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?

I actually think there needs to be more awareness of car seat safety in general, stuff like not wearing big coats, making sure seats are actually installed properly, making sure straps are tight enough.

Because you can buy the best RF car seat on the market, but if your child is in a winter coat then they're still at massive risk of injury.

@Bonjourfreddie Yes, I agree with that

Have a RF seat but the man issue is they are three times the price of a ff seat. I have a very sanctimonious friend who is all about rear facing but has no problem strapping a newborn baby in a maxi cosi into the front of her Dutch bicycle and getting on the roads of Dublin which are lethal. I guess being green trumps child safety😂

My brother put his newborn in a rear facing seat, someone smashed into the back of him, which caused the rear windowscreen to shatter all over his newborn. His son is blind in one eye due to the flying glass.
I always had mine in forward facing seats. I had a serious collision with them in the car. They were fine.
Like a lot of other things in life, its swings and roundabouts.

My eldest have bad travel sickness so I turned her at one and while she gets a bit sick now she doesn't actually vomit.

My youngest it just felt so much cheaper to ff her once she grew out of the first one at 14m. We needed to buy 3 seats for her, for my car, DH's and my mums. Car seats are so expensive

@GetOffMyBongos Aren't car windows tempered safety glass though?

mumaw yes they are but literally anything hitting you straight in the eyeball is potentially damaging! eyes are very sensitive things!

My 2YO is RF. He used to scream himself sick but we adapted - iPad strapped to headrest, lots of praise, endless singing of nursery rhymes, juice to drink rather than water, we even put in his old (baby) car seat next to him, RF with a dolly in so he could see/copy her... I won’t say he loves his car seat now, but he will tolerate it. You CAN teach a child to tolerate RF with enough effort and when it’s 500% safer, that’s a lesson worth learning IMO.

I can see if your child vomits RF then that’s a massive problem and I don’t know how I’d cope with that if medication/window open/frequent stops didn’t help. But just because a child doesn’t like something isn’t a good enough reason for me to give in to their request. They aren’t informed enough to make the decision!

But @GetOffMyBongos, isn’t a visually impaired child preferable to a dead child? While it’s obviously absolutely awful that your nephew is blind in one eye, watch the video the OP linked above and think of the other possible outcomes.

But if he was forward facing he might have sustained a serious brain injury or internal decapitation 🤷‍♀️ That's why anecdotes and hypotheticals aren't very useful v actual accredited safety testing. RF won't always prevent your child being injured, but it lowers the risk of serious injury substantially.

you CAN teach a child to tolerate RF with enough effort and when it’s 500% safer, that’s a lesson worth learning IMO

we tried literally everything you have mentioned and more, DS screamed until it sounded like he was choking. It was not safe for us to drive with him like that, you cannot concentrate on the road properly.

We even went through a stage of one of us sitting in the back with him and it made no difference.

He might not have known it was 500% safer, and therefore not informed enough to make his own decision, but he clearly did know that he was either uncomfortable, scared or both.

I wasn't going to continually traumatise my child over it.

I can’t believe anyone in real life notices this about other people. My youngest is still in rf and is tiny so it will probably last her until 5. My oldest is in a high backed booster. I checked online what the safest option for them was and what the new EU safety standards are going to be. I have no clue what car seat anyone else’s child uses, why would I? And I can’t imagine joining a FB for what’s effectively a one off decision. Surely the FB must largely exist to judge other parents?

I think most parents don't know. They presume the guidelines are the safest. It would help if those ridiculous Facebook groups weren't so high and mighty.

Children like sitting with bent legs/crossed legs - that's how they often sit in nursery or school (I'm an infant teacher). We have a 4 seater hatchback, two children (age 2 and a baby) in rear facing seats and my husband is 6 foot 3. Toddler and baby both have mirrors so I can see them and they can see me. Toddler has songs he likes playing and a soft toy with him. I cant understand some of the excuses here, fair enough if you've read it and decided RF isnt for you but it really does make a huge difference in the rare but possible event of an accident.

cant understand some of the excuses here

sorry, excuses?

This is not something you have to excuse your way out of.

YNBU, I think a lot of parents assume because seats are sold and other people FF as soon as they can then it's just as safe as RF. My son rear-faced till he was 4 because we knew it was safest for him. He's super car sick so one of us sits in the back with him, thankfully we only ever do very short journeys with only one of us in the car. (Though by now he's so used to it that he can pretty much sort himself out with a bucket and tissues 😂)

I don't think anyone doesn't know it's safer, they're just weighing up the actual likelihood of them being in a crash with the silliness of having a three/four year old with their face in the chair and their legs bunched up.

Some people are not naturally paranoid about crashing.

My DS is 6 and still RF. I agree, i am also shocked at how many people are still so quick to turn their children to FF.

I'm in the same fb group too and often share the threads. I don't know how I came across it but like everything when a new mum you do your research and on such subjects and I will stand my moral high ground, because it saves bloody lives!

I honestly think it's ignorance with a lot of people.

It’s just not something I could give in to, but appreciate that everyone is different.

Fatal car crashes may not be common but I wouldn't want to take the risk

Excuse me?

There is absolutely no need to make personal digs based on bloody nothing but a one-off post I made.

I am a good mum, and I AM kind to my child. I have reported your post.

I have made no personal digs at you, although believe me - the temptation is there.

that's up to you, and that's fine, but to judge other people for "giving in" or because they don't agree with you is shitty.

I didn't say you weren't a good mum, you just choose car seat safety over being compassionate, which is up to you.

I don't, but you're allowed to look down on me for that?

Ok.

@QueenofmyPrinces