www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
Watch the videos at the bottom of the page!! This has made me decide to keep my son rear facing for as long as possible!! please forward this link to anyone with a baby or small child!

__________________

I haven't read the entire artilce adn my computer doesn't support the program necessary to watch the video clips however, just looking at the older kids being rear facing, their legs look awfully squished. Also, it looks like there could be some severe lower extremety injury. Also, a lot depends on what area of the car is struck. Rear crashes, side impact and front end crashes all have different test results. Not only are there age and weight restrictions on turning the seat around, there are regualtions on how tall a child is to turn around. I knwo the seat my son is in tells you to turn the seat by 30 incehs in height which my son passed a while ago. (I did keep him rear facing until that time.) I think that this view is only part of the story adn that there is more to it.
(My dh works in a facility that does crash testing, not on carseat but for the automobile structure as both factory direct and repaired. There are a lot more factors in accidents then most places report.)

__________________

Actually the requirements are for a child to be 1 yr, 20 or so pounds and atleast 29 inches or so. but its ALL THREE things not just one. and The link i posted has links to a ton of studies and videos. the two videos show a rear impact and a front impact i think. I could be wrong. Children and babies are way more flexible than adults. Like someone on another board said, you can fix a broken leg easy you can't fix a broken spine as easy, and sometimes not at all. I beleive it's switzerland that keeps their children rear facing til 5 years old. there car seats are designed bigger, but we can safely keep our children rear facing til atleast 3 years in the seats we have.

__________________

I also wanted to add, i'm not trying to start a debate. I thinke veryone is entitled to their own opinion. I would rather someone make an educated decision with all the facts as apposed to knot knowing all of them

__________________

I wasn't trying to start a debate. Because of my hubby;s work, I know a little more than average about crash testing and the components that go into it and the reccommendations that come from it. I did keep my ds rear facing for a while after he turned 1 however, when I took his to a car seat check at the police station, they told me to turn him around because he was too tall to be rear facing anymore. He is a much happier passanger since. Now that he is 2 months away from turning 2, I couldn't imagine the struggle to get him in rear facing. The tantrums and back arching are to much!

__________________