Why does harness have to be at or below for rear and vice versa for forward?

NatenMaddiesMommy

Senior Community Member
So when I took the course I got the new curriculum where they cut out all the "unnecessary" fluff about crash dynamics, etc to shorten the course. I understand the difference in crash forces for a rear-facing vs. a forward-facing child but where did the harness "rules" come from? I'd like to have some more information for parents when they ask why other than "because your manual says so and that's they way the seat was crash-tested."

More specifically what could happen if the harness is above the child's shoulders when rear-facing? I have a friend who insists that her daughter cannot stand to have the harness in contact with her shoulders so they raise them above. I've tried to explain why they are not supposed to do it, but I guess they are the type of parents that need more information as to why it's considered unsafe to convince them.
 
ADS

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
It's to prevent the child 'ramping up' during a crash...the harness holds the child down in the seat so their head doesn't fly up and over the seatback and overextend the neck. It's not nearly as important for a small child, with a lot of room over their head, particularly if the seat has lapstraps (a 5 pt harness), that will hold the child down in the seat. It's mostly a simple rule of thumb we have to have in this country to accomodate those (3pt and overhead shield) types of seats (Britax used to recommend the straps always be above, Australian seats all recommend it--and have always had 5 pt harnesses).

For forward facing, the straps have to be at or above to prevent spinal compression injury and increased head excursion (imagine if the straps are below the shoulders and the child leans forward, they can lean more forward than if the straps are above the shoulders, and it will also really compress the spine downwards). Sunshine Kids swears their seats are perfectly safe to be used about an inch above the top slots...they have EPS foam under the tailbone, so maybe that helps with compression issues, and the seat performs well in head excursion tests, so they have a little more room for the head to fly forward just a little extra bit...some of us are leary of using them that way...primarily because it's uncomfortable for kids that big to sit in those seats, lol).

:)
 

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