Big Girl Seat

We recently got Emily her "big girl" car seat. I don't think she likes it quite as much as her infant seat, but she was getting ready to outgrow that one. We went with a Safety First seat because of their side impact coverage. It was a little bit of a pain to get into the car rear facing, but I think we have it figured out now.
She went for her first ride in it about 3 days ago. I thought she would like the switch a lot because she can see out of the windows a little better now, but, while she does enjoy that, I think it is the sitting upright a little more than she is used to that seems to get on her nerves. Oh well, she will get used to it I guess.

Crash Test Videos

Here are some videos of crash tests...










It is amazing the difference between a forward facing seat and a rear facing one.

Car Seat Safety: Part Two

So the article from yesterday from CPSafety is a little long. I split it into two and here is the rest of the article. This section has the common reasons why parents turn their children around before they should and the reasons why they should remain rear-facing.

Enjoy...

Won't my child be uncomfortable? Where do his legs go?

Many parents have the misconception that children are uncomfortable or at risk for leg injury by having their legs up on the vehicle seat or bent when kept rear-facing. These concepts are completely incorrect. First, children are more flexible than adults so what we perceive as uncomfortable is not for children. Think about how your child sits in everyday play. Do they sit with their legs straight out in front of them? When they sit on the couch, do they purposely sit so their legs dangle out over the edge? No. In real, everyday life, toddlers and preschoolers CHOSE to sit with their legs folded up - that IS comfort to them.

Second, there is not a single documented case of children's legs, hips, etc. breaking or being injured in a crash due to longer rear-facing. There are plenty of cases of head and neck injury in forward-facing children that could have been prevented if the child had remained rear-facing. However, even if a leg or hip were broken or injured, it can be fixed. A damaged spinal cord (from forward-facing too soon) cannot be repaired and subjects the child to lifelong disability or death.

What if I am hit from behind? Won't my child be safer facing forward?

Frontal and side impacts are the most common type of crashes. They account for 96% of all crashes. They are also the most deadly type of crashes (especially side impacts) and rear-facing children have MUCH more protection in both types of crashes than forward-facing. In the 4% of rear impact crashes that a rear-facing child would be in, they have at least the same amount of protection that a FF child would have in a frontal impact, with the added benefit of less crash energy being transferred to them, and the fact that the rear impact is usually not as severe.

The forces in a rear impact crash are much different from the forces in a frontal impact crash. In a frontal impact, the forces are much greater because the vehicles are usually traveling in opposite directions. Experts suggest that a frontal crash is the same as hitting a concrete barrier � the vehicle and all occupants come to a dead stop within less than 1 second.

When you are struck in a rear impact, the vehicles involved are traveling in the same direction, and the vehicle that is hit in the back has room to move forward. The crash force on the occupants is much less than in a frontal impact. The movement of the impacted vehicle, in addition to the crush zone, absorbs a lot of the crash energy, so it is not transferred to the child. Additionally, the majority of rear impacts are at low speeds.

In short, if your child is rear-facing, he has optimal protection in the types of crashes you are most likely to be in. If he is forward-facing, he may have optimal protection in a rear-end crash, but statistically, that is the least likely to happen and he is 60% more likely to be injured or killed in the types of crashes (frontal, side impact) you are most likely to be in.

You can learn more about the physics of rear-facing at http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

Here is a link to the original article from CPSafety.com.

Car Seat Safety

I know I usually post just about Emily, but this has to do with her. We have been looking for a new car seat for Emily and we have had a lot of people tell when they turned their child around to face front, why they did it, and so forth. A lot of the excuses that people used were similar. We happened to stumble across this article from CPSafety when we were researching and felt I should share it. It is a bit long but a great article so please take the time to read it, especially if you have young children.

Here ya go...

Rear-facing - Unmatched Safety

Rear-facing is the safest position the child can ride in. It is strongly recommended that all children stay rear-facing beyond the minimum requirements of 1 year and 20 lbs. Children should not be turned forward-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing limits of a convertible seat (that allows rear-facing to at least 30 lbs). These limits are either the maximum rear-facing weight limit or when the top of their head is within one inch of the top of the seat shell, whichever comes first. While most parents are aware that they must keep their children rear-facing "until they are AT LEAST 1 year old AND 20 lbs", very few are told that there are significant safety benefits when a child remains rear-facing as long as the seat allows. For most children, rear-facing can and should continue well into the second year of life.

Aaron, still happily rear-facing at 3 years old (36 months)

Why should my child rear-face past 1 year and 20 lbs?

Every milestone in a child's life is exciting! First steps, first word, first day of school. Even car seat milestones seem exciting. The truth is, they should be looked at with a certain sense of dread, not longing. Every step in car seat "advancement" is actually a step down in your child's protection.

Rear-facing is much, much safer than forward-facing. Child safety seats: Rear-face until at least one year discusses the reasons why children should remain rear-facing for a FULL year and 20 lbs. In it, Kathleen Weber states, "In the research and accident review that I did a few years ago, the data seemed to break at about 12 months between severe consequences and more moderate consequences..." This does not mean that there are NO consequences. The consequences may no longer be death from a completely severed spinal cord, but simply life-long injury, including complete paralysis. Research studies suggest that until children are at least four, they are incapable of withstanding crash forces as well as adults - and should remain rear-facing.

In a crash, life-threatening or fatal injuries are generally limited to the head and neck, assuming a child is in a harnessed seat.

When a child is in a forward-facing seat, there is tremendous stress put on the child's neck, which must hold the large head back. The mass of the head of a small child is about 25% of the body mass whereas the mass of the adult head is only 6%! A small child's neck sustains massive amounts of force in a crash. The body is held back by the straps while the head is thrown forward - stressing, stretching or even breaking the spinal cord. The child's head is at greater risk in a forward-facing seat as well. In a crash, the head is thrown outside the confines of the seat and can make dangerous contact with other occupants, vehicle structures, and even intruding objects, like trees or other vehicles.

Rear-facing seats do a phenomenal job of protecting children because there is little or no force applied to the head, neck and spine. When a child is in a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine are all kept fully aligned and the child is allowed to "ride down" the crash while the back of the child restraint absorbs the bulk of the crash force. The head is contained within the restraint, and the child is much less likely to come into contact with anything that might cause head injury.

Notice the difference in stress on the child's body in the two crash test photos below.

Courtesy of University of Michigan Child Passenger Protection

Side by side comparison

I will post the rest of the article tomorrow, but here is a link to the original article on CPSafety.com.

Smith Mountain Lake

My youngest cousin graduated from high school this year. He lives in Salem so we decided to make a vacation out of the trip.

We decided to go to Smith Mountain Lake to the State Park there. We took Emily hiking and to the little beach that they have built up. She played in the sand, only trying to eat it once. She floated in the water and made some friends too. We cooked out a couple of nights and made smores on one of them. Needless to say they were a BIG hit with Emily :)

The day of Seth's graduation we rode to Salem and spent the day there. My uncle got to meet Emily for the first time and they hit it off immediately. I think he would have kept her if I had let him.

My other cousin, Drew, took us to see his new bike shop, 3 Peaks, in downtown Salem. If you are in the Roanoke area and need running, cycling, or swimming gear you should check out his shop!

It was a great vacation and I hope we go back again next year!