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

[FrozenNorth]

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.

EldonAve thanks for the traffic club link - the stuff looks great. I know it says 3-4, but do you think it would be worth getting earlier? DS is 18 months and just starting to walk places, and loves books - what are they like - will they go over his head at the moment? If so, do you know anything better for younger children?

hi, i haven't read all the posts but group 1 rf seats are not like baby seats. they are just like the ff group 1 only rf- so babies can see out and are not as bored as they are in the rf baby seats.

there is space for legs and the kids always seem happy in them-i sometimes use the rf seats for my 4 yo mindee but my ds who has just turned 2 is nearly a metre tall and he has no problems-he does get his legs into some funny postions though!

you do not need a massive car- i had a renault scenic and that was better space wise than the golf but i've had them in the back of a clio!

but it's like evrything-each to their own, my reasoning was that i couldn't use ff once i knew about the benefits of rf. if we were in an accident and anything happened i always be wondering what if-and i do alot of driving.

oh and cost wise my two way elite was cheaper than the maxi cosi priorifix i had wanted before i fould out about rf by nearly £100.

I haven't read all the posts but you are able to get rear facing seats for under £200 - relatively easily. Mothercare sell the Britax one - our local one has it in store, so does Babies r Us. Kiddicare also sells quite a few rearfacing car seats - and deliver the next day - so they are available on the high street.

We have rearfacing seats for our 17mth twins - they haven't outgrown the baby seats yet but are unable to look out - the rearfacing ones are up higher so they can look out. Thankfully it seems that they are not bothered by travel sickness at all so that isn't an issue for us. I agree though that my friends who have children a similar age and have them in front facing seats do think I'm odd for putting them rearward facing. Though it is a decision we are happy with.

cleanandclothed - I think the traffic club stuff is better for 3-4 yrs. If you live in London you can get it for free

AIBU... to wonder if many of the RF-car seat threads online (including MN) are completely orchestrated cons, with OP starting it off with
"You should know about this!"
and the next post asking heaps of innocent questions, like there haven't been heaps of previous threads that discussed at great length all the same Qs -- and like this isn't a website where usually people look in the archives before starting a new thread.

Or am I just paranoid about media manipulation rather than having the rather more conventional and modern fashionable paranoias about child safety?

I find them too big to fit in my little Clio and I'm not sure how comfy they would be on long journeys.

EldonAve Thanks - will put it on a 'birthday presents for when a little older list'. I do live in London - how do I go about getting them free?

Simple, I couldn't find one to fit the car.

PurpleCrazyHorse which one did you try in your clio? i have had ds' britax two way elite in the front(with the airbag off) and rear passenger in my mums clio no problem.

my ds is a big boy 22lbs at 19 weeks.... so in theory he could go in forward facing if you go by weight..... but of course i am not as he is just too young but the only rea facing one we have tried just didnt fit right....we have a citroen xsara!

EldonAve - cheers for the info, I have registered my DC

lljkk - loads of the threads on MN have been done lots of times before. The truth is that lots of people don't know that group 1 RF seats exist - the OP wanted to raise awareness about them as its obviously something she feels strongly about. Can't see anything suspicious there.

sparklycheerymummy one of the road safety officers vicky from essex council has a xsara picasso and has a britax two way elite in hers for her daughter. hth.

will look at that one..... the picasso is bigger than the xsara..... tbh we have struggled to get any seat to fit at all!!!!

We couldn't fit it in our car. I wish we could but it's too small.
The evidence is there but it will take years to change the culture.
What car do you have, it must be massive because ours is big -ish but we couldn't fit it in at all.

sparklycheerymummy i would try that seat or the KISS if you have isofix as it's even smaller again although your ds sounds like ours a little larger! so the twe would last longer as it goes to 25kgs instead of 18kgs. the twe is also more versatile. i have these in a golf but have had them in a polo and clio(3 door) with enough driving/sitting room in the front.

sorry ipanemagirl not sure who you're asking but we have a golf and a seat leon. although our parents have smaller cars and it fits in theirs-a clio, polo and a seat ibiza!

Ours fits fine in a renault modus. Can even get it in our 3 door vw lupo if we need to (although couldn't have a passenger sat in front of it, and in reality have always turned it round to forward face if using that car).

RTAs come from all directions. On a motorway or dual carriageway you are more likely to be hit from behind. Also around town a side impact is likely. At junctions it is often a side impact. Forward facing seat is only weak in headon collisions. In headon collisions crumple zones can reduce the impact. there is not the same space in side or rear collisions. A forward facing seat gives good protection in a rear collisions. the impact speed is higher in a front collision but no matter what there is no perfect protection.

FrozenNorth, I have the same concerns as you re neck injuries in young children (well, me too, but, as you said, we can't all be rear facing unfortunately). I bought a combined seat, thinking I could keep it rear-facing for a couple of years, only to find my son has hit the 13kg rf limit at 18 months so now I have to either turn him ff (limit of 20kg ff) or buy a new seat. Am really annoyed that rf seats for toddlers aren't easier to come by.

And, no, he doesn't mind being rf because that's all he has ever known.

There's some more info on rear-facing for anyone interested (not trying to preach but I genuinely didn't know this stuff until I looked for a car seat at 9 months and I know lots of my mum friends are in the same boat) - www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

For those asking for stats, I think the BMJ link already provided in the OP might be relevant - www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/jun11_2/b1994

I have a Recoro rf car seat. I picked it because its safer and car seats are for safety.

My DS knows no different, he likes it, no sickness or screaming, he can see out the back and side windows and it fits our Zetec Ford.

The main problem i have found is that at night the car behind us headlights shin in his eyes and it is not great for sleeping.

The seat belt twistes all the time and the belt is not as long as i would like.

The car seat is to up right and not good for him sleeping.

There is limited space up front so i normal seat in the back with him and my DH drives.

But its very conforty as he sleeped 6 hours in it from Scotland to Yorkshire, so can't be all that bad!

I think i made the right choice for my family.

I am surprised why more people dont have them but its their life/Childs life at the end of the day and each to their own.

All seats have pro's and con's, as long as you have one and use it correctly thats all that matters, right?

Sorry about spelling i'm dyslexic but wanted to post a reply

oldgrandparent yes, of course crashes come from all directions, but the vast majority of serious crashes involve frontal collisions. A forward facing seat does give good protection in a rear collision, but a serious high speed crash is much more likely to be a frontal collision.

apparently only 5% of crashes are rear impact.

will come back when have read whole thread but just wanted to say we have a britax 2 way elite. Ds is 2.9 (big as well) and he loves going in it - its quite high up so he gets a great view out the back window. it fitted fine in our corsa which we've just swapped for a bigger car.

he is very comfortable in it, never complains and doesn't mind his legs being slightly crossed, and he is usually one to complain if something isn't right.

i asked in mothercare recently, and they said they know they are safrer but there isn't the demand