Legally, and unfortunately, children can be transported forward-facing (FF) after 9kg.
But this is by no means safe.
Parents often say that babies don't fit in the infant carrier because their legs stick out. But... are legs that important and in need of support?
The Legs
There are no recorded accidents where serious leg injuries resulted from a rear-facing (RF) accident.
What is the most comfortable way to sit at home?
With your legs up?
Well, for children too 😉
It is super common to see children placed forward-facing with their legs... against the back of the front seat! And never dangling, because that is not comfortable!
How do you sit on the sofa? With your legs up.
And in a recliner? Or even in bed? Isn't it better with a small cushion to elevate them?
And do chairs or sofas support the legs all the way to the ankle?
It is much easier for them to suffer a leg fracture when traveling forward-facing, as the legs are thrown against the front seat, a hard surface.
You can see HERE: immense numbers of toddlers (over 4 or 6 years old), rear-facing up to 18 or 25kg.
The Neck
A baby is not a miniature adult. Their entire bone structure is malleable and very vulnerable. The weight of the head is "disproportionate" compared to the rest of the body. And this is where we must focus our concern.
The areas most exposed to damage in a baby are the head, neck, and abdomen.
Since the main objective is the protection of the head/neck, these are the parts that need the most safety. We don't talk as often about what happens to the legs, but we all know that a leg fracture is treatable, whereas a neck fracture can lead to death. So, we can see the difference in the importance of the most discussed points.
At 50km/hour, in a forward-facing collision, a child weighing about 15kg, around 3 years old, their head increases its weight to about 250kg of force exerted in the impact. The survival limit is 122kg.
Rear-facing, the entire seat absorbs and disperses the impact force across the back and head, and very little reaches the baby. Only a force of 30kg is applied to the neck. This is, therefore, within the survival limit.
SAFETY CANNOT BE NEGOTIABLE,REAR-FACING IS SAFER
Countries aware of this issue, such as Sweden and Norway, have no child road fatalities because they do not use forward-facing children.
If it is not safe, it is not used!
It is proven that traveling with children rear-facing, for as long as possible, saves lives. It saves your child's life.
And unfortunately, there are parents who have lost their children due to road accidents and who try to alert the world so that others do not suffer as they have.
Example: https://www.facebook.com/Gabrielelvikingo/
Gabriel became quadriplegic, the effect of an internal decapitation. He was in a Pallas seat and died shortly after.
If you search on Google, there are numerous cases of children who died or suffered very serious injuries by being placed forward-facing too early.
According to ANSR, up to September 2018, 1221 children under 14 years old were involved in road accidents.
23 were seriously injured and 3 lost their lives.
If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to contact us!
