4 year old's thoughts on leg comfort RF :)

andre149

New member
So I was babysitting tonight and had to grab something out of my car. The kids I was watching (E- almost 4, and L- almost 7) wanted to sit in the carseats while I changed my shoes... so L sat in the booster and E got put in the RF MA. She actually was about an inch from the top and had room in the harness, but is well over the RF weight limit lol. Anyways, she has been FF for years, but as soon as I sat her in the seat she tucked her legs up indian style and said "this is so comfy, I'll ride like A (the baby who normally rides in it)". She loved it!

So take that anyone who thinks older RF kids legs are uncomfortable :p
 
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twinsmom

New member
That's great! My 4 year olds love RF, and their friends love to climb into their seats whenever they get the chance. The kids all think the seats are "cool". It's only the adults who look skeptical, and say "aren't they uncomfortable....":rolleyes:
 

vmmatula

Member
I know this thread is a couple of months old now but i found it interesting and thought i'd share a bit.

As a first time mom, I am new to(and now on board with) the concept of rear facing beyond legal minimums. I guess being a squirmy person I am not so worried about the comfort of having legs up or out or bent or whatever (i still sit indian style myself in the car sometimes) anyway, i guess when i see all the pics showing kids with longer legs sitting rfing, i just cringe at the thought of them breaking in an accident! i know that's not as bad as the trauma that is more likely if they were ffing but it still seems like it'd be so awful and more likely than if they were ffing. and honestly, i would think that even in not all that bad of accidents, it seems like it could happen...even in ones where no real trauma would have been likely if ffing.

I think I still need to train my brain a bit on this topic but I'd guess some others might think this way too, maybe, and not just that it looks uncomfortable.
 

ontariomama

New member
As a first time mom, I am new to(and now on board with) the concept of rear facing beyond legal minimums. I guess being a squirmy person I am not so worried about the comfort of having legs up or out or bent or whatever (i still sit indian style myself in the car sometimes) anyway, i guess when i see all the pics showing kids with longer legs sitting rfing, i just cringe at the thought of them breaking in an accident! i know that's not as bad as the trauma that is more likely if they were ffing but it still seems like it'd be so awful and more likely than if they were ffing. and honestly, i would think that even in not all that bad of accidents, it seems like it could happen...even in ones where no real trauma would have been likely if ffing.

I understand where you are coming from. But!!! I have read here that as far as we know there have been no injuries to the legs for kids in accidents while rfing. Kids ffing are more likely to break their legs.

Defies logic a bit, but I'm sure someone who knows more than I can help to explain why :)
 

gecikuh

Senior Community Member
i just cringe at the thought of them breaking in an accident! i know that's not as bad as the trauma that is more likely if they were ffing but it still seems like it'd be so awful and more likely than if they were ffing. and honestly, i would think that even in not all that bad of accidents, it seems like it could happen...even in ones where no real trauma would have been likely if ffing.

and if this were true don't you think we'd see more broken legged children hobbling around???

i cringe a lot more at what could happen even in a low speed accident to a ffing child who could still be rfing
 

twinsmom

New member
I don't remember the stats, but I read them on here somewhere, and I'm sure someone else will chime in with the data - but as a PP mentioned, it is a very rare injury for a RF to break their legs. It happens much more frequently FF. I'm not sure of why. If you look at some crash tests, a FF child's legs are thrown violently forward, usually coming in contact with the back of the front seat. This could be how they break FF (??). And as said before, a broken leg is much better than a broken neck.
 

susanx4

New member
we hit a deer 2 weeks ago, 3 days after my DD3 got the cast off her broken leg, the damage was enough we have to replace seats... dd3 was rf in a marathon with legs against the seat.. with a weak leg... she was un-harmed!

a good friend of mine was in a major accident 3 yrs ago the passenger in the car that hit her civic died. her tiny 2 yr old was rf and did break her leg... i think she may have died if she was FF....she has a large head and very small body, so even knowing someone that did have a child break a leg rf, it taught me to keep rf!
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Lots, lots more risk to kids who are FF...check out this little picture http://carseatblog.com/?p=34 Those little dangling legs fly forward with HUGE force in a frontal crash and whack into front seatbacks.
Here's a great video. Obviously we wouldn't put a rearfacing child in the front seat, but for the purposes of a side by side comparison, it shows that the FF kid's legs are much more prone to injury from flying forward and hitting something [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeExpDLDA"]YouTube - Crash Test - Forward vs. Rear Facing[/ame]
 

twinsmom

New member
Yes, that's the video I remembered. The FFers legs are thrown forward into the back of the front seat. It definitely looks like there could be hyper-extended knees or broken bones from something like that.

ETA: Oh yeah, and that first link from Jools is where I saw the injury stats FF/RF. I knew someone would chime in with the links! (and I figured if anyone, it would be Jools!;))
 

Guest

New member
Same reason the neck doesn't snap.

When RF, on the initial impact, which is typically where the greatest force is, the child's body is forced backwards onto the seat. Weight is distributed evenly over the entire head, back, butt, etc. Legs likely fold back onto themselves (a movement the body is made for) and there's a good chance any impact with the body would be spread over the entire thigh area rather than a knee to the chest.

When FF, the body is restrained by the harness leaving the head free to go flying forward and snap the neck. Same with the legs. The initial impact kicks them forward. They can kick seat backs, snap forward against the knees (your leg bends back, not forward), cause a whipping motion with the leg (which is a TON of force, and why a thin whip can cause so much damage), etc.

In a nutshell, all the bad that happens to the head when FF is the same motion that the legs go through. Not exactly, but you know what I mean?
 

Elizabeths_Daddy

New member
Knowing what I know now (thank you car-seat.org members) It sickens me to think I once had my DD FF for a few months after she turned 2. As an added bonus she loves being RF in her new Blush Como!
 

outnumberedby6

New member
Yes, that's the video I remembered. The FFers legs are thrown forward into the back of the front seat. It definitely looks like there could be hyper-extended knees or broken bones from something like that.

ETA: Oh yeah, and that first link from Jools is where I saw the injury stats FF/RF. I knew someone would chime in with the links! (and I figured if anyone, it would be Jools!;))


your kiddos seem to have ample leg room, and they look to be quite tall.
is it a problem with your seat harness of them trying to get out? i have a houdini and i was just wondering if that was an issue. i know that they sell after market clips for those but wasnt sure how or where they would go on the harness.
 

Evolily

New member
I understand where you are coming from. But!!! I have read here that as far as we know there have been no injuries to the legs for kids in accidents while rfing. Kids ffing are more likely to break their legs.

Well, not quite- there are no documented cases of rear facing causing legs to break. But most definitely legs CAN and DO break while a child is rear facing. Rear facing is safer, but no magic bubble- kids can still get hurt, it's just likely there injuries will be less severe.
 

twinsmom

New member
your kiddos seem to have ample leg room, and they look to be quite tall.
is it a problem with your seat harness of them trying to get out? i have a houdini and i was just wondering if that was an issue. i know that they sell after market clips for those but wasnt sure how or where they would go on the harness.

No, I don't have a problem with them trying to get out (but then again, they don't really try). The straps are more secure on the shoulders than they look, and are pretty hard (not impossible) to take off. I was a little worried before I got the seats, but it hasn't been a problem at all.:)
 

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