This was given as a speech.

Essay by bbyantsmommyUniversity, Bachelor'sA, December 2003

download word file, 3 pages 4.7 6 reviews

Did you know that the mass of the head of a small child is about 25% of the body mass whereas the mass of the adult head is only 6%! In a head on automobile crash the force on a child's neck and spine is so great that in an infant it can have deadly consequences. This is why it is the law to keep infants rear facing until they are 1 year old AND weight at least 20 lbs. There are new recommendations that suggest keeping infants rear facing until they reach the weight limit on their convertible car seat.

In a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine are all kept fully aligned and the child restraint absorbs the bulk of the crash force. The difference is that in a head on collision an infants head would snap forward in a forward facing seat whereas if they are rear facing their entire body sustains the force of the crash therefore preventing their head from snapping forward and causing permanent damage to the spinal cord or even death.

There is no evidence to suggest that just because a child's feet hit the back of the seat while rear facing that they should be faced forward. While there is no documentation of broken legs while rear facing the choice between a broken leg and a broken spine seems easy to decide. The only limits set on a car seat to be turned around are by height and by weight. In most convertible car seats the weight limit for rear facing is 30, 33, or 35lbs. The height limits vary by seats but most specify that the child's head be 1 inch below the top of the shell of the seat. There are a few that allow the head...