When you take your newborn home, it is generally accepted that it will be in a rear facing car seat. But what happens when they grow out of their first car seat?
The Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix – one of the most popular group 0+ rear-facing car seats – is suitable from birth up to 13kg (29lbs) or approximately 12-15 months. So you need to be thinking about your next car seat when your baby is about 9 to 12 months.
Note that some car seats go from birth to 4 years. They can be swivelled round from backward facing to forward facing at around 9 months or when your baby can sit up unaided. However, if you have one of these, please read on. It may make you want to invest in a different seat.
What’s wrong with forward facing?
Up until very recently in the UK, all car seats sold for babies from 12 months to 4 years were forward facing. However, recent research has shown forward facing seats provide less protection than rear facing seats, especially in head on collisions.
Babies bodies are different to adults in 2 key ways:
- Their heads are much heavier in comparison to their bodies. If an adult’s head was in the same proportion as a baby’s, it would weigh 20kg (44lbs).
- They bones are much softer and therefore less able to protect internal organs.
In a head-on collision, your baby’s body is thrust forwards. The only retraint is the seat’s harness. As a result of softer bones, the organs within the rib cage might be injured and damaged. Similarly with a baby’s neck, the spine has not solidified. It is therefore likely to stretch and snap, causing what is known as internal decapitation.
For videos and detailed explanations of what happens to a dummy in a forward facing seat during crash tests, visit www.rearfacing.co.uk.
A recent study in the British Medical journal also backs up the claim that rear facing car seats are much safer and that UK parents are too quick to put their babies into forward facing seats. Click here to read further details.
Rear facing group 1 seats are 5 times safer in a frontal collision. They really are worth the investment.
Do forward facing seats not pass safety tests?
All forward facing car seats sold in the UK have passed safety tests developed by the United Nations. These include tests with crash test dummies. However, these tests do not measure damage to internal organs or what forces are applied to the neck. They simply test how far forwards the dummy is flung and any slippage of the seat.
These tests are currently being reviewed to use new dummies where it is possible to check the pressure exercised on internal organs.
Are rear facing seats used in other countries?
Rear facing seats are widely used in Scandinavia and have been for some years. Children in Sweden are extremely unlikely to die in car accidents. Between July 2006 and November 2007 not a single child under the age of 6 years old was killed in a car crash in Sweden (Source: VTI Sweden). However, in the UK, according to the AA’s website, 205 children are injured in car crashes in the UK every year and 21 are killed.
Where can I get a rear facing car seat?
Rear facing car seats are not widely available in the UK.
Kiddicare sell the Recaro Polaric.
The closest shop to here is Paul Stride in York.
How much do they cost?
Rear facing car seats cost between £200 and £300. As they last 3 years, this is actually comparable to the first stage car seats that cost around £100 and last for 1 year.
Fitting a car seat
It is very important that your car seat is fitted correctly. An estimated 7 out of 10 car seats in the UK is incorrectly fitted. Without being correctly fitted, the car seat cannot provide the protection it has been designed to.
More information
For further information about rear facing car seats go to the rearfacing website. The website includes details of the research available, frequently asked questions and videos of crash tests. Well worth a look.
Get involved!
MoorMums would like to raise awareness locally of the issues surrounding rear facing car seats and the importance of having your child rear facing beyond the recommended 9 months. If you’d like to help us do this, please join our campaign! Alternatively, if you have any top tips for other mums/carers about car seats, please get in touch and we will add them to this feature.
