When Noah was an infant he HATED the car. At the time I thought part of the issue was that he wasn't in the car that often. I was home with him and when we went out we'd walk or take mass transportation or it'd be just a short trip in the car. And so he wasn't getting use to it.
But Lee HATES the car. And not because he has not gotten use to it. This poor boy is in the car SO much. I car pool for Noah's school so I only make 5 of the 10 trips per week - but it's still about 25 minutes with pickup and waitingand then the same back. And then there is Ray's school 2 days a week where we drop him off and have to pick him up in 2 and a half hours. And then Ray's tumbling class, not to mention the regular errands that just need to get done. So Lee is just riding around in the damn van all the time. So he is use to it, no question. Use to hating it. He starts to cry as soon as I set him in the seat. Noah and Ray and the car pool passengers can usually distract him for awhile but soon enough he'll be lik "Oh yeah... this sucks."
Ray wasn't car keen either and I have come to think that it's partially car sickness to blame as it seemed to get better with the older boys when they turned one and I turned their seat forward facing. I have been anxious to turn Lee's seat around as a result. Last month the pediatrician told me that they now recommend seats remain rear facing until the age of two. I pretty much told her "Um... Yeah. That isn't going to happen. His legs barely fit now." At which point she told me they were designing new car seats to accomodate that issue and that research proves that we'd all be better off in a crash if we were rear facing. At a future checkup I am totally expecting her to say "Research now says children are 305 percent less likely to have a car fatality if they never ride in a car so we are suggesting you stop driving."
2 comments:
As someone who took the 40-hour car seat training required to become a certified child safety seat technician, I have to comment on this. If you saw the videos I saw of crash test dummies the size of 1-2 year olds in head-on collisions in forward-facing seats, you would probably not hesitate to keep Lee rear-facing for another year. Even though these kids are able to sit up in the forward-facing seats, their trunk muscles are not of the sort that can withstand a head-on collision in the same way as an older kid. If they are rear-facing, the seat is going to get the brunt of the impact. If they are forward facing, their heads are going to whip forward and back, which can cause some major spinal cord injuries. The recommendation is actually that they remain rear-facing for two years, even if they have to sit cross-legged to do it, with the rationale being that it's easier to fix a broken leg.
I will get off my soap box now and of course don't judge if people turn their kids around at age one. However, I do encourage people to do some research before doing that!
well of course I am just catching up, missed this boat as usual, but that last line made me laugh/cough and almost choke.
one other thing. I think they ought to make cars where all the seats are backwards but the driver. wouldn't it be great to drive that way? it's like you're all alone!
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