rear facing: does it cause speech, visualisation or balance issues?

svirena

New member
I've been 'accued' on another parent forum because I still keep my dd rear-facing in her car seat. she is 3 yrs now. the car seat technician that originally helped us install the seat showed us photos of her 4 yrs old rear facing and advised it's best to keep them RF as long as the seat meets the requirements for RF and the size of the child is in sync. now 'they' tell me that kids should only sit with their legs in a 'natural' position, not raised or lifted up on the back seat. moreover, they say driving 'backwards' can cause issues withs speech, balance, and visualisation. any thoughts on this?
 
ADS

EmmaGrace'sMom

New member
Complete and utter crap! :rolleyes: Not trying to brag, just disprove their theory...but my youngest DD was speaking in sentences at 18 months and can run and climb like it's nobody's business! If there's a delay it's probably not related to rfing!
 

Brianna

New member
Not at all! The worst I've heard of is a child has his right and left confused, from listening to the GPS directions.

Children in Sweden rear face until 4 years old, and they have for a while. If there were any lost lasting side effect on those children, we would know by now. As long as your child is within the height and weight limits of her seat, there's no reason to turn her forward facing.
 

4boysmom

New member
Even if it is so there are other ways to compensate for the "damage" done from rearfacing. Or what might be more accurate- provide the extra stimulation that forward facing might give a child who otherwise is not getting enough for their specific needs.
 

katymyers

Active member
Sounds like a bunch of crap to me. Just another example of parents trying to justify something they know isn't as safe. My kids carry on conversations with me while rear facing and since I've got them in the third row of my van they get a full view of everything out the rear window which they love! My two year old son loves it when a semi gets behind us, he goes nuts for the big, big truck! You wanna try to tell me that's less stimulating than forward facing? I have a feeling these are the same people who say tv is good for toddlers because it's sooo stimulating ::rollseyes::
 

MommyShannon

New member
Wow! That's nuts! So ff staring at the back of their parents heads is better for speech??? Their legs dangling down so pressure is on their thighs is better than being fully supported? Granted my 2 year old has always had her older siblings to interact with, so I can't compare the speech aspect, but she always pouts out things we are driving by just like the bigger kids or with different timing since she is looking the other way.
 

jeminijad

New member
1) Ask for proof, like a PP suggested. It doesn't exist.

2) Point out that children are crawling later and reaching some other motor milestones later due to the Back To Sleep campaign- but the SIDS rates have plunged. Should we stop that, too? A change in the rate of development, even if it was verifiably true, is an acceptable cost in order to save lives.

3) If all else fails, and you sense that they aren't genuinely interested, start a Mommy War by calling them out on how they are just making excuses for their own convenience :p :eek:
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
total BS! kids in Sweden routinely face the rear until longer than we do here STILL (because they have seats to rearface to 50-55lbs or more) and then go into boosters... this has been so since back when carseats were first being produced and used.

Obviously if this were true, Sweden would have seen it and changed what they do... instead, the opposite is happening... the rest of the world is finally getting on board with what so much testing there has proved... that rearfacing is so much safer.

I totally get that you want to do what is best for your child and are asking out of pure concern to make sure that's what you're doing. I'm angry only at these bullies for pulling out pure hogwash and using it to make you feel bad for doing what is best for your child.

I would honestly not give them worth the time of day. the AAP (american academy of pediatrics) has been advising us to rearface as long as possible since 2001... they have since gone as far as to now change the minimum age for forward facing that they recommend to age 2. I think the governing body of doctors would know what they're talking about better than the average parent. So you stick to what you're doing... you're a great mom!
 

henrietta

Well-known member
I've been 'accued' on another parent forum because I still keep my dd rear-facing in her car seat. she is 3 yrs now. the car seat technician that originally helped us install the seat showed us photos of her 4 yrs old rear facing and advised it's best to keep them RF as long as the seat meets the requirements for RF and the size of the child is in sync. now 'they' tell me that kids should only sit with their legs in a 'natural' position, not raised or lifted up on the back seat. moreover, they say driving 'backwards' can cause issues withs speech, balance, and visualisation. any thoughts on this?

No.

And for their info, the child is NOT the one driving. :D Driving forwards while riding backwards could certainly cause some problems! Luckily, 3 yr olds don't have driver's licenses.

My child has been in PT/ST/OT etc since he was 6 mos old. His issues certainly didn't come from riding rearfacing until he was 3.5! And the ways kids sit in a rearfacing carseat ARE the "natural position". Kids sit crosslegged, frog legged, legs propped up, etc. ALL the time! Have you ever seen a kid sit straight up in a wooden ladder backed chair and say it's comfy, esp if their feet can't reach the floor (forward facing car seat!)? People ride in boats facing backwards all the time--been doing it since I was a kid. Definitely hasn't hurt my balance, speech, or visualisation at all. In order for proper vision development (aha! my kids also see a developmental optometrist!), children need to be exposed to a range of physical AND visual stimulation.

You're commenter hasn't a clue what he/she is speaking of and needs a better education on how balance, vision, and speech actually develop. Whether you kid sits rearfacing in the car has nothing to do with it. If it did, an entire country (Sweden) would have every kid in speech, physical, and occupational therapy!

henrietta
 

lourdes

Well-known member
svirena said:
I've been 'accued' on another parent forum because I still keep my dd rear-facing in her car seat. she is 3 yrs now. the car seat technician that originally helped us install the seat showed us photos of her 4 yrs old rear facing and advised it's best to keep them RF as long as the seat meets the requirements for RF and the size of the child is in sync. now 'they' tell me that kids should only sit with their legs in a 'natural' position, not raised or lifted up on the back seat. moreover, they say driving 'backwards' can cause issues withs speech, balance, and visualisation. any thoughts on this?

I heard this before from another parent, her baby's OT told her when the baby was 6 months old to change her FF
 

Ninetales

New member
That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. My daughter talks and sings with me the whole time she's in the car. She runs and climbs like a champ and after a slight delay is now incredibly verbal at age 2.

People will come up with the most idiotic reasons to justify not doing something that is documented and proven to be much safer. Makes no sense to me at all.
 

Little Ps Mama

New member
"They" sound like a bunch of misinformed boobs who should keep their opinions to themselves. I'm not sure why people feel compelled to make up reasons why ERF is "bad" for kids. Does it really them feel better about their decision not to do it? :rolleyes:
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
I heard this before from another parent, her baby's OT told her when the baby was 6 months old to change her FF

I bet she's lying. And if not, the OT should lose her license.

Parents come up with excuses all the time, including lying about or at least "bending" what their doctors tell them in order to get people to stop judging them for making selfish decisions about the care of their children. It doesn't stop at car seats.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
:scratcheshead: I wonder what 'they' would think of my family, my ds turned FF at about a year, and he can't even ride a bike and he's totally dyslexic. My dd's stayed RF for 3-4 years and can skate and ride bikes and are gifted in school.
 

vmmatula

Member
now 'they' tell me that kids should only sit with their legs in a 'natural' position, not raised or lifted up on the back seat.

these parents may need it pointed out to them that only in a "natural position" mean no bumbos, exersaucers, jumperoos, etc where there is technically reason to be concerned about the potential for hip displasia; only whether or not to use those toys doesnt result in potential spinal cord injuries/death like not rear-facing could.
 

_juune

New member
moreover, they say driving 'backwards' can cause issues withs speech, balance, and visualisation. any thoughts on this?
Do 'they' realize that 'they' are implying many Swedish adults are likely with speech, balance and visualisation issues? Because of riding rear-facing in cars in childhood? :eek: And how much time are 'they' actually spending in their cars daily then if they believe it's long enough to affect 'their' child's development? :eek:
Or is that a badly distorted message about not leaving infants strapped in bucket seats [those are rear facing seat you know] all day long because that would [obviously] influence baby's development?
 

lourdes

Well-known member
Brigala said:
I bet she's lying. And if not, the OT should lose her license.

Parents come up with excuses all the time, including lying about or at least "bending" what their doctors tell them in order to get people to stop judging them for making selfish decisions about the care of their children. It doesn't stop at car seats.

She was not lying, she was mad because she had to buy a car seat when the baby still fit in her infant seat and she didn't have the money at the moment to do it, I think the OTs just say their opinions and say like it is a fact
 

Baylor

New member
Yes, yes it does.. ;)

It also causes children to survive accidents so that you have a chance to test them for such erroneous things later..
 

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