need a simple statement

ProudMomof5

New member
I understand things when I read them.. but then when I go to tell someone else what I just read... it all comes out mumble jumble.

So, I have been thoroughly convinced of the benefits of ERF and EH.

When I try and tell someone why I feel this way it comes out like... well, its recommended now to keep them RF and H longer. 12 and 20 lbs is outdated.
Then when I try and explain the whole internal decapitation thing I can never really explain why. I always say something like the spinal cord or something is not fully developed yet and it can stretch and break.
I sound like an idiot because I don't know my stuff.
Now if I can get someone to talk to me for awhile about it, I can manage to explain myself enough.... but it takes awhile.

I need a simple statement that will explain it all... well, a few sentences really.

like it's recommended by... who?..... and what exactly is it with the spinal cord not be developed enough?
Seriously, I just need to be able to say something that sounds good. Quick, simple and makes me look like I am educated on it and not just rambling on about somethng that I heard from my best friend's sister's aunt's cousin.. lol.. you know?

UGH.. I just feel sick to my stomach... I just dropped off my 9 1/2 year old (with her HBB) to go and spend the night with a friend. Their BABY... 10 1/2 mos old has to be less than 20lbs was sitting in a 5pt harness, FF, high back booster. The straps were loose, the buckle on her stomach. Their 4 year old who is TINY was in a HBB like my 9 year old. their 8 year old in nothing at all.
When I handed them my DD's carseat, I said, I am a little car seat anal.. with a smile (that is usually how I bring up the subject) and she said, yeah I know you are (w/ a smile). I then told her that my almost 2 year old is still RF and she asked me what kind of carseat was she in.. I just told her it was a convertible, it can be rear or FF.. but she has awhile to outgrow the weight limits of the seat. She then said.. okay. and turned to leave. Conversation had to be dropped. I will see her tomorrow though and wanted to be able to just let her know something quickly with out offending her but also knowing my stuff.
Do you all have something I can just memorize to say to everyone I come across? LOL...
I just don't want to keep making myself look like a fool as well as everyone out there that actually keeps their kids safe. ya know?
 
ADS

Wineaux

New member
Here's the easiest way to describe the whole "neckbones are ossified yet" thing...

Until the neckbones completely harden, around age 6, they are pretty much like the cartilidge in your nose. Reach up, grab the end of your nose and bend it around. Flex it too much and it will break in two. That is internal decapitation. You should see pictures... It just looks like the baby is sleeping peacefully. Not a scratch on them, except they are dead.
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
there's a pretty good explanation with pictures on CRS's site (about 1/3 down).

I've found that a simple way of stating it is that babies need to be pretty flexible in order to be born. For that to happen, the vertebrae in their necks are partially made of cartilage. They don't fully ossify until around age 6. That means that the vertebrae can stretch farther than the spinal cord. Small babies and toddlers (whose heads are comparatively large in relation to their bodies) are at risk of potentially fatal spinal cord injuries without any evidence of external trauma.
 

ProudMomof5

New member
Thanks.
Who can I say this info is recommended by?

I am bummed because the same person I mention in the OP just got in a car accident yesterday, with her two youngest children. No one was hurt thankfully... but I really want to talk to her about all this stuff. The accident could have been way worse.

How do you think I could approach her on this? I was thinking about maybe asking her how much damage there is to the car and ask her if she's going to replace the car seats. Maybe, somehow I can bring up the ERF for her baby.
IDK.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I used the "to be born they have to squish" line yesterday. I also said, "Since 2002 the AAP has recommended that children face the rear of the vehicle until they reach the maximum limits of their convertible seat." I helped out a mom at BRU who wanted to put her 10 month old from a Peg infant seat to a forward facing Boulevard (why waste the money if you're not going to use half the seat???). I explained about the bones being soft so they can be born, not ossifying until six, and the big melon heads. At 20 pounds that's a 5 pound head, in a 20 mph collision that's a 100 pound head on bones made of taffy.

Do you know the twizzler one? Imagine a twizzler in a phone cord. When you pull hard on either end of the twizzler the phone cord straightens out but the twizzler snaps.

You can also ask her to google you where it says kids are safer facing forward. She wont' find anything, and she'll educate herself, and it's all her. You're not stuffing information in her face.

Wendy
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
I just try to explain to people that the more crashes people get into, the more we learn about how to protect them, which is why what was "super-safe" when they were kids isn't the safest anymore.

I point out how seat belts came about - first they made cars, and then they realized that a lot of people were dying in crashes because they went flying. Then they realized that even though people weren't flying out of their cars in crashes with the seat belts, they were still smashing their heads into the dashboard, so now we have lap/shoulder belts. And that things have just kept improving from there.

A lot of people tend to think that all this "new" stuff is just a sales-pitch, so explaining the evolution of crash protection helps them understand why this "new" stuff is suddenly so important.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
there's a pretty good explanation with pictures on CRS's site (about 1/3 down).
I needed some info that was somewhat technical and not purely passion based (like many of the videos on YouTube) and am glad I found this thread in a search. CRS's web page on rear-facing is AWESOME! Is it sticked somewhere? Because if it's not, it should be! So, thank you for posting the link to her thread!
 

CTPDMom

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Here's my 'spiel'...

'Are you aware that it's recommended and much safer to keep your little one rear-facing as long as possible? Infant spines do not complete fusing until around 3. Until then they are at greater risk for spinal cord injuries.

When a child is forward-facing, that very large head is the only thing that is not restrained. In an accident it can go flying forward, possibly causing a serious spinal injury. Rear-facing is good because it cradles the baby's head, neck and entire spine in the seat in the event of an accident.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommends keeping kids rear-facing to the limits of their seat; until they outgrow it by height when there is an inch or less of shell above their head or by weight which is between 30 and 35lbs for all convertibles sold in the US, whichever comes first. This isn't new, they've been recommending it since at least 2002. And they just published an article earlier this year to remind pediatricians that this is what they should be telling their patients.

There was a recent study published by Injury Prevention that examined crash test data, and the results showed that children between the ages of 1 and 2 were significantly safer rear-facing in all crash types.

There is lots of great information out there. I can recommend some websites with excellent, more thorough, explanations why this is safer and you can also watch some crash test videos that are very eye-opening.'

I have an e-mail that's all set up and ready to go. It has the AAP links, the Injury Prevention link and a car-seat.org link to their FAQs with a note about the forum along with the links to the crash test videos.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
In addition to what the others have said, I use the experience card. When my eldest was a baby, there weren't ANY seats in the US that RF past 20 lbs. So back then, they said 20 lbs, because that was what was available. Well, laws and such rarely (never) keep up with research and new products, so now we know why RF is important and we have seats with higher weight limits, but "the powers that be" are still stuck in 1995. :twocents: :rolleyes:
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I explain that autopsies of kids up to 2 years old reveal that the spine stretches about 2" during a crash but can only withstand about 1/4" worth of stretching. It's pretty easy for most to understand the large head-to-body size ratio & the fact that most of crashes are to the front of the vehicle so RF allows the child's entire back to take the crash force rather than only where the harness touches their hips/shoulders. Worse comes to worse, I just hand them the RF trifold flyer from www.cpsafety.com
 

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