children uv tent image
Mrs.Mejia!
Ok, I live in Mississippi and it get's sooooo very hot here! Last summer it got to 116 and the humidity is TERRIBLE!
This month my daughter will be 6 months so she's in a rear facing car seat. I have tented windows but I'm still scared she'll get too hot in the car when we first get in or even blister her little legs on the car seat. I've put up those little screens you can buy in the baby center but that still donât do much. Also I know it would take longer for her to feel the cool air from the air conditioner because she is facing backwards and the vent in the backseat in my car is low and would take a while to reach her.
My question is would it be against the law to turn her facing the front?
What other alternatives do I have? What can I do?
Answer
Definitely keep her rear facing, if you're interested in why its so important, and why she should stay rear facing to the maximum of a convertible car seat, or at least 2 years, I'll put more on that later. :)
Ideas to help keep her cool:
1)buy a car seat cover especially for this purpose. They sell covers that you put over the seat when the child isn't in it, so it doesn't get as hot while your car is baking in the sun. You can also just lay a towel over it whenever you get out, a light covered towel. Car seats heat up more b/c most are dark colored.
2)Whenever possible cool the car off by running it a few minutes with the AC full blast before you get in. Even if you're out shopping, this is possible. Just keep her out of her seat up front with you while the car cools down. Then put her in her seat in the back.
3)Purchase some of those cold packs that you activate by shaking/cracking. Crack/or shake it then set it in her seat to cool it some before putting her in.
4)Aim the vents at the ceiling
5)Having the windows tinted professionally isn't a bad idea, and depending upon your state's legal limit could really help. Make sure it blocks UV rays. But you don't ever want to use any kind of baby screen that sticks up with suction cups or has any hard plastic pieces. It becomes a projectile in a crash. Instead, purchase the self stick kind: they're static clings that stick to the window and can be taken off whenever you want. Usually come in a pack of two. First Years makes some.
6)If you can not cool the car down first, as you're first driving, roll the windows all the way down AND run the AC full blast at the same time. Seems like a waste but its now. It allows the how air to get out of the car and provides some breeze while the AC gets going.
7)Make sure you use a sunshade in your windshield whenever parking outside in the heat. Though you should aim to park in a garage at home, and parking garages or shade elsewhere. Purchase an extra sunshade to put up in the rear windshield as well, this will really cut back on the heat back there.
Now, back to the rear facing issue, Babies should stay rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life! American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep kids rear facing to the limit of their convertible car seat. All current models go to at least 30lbs, many higher.
A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing. In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
In the age of the internet its amazing so much misinformation exists! Please please do not listen to people telling you to turn your child forward facing 'at your judgement' or when her legs touch the seat. In truth, most children LIKE resting their feet on the back of the seat in front of them. Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (see sources) that ALL babies stay rear facing as long as possible, up to the weight/height limits of their seat. Most seats go to 30lbs rear facing, some go higher, check your manual. They are too tall for an infant carrier when the head is within an inch of the top of the shell. Too tall for most convertible seats when their ears reach the top of the seat. Has nothing to do with how long their legs are! There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. They are safest rear facing b/c their bones have not yet completed the ossification process that bonds/hardens them like adults. They need the bracing support that a rear facing seat offers to withstand a crash. 20lbs AND 1 year is the bare minimum as far as the law is concerned, but the law is the bare minimum of safety, and who wants to do the bare minimum for their child?
Definitely keep her rear facing, if you're interested in why its so important, and why she should stay rear facing to the maximum of a convertible car seat, or at least 2 years, I'll put more on that later. :)
Ideas to help keep her cool:
1)buy a car seat cover especially for this purpose. They sell covers that you put over the seat when the child isn't in it, so it doesn't get as hot while your car is baking in the sun. You can also just lay a towel over it whenever you get out, a light covered towel. Car seats heat up more b/c most are dark colored.
2)Whenever possible cool the car off by running it a few minutes with the AC full blast before you get in. Even if you're out shopping, this is possible. Just keep her out of her seat up front with you while the car cools down. Then put her in her seat in the back.
3)Purchase some of those cold packs that you activate by shaking/cracking. Crack/or shake it then set it in her seat to cool it some before putting her in.
4)Aim the vents at the ceiling
5)Having the windows tinted professionally isn't a bad idea, and depending upon your state's legal limit could really help. Make sure it blocks UV rays. But you don't ever want to use any kind of baby screen that sticks up with suction cups or has any hard plastic pieces. It becomes a projectile in a crash. Instead, purchase the self stick kind: they're static clings that stick to the window and can be taken off whenever you want. Usually come in a pack of two. First Years makes some.
6)If you can not cool the car down first, as you're first driving, roll the windows all the way down AND run the AC full blast at the same time. Seems like a waste but its now. It allows the how air to get out of the car and provides some breeze while the AC gets going.
7)Make sure you use a sunshade in your windshield whenever parking outside in the heat. Though you should aim to park in a garage at home, and parking garages or shade elsewhere. Purchase an extra sunshade to put up in the rear windshield as well, this will really cut back on the heat back there.
Now, back to the rear facing issue, Babies should stay rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life! American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep kids rear facing to the limit of their convertible car seat. All current models go to at least 30lbs, many higher.
A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing. In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
In the age of the internet its amazing so much misinformation exists! Please please do not listen to people telling you to turn your child forward facing 'at your judgement' or when her legs touch the seat. In truth, most children LIKE resting their feet on the back of the seat in front of them. Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (see sources) that ALL babies stay rear facing as long as possible, up to the weight/height limits of their seat. Most seats go to 30lbs rear facing, some go higher, check your manual. They are too tall for an infant carrier when the head is within an inch of the top of the shell. Too tall for most convertible seats when their ears reach the top of the seat. Has nothing to do with how long their legs are! There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. They are safest rear facing b/c their bones have not yet completed the ossification process that bonds/hardens them like adults. They need the bracing support that a rear facing seat offers to withstand a crash. 20lbs AND 1 year is the bare minimum as far as the law is concerned, but the law is the bare minimum of safety, and who wants to do the bare minimum for their child?
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