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Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I did read up on what the APA recommends but as we know as parents these rules and guidelines change all the time and us as parents to what WE think is best for OUR kids as far as it being a daycare child I will try the rear facing with him but if it gets to be to hard to get him in and out etc. he will be turned around as the law is rear facing intill the age of 1. The teething necklaces are ambers and they go around the babies neck its really small and the baby cant get to it even thou I do worry about any of the other kids seeing it and pulling on it which hasnt happened yet I did notice a difference at first but today he was a fussy pants drooling and chewing on his little hands whew Im glad its nap time.
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I too am SHOCKED at the APA's recommendations for rear facing until 2! But it is just a recommendation, not the law.
I had a mom whom I was going to start watching her 6 month old son in Aug full time; but she ended up needing to watch him just for a week about a month ago (he was 3 months old at the time). She questioned pretty much everything in my contract, and was upset that I told her we would be outside twice a day (in the morning and afternoon). At the time, it was in the late 80's to 90 degrees during the mid-afternoon; and she told me that her Dr. told her that babies should not be outside for more than 10-15 minutes in the heat; even when they are in the shade!! I have other kids that NEED to have outdoor playtime, so I told her it couldn't be helped. Also, she is our neighbor and she takes him outside on her own for walks all the time!! She then got upset with me for letting him sleep for 4 hours without waking him up, and the next day she told me she wanted him to eat every 3 hours on the dot; sleeping or not. Again, I guess there's nothing wrong with parenting that way; but that's not how I do things here. Everyone gets outdoor playtime, no matter what their age; and I let babies determine their own schedules. I think you just have to say "Your parenting style is great, and I'm sure it works for you; but that's not how I do things here." If you lose her, then you know it's probably for the better. The mom and I ended up deciding in the long run that we would part ways. I will not be watching her son in August.Comment
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Food for thought. Heartbreaking story and the forward vs. rear facing crash tests are eye opening.
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I'm really shocked at the amount of people who think that at 1 year just because it is the law that they either have to or want to turn their kids around to FF! Don't you want these kids to be safest when in your care? PLUS...the amount of people that think just because a child is 40 lbs that they are ready for a seatbelt/booster seat combo. Very scary to me.
Check out this story...http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/ or just google why you should keep your child RF as long as possible.Comment
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I want to thank everyone who passed along the links regarding rear-facing car seats. I can't imagine anyone watching these and continuing to use front facing. I've seen similar videos before but it is a great reminder.
I copied the links to dcp's. I hope I see a few more facing backward tomorrow.Comment
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Carseats
I learned more than I ever wanted to know when I watched a training module about impact on carseats that were front facing versus rear facing. It opened my eyes about booster seats as well. Watching the crash tests made me (along with pretty much every other person watching) cry because of the mental image that the tests left in my head.
I know that parents are allowed to front face at a year, but I'm a big supporter of rear facing for as long as possible.Comment
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I agree....I take extra precautions with ALL children that ride with me...daycare kids and my nieces alike! I'd rather be safe than sorry. I think the transfer to booster seats are the scariest for me so I tend to drag those out. I also let no one under age 16 ride in the front seat!!! That is a huge one for me!Comment
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While we're on the topic of car safety I thought I'd share this vid. It isn't about carseats, but seat belts in general. Really beautifully done.
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my experience so far
That car safety belt video was beautiful! I also am one of those moms who have jumped on the carseat safety bandwagon, and I know I must seem like an annoying know it all mom who is 28 years old with 3 children.
My first daughter is 9 years old and I followed what the law said. Rear facing until 1 year old, And front facing until 40 lbs, then booster mode until for me ( I stopped using a booster when she was in kindergarten.-but probably shouldn't have knowing what i know now)
My second daughter is 3 years old and 40 pounds and I decided to delay her booster seat training awhile so I bought a carseat that goes front facing until 65 pounds, after she outgrew her 40 lb limit carseat. Also, with her I didn't actually follow the law and at about 10 months my husband and I thought she'd be fine ff since she could hold her head up and it would be fun for her to be ff, and we thought 10 months as opposed to 12 months was just an arbitrary number at the time.
My 3rd daughter is 17 months and rearfacing still, since I now know and feel i understand the reason for the at least 12 month old ff law, and feel like I know and understand better this time around why rear facing beyond 1 year would be beneficial if we were to get in a wreck.
Basically I really have made mistakes as I have gone through raising my girls. I remember with my 9 year old, when she was a baby about 11-12 months, I still had her in her whinnie the pooh infant carrier until exactly 12 months old even though her head was probably half to 1 inch over the top of the seat and I think her weight was more or maybe around 22 pounds.
And with my second daughter, when she was 2 and a half and I caught wind of the safety of rearfacing I turned her to rear facing again, yet I didn't realise at the time that her head couldn't be over the seat for rear facing.
And I know I have made mistakes with locking clips and recline features and the tigghtness of the carseat installed.
Basically all we can do is live and learn, and keep learning to do things better than we have done things in the past.
Sorry if I'm one of those annoying know it all moms. I just want my kids as safe as possible and the new information and visual videos affirms my new knowledge of infant and toddler carseat placement.Comment
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I guess I've never seen the amber teething necklaces but my sister recently got these for her teether...
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rofl! O am NOT laughing at you but at myself for the way I was cheering you on while reading this!
worry about head placement, not foot comfort. =-) thats what I have been known to tell parents,.. well in a crash which do you want broke? head or foot? so far noone has said head. I also HATE when they yank them out of shoulder harnesses before they are large enough. I couldnt care less if they WANT to be restrained, they either do it or dont ride in the car.
at least with me,.. and dont even START me on the whole, regular car safety belt and putting the shoulder harness behind them making it a lap belt. That makes my blood boil.... if they arent big enough to keep the dang belt out of their face, back in a car seat they go!
I truly think that in every birthing class they need graphic pictures of safety seats, AFTER crashes, complete with blood, and carnage. I want them to watch a crash test baby dummy go through different types of collisions,.. I want red paint packets and sound effects. I want to scare people into using seats correctly. I want them to leave that birthing class,.. terrified of doing it wrong. I do my dangdest to keep kids as safe as I can, as I know how to, when they are here,.. I wish parents and friends did the same.
I'll respond to your post in two parts...
First - It drives me CRAZY when first time parents tell me what to do. Uh, I have four kids. Trust me, not only do I learn every day that I know nothing about parenting - you have one kid, you know NOTHING about parenting. Read every book you want, the only way to learn this stuff is to go through it.
Second - I'm a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (car seat tech) which I voluntarily took four days of (unpaid) leave from work to become certified in. Rear facing until AT LEAST age two is recommended. It is five times safer! It has nothing to do with age/maturity of the child. It has to do with the development of a child's bone structure. In a crash, a forward facing child will be thrust forward at such a high rate of speed (even in a low impact crash) that they could actually sever their spinal chord internally resulting in paralysis or even death. This happens because a child's bones are still soft (allowing the head and neck to move forward while the body is - hopefully - restrained by the harness straps) and their head still makes up a large portion of their body. To the opposite effect, in a crash, a rear facing child is cradled by the car seat - the seat will absorb the crash force and the child will be much better protected. Plus, there is no drastic forward movement.
I have a 28lb 2.5 year old - she's still rear-facing in a Britax Boulevard. There are several seats on the market that now rear-face to 40llbs. Oh, and just in case anyone wonders - it's perfectly fine for a child's legs to be bent/folded and touching the back of the vehicle seat. There have been no reports of children breaking their legs while rear-facing in a crash. Even so, I'd take a broken leg over a broken spine anyday!
For more information visit http://www.car-seat.org/.
Okay, off my soap box now...
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oh and for the record, my 17 yr old begged me to take her out of the booster at age 13/14. she still hadnt hit the height or weight range of 80 pounds,.four foot 9. ... but was so afraid of her friends in 9th grade finding out she rode in a baby seat.
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That is funny...I have a girlfriend who is 4' 7" tall and seriously weighs 87 lbs...been tiny all her life. She uses a kids booster seat in her car so she can see and use her seatbelt properly. She went to our local police department and they showed her how to make sure it was installed properly. I always tease her but when you think about it she does need one....::
Oh and this gal is over 40 and has 4 children of her own!Comment
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wow, Meg grew when she turned 15, shes about 5foot 3 and 110 pounds. wet.. but she drives a full sized dodge ram 4x4 ext cab truck. looks like a preschooler.
That is funny...I have a girlfriend who is 4' 7" tall and seriously weighs 87 lbs...been tiny all her life. She uses a kids booster seat in her car so she can see and use her seatbelt properly. She went to our local police department and they showed her how to make sure it was installed properly. I always tease her but when you think about it she does need one....::
Oh and this gal is over 40 and has 4 children of her own!Comment
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