Laws in each state in the United States vary. However, when following the car seat manufacturers recommendation for rear-facing upper height/weight, you are likely to go beyond what your law requires. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends, "All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their CSS’s manufacturer". Car seat manufacturers have designed car seats with increased weight and height limitations to allow a child to be rear-facing as long as possible.
In general, nearly all convertible car seats keep children rear-facing up until the child reaches 40-pounds, and some to 45-pounds or 50-pounds. Based upon 90% percentile of clinical growth charts (see Baby Growth Charts), a 40-pound child can be between the age of 3-5 years old. This helps to provide head and neck support. Parents often turn children prematurely to forward-facing as a result of becoming confused when reading the instructions on their convertible car seat. For example, rear-facing 4 to 40 pounds, and forward-facing 22 to 65 pounds. This can be misleading to a parent that at 22 pounds their child is safe to be forward-facing. However, forward-facing increases the risk of head (brain) and spinal cord injury. So keep your child rear-facing up to the height and weight as printed on the side of your car seat.
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Why keep your child rear-facing longer?
This video shows the difference during a simulated crash how a child in a forward-facing car seat, their head plunges forward and slams back into the seat. Whereas the rear-facing seat provides head and neck support.
Keeping child passengers rear-facing longer, helps to provide support to the child's upper torso to protect their head (brain) and spinal cord. Remember the moment you turn a child forward-facing, regardless of their age, in the event of a collision, they are 5-times more likely to sustain neck injury from their head plunging forward and sustain traumatic brain injury from their head slamming back into the seat. So keep your child in a car seat rear-facing to the upper weight and height printed on the side of the car seat. For further information call the National Telehealth Car Seat Call Center at 323-491-6197.
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Safety guidelines for parents:
It is best practice and highly RECOMMENDED to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. This rear-facing recommendation has changed significantly over the past several years and fortunately more and more new parents are learning of this and understanding the importance of keeping their child rear-facing as long as possible and even to keep the child at each stage as long as possible. Here are a few review tips:
It is best practice and highly RECOMMENDED to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. This rear-facing recommendation has changed significantly over the past several years and fortunately more and more new parents are learning of this and understanding the importance of keeping their child rear-facing as long as possible and even to keep the child at each stage as long as possible. Here are a few review tips:
- Keep your child rear-facing up to the maximum height (the child usually reaches height before weight) or weight maximum of the car seat. With most convertible car seats the child can be rear-facing between the age of 3-5 (of course depends on weight). Even if the child's feet are up onto the back of the vehicle seat, it is best to keep their head and neck protected.
- Remember, keeping your child rear-facing to the upper height and weight, as long as possible helps to protect the child's neck, shoulders and head. See video examples.
- Never rush to advance your child to the next stage (see Car Seat Stages) . Follow height and weight maximum on the side of your car seat.
- For infants who have outgrown their rear-facing only car seat (base and car seat carrier that also goes into a stroller), they can move into a convertible seat to be rear-facing longer.
- When shopping for a convertible car seat, choose one that has the highest weight maximum. Also make sure it is compatible to your vehicle so it can be installed correctly, both rear and forward facing. The car seat must be able to be installed correctly, at the appropriate level, while having sufficient space between the back of the car seat and back of the front vehicle seat when rear-facing to allow for the ride-down-effect of a crash. There also needs to be sufficient space for the passenger and driver to ride safely (knees no close than 3-inches to the dashboard and driver no closer than 10-inches to the steering wheel and passenger no closer than 20-inchest to the airbag).
Questions, call 323-491-6197 (National Telehealth Car Seat Call Center)