Having your child in the rear facing position whilst in a car is strongly recommended for children under 4 years of age. Extensive research coming out of first world countries proves conclusively that having your toddler in a rear facing car seat provides much better protection in the event of an accident than the alternative of having them forward facing. Read our article below for a scientific explanation of why rear facing is so much safer than forward facing.

Children are not just small adults. Their body size proportions, underdeveloped bones, loose ligaments and weaker muscles means that their necks are far less able to handle fast stops, starts and jerks without being whipped back and forth in a damaging way.

Children have disproportionally big heads resting on small spines. The fulcrum, or the ‘centre of movement’, of the neck for children under 5 years old is higher up than in an adult, with the majority movement happening just where the head meets the first vertebrae of the neck. During a car accident, statistics show that this is the area that takes the brunt of force and is most likely to become injured in children. 

Research also shows that injury to this upper neck region in young children may affect the brainstem and upper spinal cord, possibly stopping breathing, causing full cardiac arrest, paralysis and even death. 

By 6 years of age, the fulcrum moves down to the 3^rd and 4^th vertebrae and by 8 years and above it is the same as adults and shows the same injury patterns as adults (5-7th vertebrae) making them less susceptible to this type of brainstem injury.

Children’s ribs are more elastic and are thinner than in adults. This means that impact to the chest wall of a child (as in hitting up against the forward facing car seat’s harness) produces larger amounts of pressure on delicate organs like the lungs and heart; leaving them vulnerable to injury. The smaller rib cage also offers less protection to the larger organs in the abdomen, which would be protected by the ribs in the adult.

Accident research has shown that "rearward facing children’s car seats reduce serious injuries by 92%.” 

( Rear Facing: The Way Forward)

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An Australian mom, Angela Brown, and her two daughters were involved in a horrendous head on collision. Her 2 year old was forward facing while her 1 year old was rear facing. Her 1 year old was unscathed, while her 2 year old had fractured her C2 and C3 vertebrae and tore all her ligaments in her C1 vertebra. 

The doctors stated that most children with her injury don’t normally make it. Angela said that, “I was always unsure about turning my babies around, but after our crash and the hard evidence we are presented with I will forever rearward face my babies as long as I possibly can. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. It could cost you your baby's life.”