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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

... to wonder why more people don't buy rear-facing car seats for children over 1 year?

187 replies

FrozenNorth · 28/04/2010 10:08

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm just curious as to why I'm the only one amongst my acquaintances to have bought a rear-facing car seat that should fit my DD up to the age of 4 years?

I realise that the government guidelines / laws don't say much about the fact that it's far safer to stay rear-facing beyond the initial group 0 seat, but a few minutes' internet research and a couple of crash-test videos on YouTube were enough to firmly convince me that it's the way to go. In Sweden it's recommended to rear-face your child to the age of four.

So, if you chose to forward-face your child at an earlier stage, what was your rationale? I know, for instance, that the rear-facing seats may not fit in smaller cars. They tend to cost more and they are harder to get hold of. Not a single large store (e.g. Mothercare, Halfords etc.) in the UK sells them.

In case anyone's interested in the evidence behind rear-facing vs forward facing, here's a few links:

Why consider rear-facing?

Safety benefits

The British Medical Journal recommendations

Buyers' guide and list of UK retailers selling rear-facing seats

YouTube video showing crash test footage

Sorry about all the links. This is something I feel really passionately about and I feel so angry that major UK retailers don't supply the safest possible seats for our children.

OP posts:
pigletmania · 28/04/2010 13:12

Well mooma if your 2/3 year old is the size or build of a 4+year old(which is the max age of a rear facing seat) than this seat is probably not the right one for them anyway. Like others have said life is full of risks which we have to evaluate before making a decision, and if having a forward facing car seat is right for you fine, if its not than get a rear facing one. As i said previously, we only drive locally (infrequently as i take the bus, have a 3.2 year old dd, and do not make many long distance journeys than the forward facing seat is the right seat for us, plus we cannot afford to shell out another £200 for a car seat that wont be used much anyway.

Cadders1 · 28/04/2010 13:14

FrozenNorth I just wanted to thank you for your original post. My DS is only 6 months - so a while off a new car seat, but I would never have thought about a rear facing car seat, and as they are not readily available in the UK I would probably never have even considered asking about one when buying our next seat. Although I cannot say I will buy one in the future - knowledge is power and all that, and I will now be able to make a more informed decision.

This is obviously something you feel strongly about and I am surprised by the negetive cooments you have received - I don't think your initial post was smug.

pagwatch · 28/04/2010 13:20

Cadders
the op got plenty of replies, interested and neutral or explaining why people chose FF. She was only acused of smuggery after her comments about paralysis.

Original poster
FrozenNorth · 28/04/2010 13:40

Okay, I said I'd walk away and I did (walked to M&S) but I just wanted to come back and say:
i) I completely retract the paralysis comment and apologise to people I've offended with it
ii) I specifically apologise to Pigletmania again - it really was ill-judged of me to say that
iii) I also apologise to Pagwatch. I was actually trying to say "in my circumstances" rather than "in these general circumstances" when I said "in this instance", but re-reading it it comes out all wrong. I work alongside a team researching autism so I really do appreciate how important face to face contact can be. Sorry again.

Please don't let my inability to express myself without offending people undermine the ideas I've tried to express - namely, that people should be given a fair choice of both forward and rear-facing seats in mainstream shops. If this happened the prices for rearward ones might come down too.

Finally, for anyone who has heard about rear-facing for the first time on this thread and is interested in considering it next time they buy a seat, I'm really really glad you did. It means making a fool of myself (i'm rubbish at debating anything) was completely worth it.

OP posts:
pagwatch · 28/04/2010 13:44

Thank you.

I think people did look at it and will consider it - it is just that life is complicated and people simply do their best.

Cadders1 · 28/04/2010 13:47

That the problem with MN, e-mailing, texting etc - much easier to offend people by accident, especially when you have a child attached to your boob, leg etc!

MumNWLondon · 28/04/2010 13:56

they are big, not widely available, expensive, perhaps less comfortable and safety benefits not really known about.

bruffin · 28/04/2010 14:11

Hasn't you done this thread before!

I would have thought travelling backwards would be very bad for travel sickness

pigletmania · 28/04/2010 14:37

Dont worry Frozenorth it is obviously something that you feel pationate about and want to inform people just i dont think we will get one as dd is 3.2 and will only have it for less than a year and we dont travel much by car especially long journeys. If its a major safety issue and will save lives, why is it not made the law then for rear facing child seats.

thesecondcoming · 28/04/2010 14:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dorisbonkers · 28/04/2010 15:35

You can't get a rear facer in a porsche. that's why.

ACrazyWoman · 28/04/2010 16:38

I have a 3 door car?rear facing is just not going to happen.

LadyBiscuit · 28/04/2010 16:43

I think the rear-facing car seat is like the ultimate protect-your-children-from-harm talisman. Far, far more children are killed and hurt as pedestrians and on their bikes than they ever are in cars*. And yet we entirely focus on the equipment side of things because it's within our control and it's an easy thing to do, to throw money at something.

There are countless threads on MN about car seats and which one is best but I've never seen a single one about teaching children really good road safety. And that's got to be a bit fucked up

  • Of the 131 children that were killed on the roads in the UK in 2008, 60 of them were pedestrians and 45 were cyclists
pigletmania · 28/04/2010 16:46

Thanks TSc for that one, makes me feel so much better. Why should i get a new car seat just as we use the bus most of the time and dd is going to grow out of it soon anyway, £200 wasted imo. Now if i was a would be mum, or had a baby/toddler and was looking to upgrade the car seat then i would most probaby get a rear facing one.

dorisbonkers · 28/04/2010 16:46

A very good point LadyBiscuit. That's, of course, not to day that having the safest seat you can afford, or fit into your car, isn't a Good Idea, either.

I'm happy with my car seat. I rarely use my car -- only for trips to in-laws who live where public transport doesn't reach.

You can't eradicate risk altogether and generally I think we are far too risk averse in weird areas and not so in areas where we could make a serious dent in.

Downdog · 28/04/2010 16:49

on a similar note but different, apparently if a plane crashes chances of survival are incredibly increased if passengers were sitting facing the back of the plane.

But it's never taken off as airlines think passengers would simply be weirded out by it.

www.airspacemag.com/need-to-know/Need-to-Know-Aft-Facing-Seats.html

LadyBiscuit · 28/04/2010 16:53

I'm not saying it's unimportant doris at all but I do think the focus on the carseat as the ultimate piece of child safety equipment is a bit misplaced.

bluebump · 28/04/2010 16:55

I read lots of threads on here about rf car seats and we'd have loved to have got them but unfortunately we needed two seats for each of our cars and so we could not afford that. We had to choose the best we could afford within our budget and that blew rf ones out of the equation.

withorwithoutyou · 28/04/2010 16:55

For some reason, discussion about rearfacing car seats just seems to really get people's backs up.

We've got one for DD which she's perfectly happy in and has never been carsick in.

But I think once you get into the realms of questioning why other people don't have them it can come across as a bit judgy - even though it comes from a good place.

dorisbonkers · 28/04/2010 17:00

I don't see it as judgy at all because I'm happy with my limited car use and my car seat.

I think some judgements just go 'whoosh' over my head....

Joolyjoolyjoo · 28/04/2010 17:05

I might have considered a RF seat if I didn't already have all the stages of FF car seats before I'd heard of them. AS ds is nearly 3 (and the last!) seems a bit of a pointless expense now, and I do agree with the whole risk- assessment bit- I'm sure all children would be safer to wear helmets at all times, but it would be a culture change, kids might not be keen etc etc

People DO seem to get their backs up re RF/FF seats, but, having seen this particular discussion a few times, it always seems to me as if the OP has discovered this wonderful new innovation and seeks to educate the rest of us (I don't mean this OP in particular, just that these threads are always in the same tone! Noone ever comes on saying "Thinking of getting RF seat- anyone any thoughts/ experiences?" They always come on saying "Why would you NOT get a RF seat? What is wrong with you?"

FWIW the first time I saw this argument I felt horribly guilty for NOT having had RF seats for my dd's. I've learned to live with the guilt now

Missus84 · 28/04/2010 17:20

So exactly how much safer is a two year old in a rear facing seat than a forward facing seat?

withorwithoutyou · 28/04/2010 17:32

Missus, I think the stats are 5 x safer.

Missus84 · 28/04/2010 17:33

Do you have any links for that? So a 2 year old is 5 times more likely to survive a crash rf than ff?

cleanandclothed · 28/04/2010 17:36

Well, from one of the websites the OP linked to 'In 100 collisions of rear facing kids, 8 rear facing children will die or become seriously injured. 92 will walk away fine. In 100 collisions with forward facing kids, 40 will die or become seriously injured. 60 will walk away fine. '

The absolute risks are obviously very small, because the vast majority of car journeys result in no accident. But if you do have an accident, the differential seems quite stark.

As other posters have said, however, the change in risk for your particular situation may be different.