The race to Forward Face

Prior to having E, my knowledge of car seats and their safety testing was minimal. We happily bought a rotating car seat in the sales before E was born, ready for K’s car. The infant carrier and isofix were in my car ready for his arrival.

During one of our conversations at the end of Baby Massage, talk turned to car seat safety and testing. My eyes were opened.

I’ve learnt so much over the past twelve months:

• A child is not outgrown their infant carrier until they reach the weight limit, or their head is in line with the top of the carrier. Some babies stay in their carriers until they are 18m+.

• Isofix is not safer than a seatbelt, it simply removes the chance of human error when fitting the seat in to the car.

• Standard car seat safety testing only tests two cars colliding at 15mph each. How is that allowed?!

• The safest car seats are Swedish Plus tested, and don’t have to break the bank.

• The main one, and this is a big one, is that it is NOT a race to forward face your baby. The longer you can keep them rear facing, the better.

I found this quote online “In a rear facing seat the head, neck and spine are cradled by the back of the car seat which reduces the risk of serious injury or death from 40% to just 8% compared with a forward facing seat.”

A lovely friend of mine has three gorgeous babies, and knows a lot about car seats. She helped me to find one for E that will keep him rear facing until he is around 7!

I should say that I am not trained in any of this, and it is all information I have picked up through research. But using a reputable retailer, and researching your car seat before buying is vital.

K and I felt sick knowing we had put E in the rotating seat we had bought, when it was tested only to a basic level. It has now been replaced.

I do think that celebrities and influencers should be made aware of all of this, before posting pictures and videos of their babies facing forward in the car.

I truly believe that car seat safety should be discussed as part of antenatal. It is an absolute minefield and should be explained properly and clearly.

Thank goodness for my friend and her fountain of knowledge, I can drive happily knowing E is as safe as can be.