Vent Not Thrilled with New AAP Recs

N

NewEngland

New member
:thumbsdown: I'm sure that the new recommendations will make many kids safer. Unfortunately, they will likely make my particular child less safe in one of our cars. Go AAP.

I was so excited to see new recommendations this morning that I sent DH the healthykids.org site with the new recs as soon as I saw them. I should have read them first, since they now have a "loophole" for RF as long as possible:

"All children 2 years or older, or those younger than 2 years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat, should use a Forward-Facing Car Safety Seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer."

DH, who's not dumb, now wants to turn the little dude FF (26 months, 29.5 lbs). And since I've spent the last 2 years talking about following the AAP recs I can't even say anything now! And apparently we're back to "harness as long as possible." Lucky for DS (I suppose :eek: ), DH won't see any reason to buy a Frontier in a few years.
 
ADS
murphydog77

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Yeah, but he's not reading them *correctly*. He's skipping over the first step completely and that's not allowed ;). Your child must remain rf until age 2 or until the carseat is outgrown rf before moving on to the next step, see? I know it says "or", but does your dh really want to do the minimum for his child?

Just points for you to use :).
 
N

NewEngland

New member
So, I went with the NHTSA recs...well, I was pretty much accused--and rightly so--of intellectual dishonesty (I've literally spent the last 2 years talking about the AAP carseat recs). In my house, that's pretty much the moral equivalent of skinning our beloved cat, making soup, and serving her for dinner. In any case, it didn't fly. DH analyzes engineering requirements for a living, so he's used to parsing through scientist-speak, unfortunately. I couldn't find any flaws in his analysis, either :mad:

However, I did convince him that any new install needs to be checked by a CPST AND that he needs to read the manual and take Alex to the check. I mean, up to 90% of young children aren't properly restrained. We have professionals for a reason, after all. And he certainly wouldn't set his own broken arm. :whistle: I figure inertia will buy me at least 3 months and most likely more like 6.
 
swtgi1982

swtgi1982

New member
Just make sure you set up an appt with a good tech like one from here and that you go with him and stress that you want to keep him RF as long as possible.
 
christineka

christineka

New member
I'd tell my dh that my kid is going to ride in the safest position no matter who says what it is. The AAP is a bunch of doctors, not car travel experts. I'd go with the recommendation of good cpsts.
 
Lys

Lys

Senior Community Member
How hard is it for the AAP to consult with NHTSA before making these recommendations? Could they not have agreed to put out the same thing?

It's hard enough to convince parents of car seat safety without them saying, "Well my doctor says........" :hitselfonhead:


AND, why OH WHY? Do most parents think car seat safety is a joke? Do they just not pay attention to... http://www.google.com/search?client...=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=8c7b294a498e8f5d

I mean really, why wouldn't you want your CHILD, the one you are supposed to protect, safely restrained in a vehicle???? :mad:
 
K

kalamos23

New member
I wouldn't even bother arguing the wording with him - I'd argue the reason WHY it is important to rearface as long as possible, for example, the bones ossifying, internal decapitation risk, etc. I read this the other day, maybe it will help you:

Every other parenting issue can be turned into a "it works better for our family" argument, but you cannot argue with the laws of physics. It might work better for me if my children could float, but gravity does not care what I think. The same goes for momentum and force when it comes to a hunk of steel traveling at a high rate of speed coming to a sudden stop. It really doesn't matter what you think you know or what you want; physics cannot be overcome by your opinion.
It infuriates me that people think this is a "it works better for us" issue. No, no it's not. Your opinion is not above the laws of physics. It may make your child happier to forward face. It may make it easier for you to get them in the car or keep your seats cleaner or feed your child in the car. But when an accident happens, none of that "better for us" stuff makes a bit of difference.
 
LISmama810

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Do we know WHO wrote that? Because it's great and I've seen several people reference it, but I don't want to use someone else's words without permission.
 
N

NewEngland

New member
swtgi1982 said:
Just make sure you set up an appt with a good tech like one from here and that you go with him and stress that you want to keep him RF as long as possible.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm not making the appointment or going with him. I already know how to install the seat :D I'm taking the opinion that he's trying to change the status quo, so it's his job to figure it out. He needs to read the manual, learn how to install the seat, get it checked, make sure DS fits properly in it and he can properly put DS in it, etc. Since he has no real interest in car seats, he won't even get around to reading the manual until summer reruns come on in June.

He understands the laws of physics quite well. He's never argued that FF is safer, but he's now saying that the subject matter experts indicate that FF at age 2 is safe enough. Since we don't have time to do all the research and experimentation that they do, we have to rely on those who do. We all make "safe enough" choices every day based on what experts tell us. For him, this is just another one of those situations. Since the new recs specifically don't say "RF to AT LEAST 2" or "a minimum of 2" that must mean 2 is safe enough. Comparing the current to prior recs, I can't find fault with his reasoning...just his application. And I'll keep an eye on the blog! Maybe that will help.
 
safeinthecar

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Well he's right. Statistically, ffing risks at age 2 are reasonable, when you look at the numbers. That's not the point. The point is that to you, the mom, those numbers mean nothing when the way to reduce those numbers to even more reasonable risks is such an easy thing to accomplish. We all have to figure out at what point the numbers quit making us into neurotic mama bears. Figure out where that threshold is for you, and let him know that it's about you being sane. No man really wants an insane wife.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org
 
Stacy

Stacy

New member
NewEngland said:
Oh, I'm not making the appointment or going with him. I already know how to install the seat :D I'm taking the opinion that he's trying to change the status quo, so it's his job to figure it out. He needs to read the manual, learn how to install the seat, get it checked, make sure DS fits properly in it and he can properly put DS in it, etc. Since he has no real interest in car seats, he won't even get around to reading the manual until summer reruns come on in June.
Click to expand...

I like your logic! That might also come in handy for me in the future :thumbsup:.
 
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