing until they reach the maximum height/weight limits for their carseat. It could literally save their life.
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