But why?įor Canadian parents, one reason may be that many follow the guidelines set out by provincial and federal governments, and medical organizations-which, says Crossfield, are woefully outdated.

What’s behind North American parents’ big rush to switch to forward-facing as soon as they’re legally allowed? In Canada, Crossfield estimates that about 50% of parents turn their kids forward-facing even before age two. “It’s not a law-they just all know it’s safer.” Why do many parents move to forward-facing prematurely? “Everyone does it there,” says Crossfield.

In Sweden, for example, almost all children sit facing the back way beyond age two. Other countries have already figured this out. That said, rear-facing is safer for adults, too. Crossfield, for one, always chooses to sit rear-facing on trains because she knows that in an event of a crash, her legs are likely to absorb the impact opposed to her spine. How do rear-facing car seats address this risk? Mainly, they support a child’s head, preventing the relatively large head from moving independently of the proportionately smaller neck. “Developmental considerations, including incomplete vertebral ossification, more horizontally oriented spinal facet joints, and excessive ligamentous laxity put young children at risk for head and spinal cord injury.” The recommendation to keep kids rear-facing beyond age two “results from the need to support the young child’s posterior torso, neck, head and pelvis and to distribute crash forces over the entire body,” says the AAP. There’s no debate that sitting rear-facing is safer-stats and crash tests have proven it over and over again. “We know from statistics that kids aged 0-2 have higher injury numbers, and that’s because they’re coming out of rear-facing too soon.” (She adds that kids aged 8-12 also have higher injury numbers due to ditching their booster seats too soon.) “This is fantastic news,” says Sharalyn Crossfield, an Ottawa-based Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor. The new guidelines remove the age-specific milestone and instead state that children remain in a rear-facing car seat for “as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.” Why the new car seat recommendation matters

Previously the organization specified that kids should remain rear-facing until age two. It’s an issue many parents grapple with: When should you turn your kid’s car seat forward-facing? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released an important new policy on this that can help guide you through this decision.

When should baby change car seat