April
Well-known member
I got my January 2010 issue of Today's Parent Magazine in the mail tonight. There is an article on pages 69-70 regarding car seat usage. Although there were a couple of good points, such as not to use snowsuits or bundle me's and to use a RF convertible if the child is over the weight or height limit of their infant seat prior to a year, I was actually dismayed when I read the last part which basically slams ERF. The full article can be found here. Click to the second page to read the paragraph entitled "Is Rear Facing Safer?" Text of that paragraph is as follows (bolding mine):
"A 2009 study in the British Medical Journal says that children up to age four are significantly safer in rear-facing car seats than in forward-facing ones. That’s because the force of a sudden stop in an accident is spread over the child’s whole body in a rear-facing seat; in a forward-facing seat, all of the child’s body weight is thrown against the harness. However, there are challenges: It’s hard to get a car seat big enough to hold the average four-year-old comfortably in a rear-facing position, these seats can be expensive, and many parents find road trips difficult when they can’t easily see or interact with their children. Not to mention that most kids don’t like it — who wants to stare at the back of the seat? If more studies support this as the safest position, though, we may see new legislation in the future."
I would ask that anyone who is able, write to the magazine to debunk some of the ERF myths perpetuated in this article. This is a mainstream parenting magazine geared toward parents of very young children, and I feel it does a great disservice to the message us as techs and advocates are trying to get out there.
:thumbsdown::thumbsdown:
"A 2009 study in the British Medical Journal says that children up to age four are significantly safer in rear-facing car seats than in forward-facing ones. That’s because the force of a sudden stop in an accident is spread over the child’s whole body in a rear-facing seat; in a forward-facing seat, all of the child’s body weight is thrown against the harness. However, there are challenges: It’s hard to get a car seat big enough to hold the average four-year-old comfortably in a rear-facing position, these seats can be expensive, and many parents find road trips difficult when they can’t easily see or interact with their children. Not to mention that most kids don’t like it — who wants to stare at the back of the seat? If more studies support this as the safest position, though, we may see new legislation in the future."
I would ask that anyone who is able, write to the magazine to debunk some of the ERF myths perpetuated in this article. This is a mainstream parenting magazine geared toward parents of very young children, and I feel it does a great disservice to the message us as techs and advocates are trying to get out there.
:thumbsdown::thumbsdown: