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I've had this discussion a little bit and it's a toughie because in "technicality" the only "legal" option would be a special needs seat - but special needs seats aren't easy to find, and a kid who has an amputated leg isn't necessarily going to need to be harnessed an extra long time.
On the other hand - don't many kids with an amputation still learn to walk in one way or another? I don't think you could reasonably expect all parents to keep those kids who were unable to walk rf'ing until 40lbs and then stick them straight in to a booster...
I would imagine something will eventually create an issue over this. One year old is not part of the standards for going ff'ing - it's a rule that manufacturers put on their seats, but it's not required to be there.
From what I've been told a child walking unassisted does reflect a change in the development of their skeletal system and that's the reason why it's there. Apparently it better reflects the beginning point of when a child can *begin* to withstand the forces in a ff'ing collision better than saying 1 yr old. Of course that doesn't mean a kid can be ff'ing prior to a year old since manufacturers require the one year age minimum - but it does mean that the 15 month old who isn't walking yet would be less able to withstand a collision ff'ing than an 11 month old who is walking - at least so far as skeletal development goes. (Not saying this is safe, just explaining the rationale behind the walking unassisted.)
So not really an answer to the question being asked I guess, but there's no answer on this one right now. On the positive side, kids who don't walk before age 2 are going to be an exception and not the norm.
I've done a little bit of research on the walking/physical development link and the act of walking is not only a marker for physical development, but a catalyst for it. Weight bearing activities increase bone density in the supporting bones. This is true even in adults. Astronauts returning from extended stays on the space station have considerably lower bone density than before they went, and have to build it back up carefully to avoid fractures.
Given this, I would want to keep the child rear facing until the maximum capacity of the seat.
I don't know, the studies I've read were all on adults and older children.So if I'm understanding this correctly, a 3 year old child who has never walked could have a skeletal system more similar to a 1yr old child?
Does this also translate to kids who have walked at a younger age being less at risk than kids who have just recently started walking before turning ff'ing? Theoretically anyways if a parent was set on turning ff'ing at the minimums? (Sorry, curious question here, but since you've researched it I thought you might have an answer.)
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