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<\/p>\nI\u2019m going to be honest (and perhaps a bit bold):\u00a0 I\u2019m disappointed and distraught by how people restrain their children in the car.\u00a0 A while ago Facebook went through a \u201clook at what I\u2019m eating\u201d phase and now it seems it\u2019s in a \u201clook at my cute kid in the car\u201d phase and while the children are indeed cute (every single one of them!) the pictures often make me gasp, cringe, shake my head and on at least one occasion, cry.\u00a0 Misuse of child restraints\u00a0seems to be an epidemic and unfortunately car seat safety does NOT fall in line with breast vs. bottle, pacifier vs. thumb, cloth vs. disposable, cry it out or not, co-sleep or not, babywear or not, etc.\u00a0 Car seat safety is in no way a matter of parent preference but is a matter of PHYSICS and physical development.<\/p>\n
We as parents are constantly analyzing and weighing risks for our children. \u00a0We know to put newborns to sleep on their backs, we watch our kids around open water and pools, we baby-proof<\/a> our homes and we THINK we are keeping our children safe in the car. \u00a0But the reality is vehicular accidents are the leading cause of child fatality in America and it’s estimated that 70% of child restraints\u00a0are not used properly.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t blame the parents (in most cases) for misuse.\u00a0 Parents are wildly misinformed and unfortunately the information out there can be confusing to say the least.\u00a0 But if you take nothing else away from this post, I hope you\u2019ll heed this advice: READ YOUR CAR SEAT MANUAL, front to back, word for word, every single page!\u00a0 It will tell you everything you need to know about your child restraints\u00a0like how to properly install it and fit it to your child; how to care for and clean it; and what the limits of use for the car seat are.<\/p>\n Every car seat has weight, height and age restrictions for use.\u00a0 These are not optional guidelines, they are stated for a reason.\u00a0 This reason is usually that the manufacturer did not test the seat outside of the stated limits or<\/em> they did and the car seat FAILED.\u00a0 Meaning: the car seat did not properly restrain a child (dummy) in a test and the child may have been seriously injured or ejected from the seat.\u00a0 And just because your child meets the minimum height and weight restrictions of a car seat\u00a0does not mean you can disregard the age requirements.<\/p>\n The age requirements are based on children\u2019s physiological development.\u00a0 Children under the age of 2 are over 5 times safer when rear facing in the car and are 75% more likely to be injured during an accident if forward facing (see more car seat safety stats<\/a>). \u00a0This is because the soft bones of a child\u2019s spine don\u2019t start to harden and fuse until around age 3.\u00a0 So even if your child is \u201cbig enough\u201d to meet the minimum requirements for a forward facing seat<\/a> or booster<\/a> does not mean their body is strong enough!<\/p>\n I found a few crash test videos that show how important properly restraining a child in the car is.\u00a0 Keep in mind, many of these videos are from other countries and so the seats are different from what is legal to use in the US.<\/p>\n Forward vs. Rear facing (note: the forward facing seat is not tethered at the top, this would reduce some of the trauma, but not all of it):<\/p>\n