Rear-Facing Seats

Rear-Facing Basics

A “rear-facing” car seat refers to any seat which can be installed such that the child is facing the back of the vehicle. Rear-facing car seats offer the best protection, because the seat keeps the head, neck, and spine aligned during impact. In the event of a collision a rear-facing car seat will cradle your child and absorb the forces of the crash, rather than your child’s body taking the brunt of the impact. It protects the head and spinal cord in ways that forward-facing car seats cannot.

REAR-FACING PROTECTS THE HEAD, NECK, AND SPINE

When to Switch from Rear-Facing
to Forward-Facing

Parents are always excited to watch their little ones reach the next big milestone, but switching their car seat is a milestone that shouldn’t be rushed. The focus shouldn’t be on “being big enough” to move to a forward-facing seat, but instead should be on keeping a child in a rear-facing seat until he reaches the height and/or weight limit of the seat. Most kids don’t reach the height and/or weight limits of today’s rear-facing convertible car seats until around 2-4 years old, but 77% of children are moved into a forward-facing seat too soon.

As much as you wish they would, your child won’t stay little forever and there will be a time when your child is ready to transition to a forward-facing car seat. It’s time to switch your child into a forward-facing seat when he reaches the height and/or weight limits of his rear-facing seat. Many children will outgrow a car seat’s height limit before the weight limit is met. If your car seat’s manufacturer offers specific instructions regarding height limits, pay close attention to them. In general, the top of a child’s head should be at least one inch below the top of a rear-facing car seat.

If your child is outgrowing his rear-facing only infant seat (the kind with the carry handle), consider moving him to a rear-facing convertible seat. Convertible seats can typically accommodate rear-facing children up to at least 35 pounds or beyond. Once the rear-facing limits are exceeded, a convertible seat can then transition to forward-facing mode for the next several years of the child’s life.

You may notice that your child’s legs and feet touch the vehicle seat in a rear-facing car seat. This is okay! In the event of a crash, your child’s legs will be better protected in a rear-facing car seat because they are contained within the space of the car seat. Forward-facing car seats allow the legs to flail forward and they may be injured by the seatbacks of the front-row vehicle seats. Rear-facing car seats are proven to be safer for children under the age of two because they do a better job of protecting vital body regions such as the head, neck, and spine. If a child’s legs appear too long to fit into the space allotted, they can usually cross them in front of themselves. Children are much more flexible, and are able to bend comfortably in different ways than adults. Do not transition your child out of a rear-facing seat because he appears to be too large! He is only too large when the height or weight limit of his car seat has been reached.

Installing a Rear-Facing Seat

All rear-facing car seats can be attached to the vehicle in one of two ways: using the vehicle’s seat belt, or using the LATCH system. Usually, only one of these methods can be used at a time, unless the instruction manual of your specific car seat instructs otherwise. If you’re installing a convertible car seat be sure that the lower anchor belt or seat belt is routed through the rear-facing belt path. The belt path should be labeled directly on the seat itself, and also be identified in the instruction manual. Typically, rear-facing car seats do not utilize the top tether during installations, unless otherwise instructed by the manufacturer of the seat.

It is important to install a rear-facing car seat at the correct angle, typically between 30°-45°. If the car seat is angled too far upright, your newborn baby could have trouble keeping his head up. This could cause the child’s head to fall forward and impede his breathing. Also, the performance of the car seat during a crash could be compromised if it is installed against the manufacturer’s recommendations. All rear-facing car seats have an “angle indicator” integrated into the seat. The angle indictor tells you when the seat is installed at the proper angle. It may be a floating bubble, or a dial that moves with gravity, or a line printed on the side of the seat, which must be parallel to the ground.

Read the instruction manual to locate the angle indicator and ensure that you are reading it correctly. The angle on many rear-facing seats can be adjusted by changing the recline of the seat or lowering/raising a foot on the base. Not all vehicle seats are the same so this adjustment allows you to accommodate the angle of your vehicle seat in order to achieve the proper installation angle for you car seat. Sometimes the built-in adjustment on a car seat can’t compensate for a steeply inclined vehicle seat. You may be instructed to use a pool noodle or tightly rolled towel beneath the car seat where the vehicle seat back meets the base. Before using a pool noodle or towel be sure to check your instruction manual to see what the manufacturer allows. As your child grows the recline angle on his seat may need to be adjusted, be sure to read the instruction manual to determine when and how to make these changes.

Still have questions about installing your seat?

Find a car seat check/inspection in your local area to help

Buckling in Your Little Buckeye

All rear-facing car seats use a 5-point harness to secure the child into the seat. The harness attaches to the car seat at 5 points: near each shoulder, next to each thigh, and at the crotch. The harness is buckled by a central buckle near the child’s abdomen. This central buckle restrains your child’s pelvis during a crash, and also prevents him from sliding downward out of the seat in a crash or even during normal driving. It is very dangerous to place an infant in a car seat without connecting the main buckle, even if the car is not in motion, because they can slide downward and become strangled by the harness.

A retainer clip, or “chest clip”, is buckled at the child’s armpit level to keep the straps properly positioned over his shoulders. Without a chest clip the straps could slide off of your child’s shoulders and he could be ejected from his seat in the event of a collision. When positioned properly at armpit level the chest clip is over your child’s sternum, the strongest part of his torso.

The height of the shoulder harness is important in rear-facing car seats. Your car seat probably has several different slots which you can route the shoulder harness through, or it has a no-rethread harness which can be adjusted by sliding the harness or headrest up or down. If you have a car seat that has different slots, route the straps through the slot that is at or below the level of your child’s shoulders. If your car seat had a no-rethread harness, adjust the height of the straps so they’re at or below your child’s shoulders. Do not use a position which sits above your child’s shoulders for rear-facing mode. In the event of a collision your child’s body will move into the seat and slide upward into the shoulder straps. Having the shoulder straps above your child’s shoulders would allow for his body to move further during a collision. More movement = more opportunities for injury.

When you’re buckling your child in, make sure that the harness straps aren’t twisted. The straps should lie flat against his body, and should be routed straight and flat through the shoulder slots, chest clip, and buckles. The harness should be snug on your child. Try to pinch the harness material near your child’s shoulders; if you can gather the fabric of the harness between your fingers, then the harness is too loose. If the harness is too loose it could allow for your child’s body to move further during a collision. More movement = more opportunities for injury.

Choosing a Seat

REAR-FACING ONLY:

CONVERTIBLE:

THREE-IN-ONE: