"American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) comments on rear-facing car seats. There is a well known myth that toddlers in rear-facing car seats whose feet can reach the back of the vehicle seat are more likely to suffer injuries to their legs in a car accident, however these injuries are NOT common in rear-facing seats.
New research indicates that children under 2 years of age are 75% less likely to die or experience serious injury when they ride in a rear-facing car seat and, toddlers between 1 and 2 years of age are 5 times safer than toddlers who ride in a front-facing car seat."
Wow! Those are some pretty impressive percentages!
I still have my 17 month old facing backwards and since he has never ridden any other way, he doesn't give me any trouble. I have noticed, though that he seems to be the only toddler I have seen still facing backwards. When I go to the park or store, etc, I always see kids his age and even younger facing forward. I find this terribly disturbing. When I heard that during a crash that toddlers can incur what is called an internal decapitation, where their necks and soft tissues break from the force of their over sized heads slamming forward, I knew I had to keep him rear facing as long as possible.
I know lifting a toddler in and out of a rear facing seat is hard to do especially in the backseat of a little car. It kills my back sometimes to lift him and I have often times accidentally bumped his little head on the inside roof trying to get him in. I am teaching him though, to climb in himself then I buckle him in. It can be a hassle, but to me his safety is worth it.
I highly recommend you keep your child rear facing as long as possible till age two as recommended. I'm sure you'll agree that their lives are certainly worth the hassle.
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