To think most parents don't know that rearfacing DCs is safer?

[mumaw]

I'm in Facebook groups that specialise in advice for mainly extended rear facing car seats. It's proven that rear facing your child is much, much safer (in fact 500% safer) than front facing.

But I never see anybody RF'ing their child and don't know anybody that does either.

Is it just a case of parents not knowing that its safer?

Sorry about the flippant cross-post Queen that's awful.

You can get ERF seats for up to 25kg.

@TabbyMumz this is a RF vs FF crash test

@QueenofmyPrinces Oh my god 💔😢

Interesting how OP is totally ignoring the comments about children who get sick and scream if they RF.

Driving with a child screaming in your ear isn't exactly a good idea. Yet apparently you should do so if it means your child is RF and not FF

I know about rear facing being safer and have kept our eldest rear facing until about 3. We had to turn her around as she was so uncomfortable with her legs being squished she didn’t want to go in the car. The youngest is still rear facing at 2, he’ll be turned around once he runs out of space too. I don’t know how you can have space to rear face a 4 year old? We have a large car but there is still no position you can put the seat in to create more leg room.

Bonjourfreddie

I do like my friends but I think it is a rather short sighted argument.

@adaline I'm not ignoring them. There are solutions to it though..

I’d rather as a pp said, people were made aware of how low the minimum standards are for car seats. I was horrified when I found a which report on the differences between the cheaper group 0 seats, I’d bought a cheaper spare one for holiday and the thought of just how unprotected they were in it made me feel ill.

I think this, plus the fact so many seats are incorrectly fitted, is a bigger concern currently than RF.

People assume that because something is for sale in Mothercare, Tesco, Pram Centre etc that it's safe and have no idea that the seats are not all much of a muchness. Take socket covers and cot bumpers for examples of that!

I comment from a op above shoehorning breastfeeding into a discussion about car seats is Peak Mumsnet.

The thing is, some kids are just more placid and easy going than others. Some toddlers never throw a tantrum. Some parents would never find a use for baby reins because their child will happily hold hands the whole time. Some children eat anything with no pickiness at all. Some babies sleep through the night from very early and then never cause their parents a disturbed night. Some two year olds will sit in the car staring out the back window with no issue. Some four year olds will happily sit facing backwards in a car seat, crossing their legs and chatting away in the mirror.

All of these things are normal and v nice for the lucky parents. What's less nice is if their parents then decide that it's because of their superior parenting and that everyone else would have DC who do exactly the same if they were just as good at parenting as them.

My friends baby died in a car crash when he was 13 months and forward facing because of the force that came at him from behind. She says she has never really forgiven herself because she believes that if her son had been RF he would still be alive
Really? Is this true? Surely he was better protected by having the seat behind him?

@TabbyMumz please watch the video I just sent you. Explains why rear facing is much, much safer.

shift you are very sneery about them, It's also none of your business what they do with their children, they don't need to provide you with "good reasons"

Quite honestly, I feel the same way about rear facing seats and the reduced risk/increased benefit as I do about various other similar things - ie the other options are not bad and they work better for me.

Eg, I accept breastmilk is BETTER but know there's nothing wrong with FF and felt no guilt at only being able to BF for one month.

Raw carrots are definitely healthier than cooked carrots. But my DC like cooked carrots and they're easy to eat. They're still super healthy so I feel no guilt choosing to give them cooked carrots.

I have a very high quality, highly rated front facing car seat with side protection. DD is happy in this seat and can be part of the family and activities. The seat may be marginally less safe than a rear facing, but I'm okay with that.

And everytime I see SIL driving away with her DS in his rear facing seat with his legs up on the back seat I do find myself thinking, "that can't possibly be safe or comfortable for him' and my decision is reinforced. Ditto, I have far more concerns about whether the seatbelt is correctly tightened and am always surprised at people who leave the seatbelt a bit loose or who still don't seem to know about not putting children in car seats with big heavy coats on.

My kids are massive (4 year old in age 7-8 clothes). Her knees would be up by her ears if she was still rearward facing.

How do you know they work OP? You haven't tried them and you have a child who doesn't suffer from motion sickness!

Good grief

I don’t know how you can have space to rear face a 4 year old? We have a large car but there is still no position you can put the seat in to create more leg room.

I think it depends a lot on the angle of your car seats. DD (4 yo, but small) is still RF and I think she'll be RF longer in my car than DH's as there seems to be a better angle to his seats and therefore more room. In MIL's car it's already impossible.

Tabby - he was thrown forward out of his seat and obtained an irrecoverable brain injury.

Most toddlers and young children I see/know are FF as is my DS. Having to listen to him screaming his head off in his RF seat was absolute torture and was more of a risk because of my resulting poor driving. My DH refused to drive with him in because it was too difficult to concentrate (he's not as an experienced driver as I am)

We would struggle to fit an extended RF seat in our car because my DH is v tall and we both drive. We'd have to keep moving the seat which would increase the chances of not putting it in properly.

Parenting is one long constant risk assessment.

@adaline Because I have friends who have had the same problem

@StepAwayFromGoogle The recommended age limit is at least 4 years old. If you can get your kids rearfacing for longer than that, then that's a bonus. But of course it does depend on weight/height centres

@StepAwayFromGoogle Sorry, that's meant to say centiles, not centres!

mumaw you do realise that every child is different, and something that worked for your friends child might not work for another child?

Tabby - sorry for my poor wording. He wasn’t thrown out of his seat I meant he was thrown forward and the force to his spine/neck/head caused the brain injury.