Goodbye 1 and 20 (don’t let the door hit you on the way out): Kids safest in rear-facing car seats until age 2!
Children should ride in rear-facing car seats until they are at least 2 years old instead of 1, according to updated advice from The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Can I get an “Amen”? Or at least a collective “Woohoo”!
Trying to find more details. We’ll post again as soon as we have more info!
March 20, 9:50p
And now, here’s NHTSA’s press release.
Here’s an excellent article from MedPage TODAY.
Reader Comments
WOOHOO!
What great news. I’ll be looking forward to more details.
(And no, I’m not disappointed it wasn’t higher – it’s better to give an age that most people can meet than it is to give an age that makes most people not even try.)
YEA, so much better than to the limits of the seat…too many people used the excuse “my seat only goes to 22#” Now lets see the “horror” the average person has when they hear this
Woohoo!
WOOHOO!!
(I’m not disappointed, either… let’s be realistic and take small steps. Also, we have the American research showing age 2 as a critical age… I hope research continues and perhaps reveals another crucial age… but for now, it’s enough for me)
I am THRILLED with the recommendation of RF to two. It is realistic for all children and would allow parents who have seats other than the super-tall-shelled seats still to RF their children for an appropriate amount of time. While I would love to see kids RF to at least age three (preferably longer), two is a GREAT start!
Happy Dance!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOO HOO!
Yep, this is great! When I say 2 to parents, they kick their feet, but think it’s not so bad. When I say my dd rf to age 3, they look at me like I have 2 heads. Two is appropriate and good advice to give for parents who aren’t quite ready to digest anything longer. Oh, and this is *policy* folks, not just recommendation.
Woohoo!!!
That is great news! I do wonder if they have new data to share. The one study we have in the USA had a number of issues, not the least of which was relatively low sample sizes. It seems premature to create such a policy without additional data, so hopefully we will get some better information along with the new minimum recommendations!
This story appears to be published by the Associated Press and so far has appeared in limited news outlets based on a quick Google search. Unfortunately, I cannot find any official press release from either the NHTSAS or AAP yet. Hopefully Monday when the AAP media mailing for press releases is issued!
So here’s the million dollar question – will carseat manufacturers fall in line and raise the minimums to ff? Or are we going to have the AAP saying rf to age 2 but manufacturers continuing to allow ff’ing at 1 and 20lbs?
That *is* the million dollar question! I can see convertible and 3-in-1 seats switching to higher FF minimums but you gotta wonder what the CR manufacturers will do about FF only seats.
From a historical reference, the AAP’s 1 and 20 policy went into effect in 1996 (I think) and it was several years after that before the majority of convertibles were rated to more than 22 lbs in the rf position. Let’s hope CR manufacturers respond a little more quickly this time around!
I’m glad they finally did change their recommendations. (The state Safe Kids coordinator said she didn’t think the AAP was going to change their recommendations.) I hope Safe Kids changes their literature, and, as mentioned, the manufacturers change their minimums, too.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gBkk7MyYh–T66iBMb1UXZiiSOMg?docId=6313965 This article makes it look like the official announcement will be tomorrow. I really hope so. Fantastic!
Best news I have heard all week!
Woo Hoo!!!!!
WOOT WOOT!!!
Excellent news! I can’t wait until there’s some sort of official informational handout. I see a lot of young FF’ers at DD2′s day care.
yay!!! I’ll personally be running off copies and handing them out to all the peds offices in town. We have to educate THEM first, in order to get the word out to more parents!!!
woohoo!!
I already called my neighbor who works at a local Peds office! Opps sorry I just pissed her off on a Sunday night! TO BAD! LOL! As far as official fliers to hand out, they have the rpint copy of this available for order on the healthychildren.org site (http://www.healthychildren.org/English/bookstore/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-A-Guide-for-Families-2011.aspx)
I will be ordering some of these for handouts to people I know who need them!
And here my state JUST passed the law saying kids had to be in rear facing carseats til 20 lbs OR 1 yr old and a booster seat til age 4. *sigh* no wonder people look at me nuts for having my almost 2 yr old rear facing.
So…I have an 11 month old who is almost at the limit for her infant seat. Am I still shopping for a model called “convertible?” Where to begin…?
I think 2 is great, but I’m particularly glad they said “until at LEAST 2″…better than “up to 2″ by far!!
@Kami, yes, look for a convertible carseat. These models rear-face, then can be turned forward-facing. Check out our Recommended Seats page for some ideas on what to look for: http://carseatblog.com/?page_id=401. You can also ask for suggestions at our forums: http://www.car-seat.org.
My pediatrician is already on board. She knows rear facing would be safest for all ages, if that were possible.
AAP new release w/ links to policy and technical report: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/carseat2011.htm
Has everyone checked out NHTSA’s new 4 steps for Kids flier? I love it… great recommendations and simple explanations of why each step if better.
*Happy Dance*
Hopefully state laws change soon too!
I agree that it would be safer but I am concerned with my 19 month olds’ feet and legs. I have a convertible seat so I can turn it back RF but the whole reason I turned it FF in the first place is because she was 1 and her legs were hanging over. What about the possible damage to her legs if we were in an accident?
@Christy, it’s a common misconception that legs can be injured in a crash. In reality, the legs will fly up and away from the back seat in a frontal crash, the most common type of crash. It’s much more important to protect the head in a crash. Studies have actually shown that forward-facing kids sustain more leg injuries than rear-facing kids: http://carseatblog.com/5168/why-rear-facing-is-better-your-rf-link-guide/ .