Letter of the Week: Young children in cars need rear-facing seats

Which way should my child face in the car? This is a question that too few parents ask themselves.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants and toddlers ride in rear-facing car seats until they are at least 2 years old or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer.

Crash data show that children from newborns to 23 months in forward-facing car seats are at much higher risk of being seriously injured compared with children in rear-facing seats.

Why is this? Babies and toddlers have large heads compared with the rest of their bodies. Rear-facing seats support their larger heads and distribute forces of impact in frontal and side crashes over larger portions of their body.

Picture your child’s head sliding upward with the rest of her body in the car seat when rear-facing rather than being violently thrown downward toward her legs when forward-facing.

If your child does not meet the maximum height or weight for her rear-facing car seat, leave her in it. Let her grow out of her seat.

I challenge all parents to choose safety first.

Joy Solano, M.D., of Mission, is in the second year of her three-year pediatric residency. She received her bachelor’s of science in biology in 2010 at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and her medical degree from the same university in 2014. After her residency, she plans to do a fellowship in hospital medicine.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Letter of the Week: Young children in cars need rear-facing seats."