Extended Rear Facing (ERF) seats are always promoted here at In Car Safety Centre. Rear-facing may seem like a new concept but we have been stocking rear-facing seats since 1988. Some rear-facing seats will grow with your child until 18kg, while some will span right up to 25kg.
Always consider the current weight and height of your child as this will often be an indicator of what size they will be at 4 years of age, and if they are bigger than average we will always recommend opting for a 25kg seat to get as much use as possible out of this.
Your baby’s skeleton is made up of mostly cartilage, which over time turns to bone. As babies grow, their bones fuse together to form bigger bones and specifically in the spine, the vertebrae starts to form at 3 years of age, but will not be fully developed until 6 years of age.
This is why we recommend rear-facing for as long as possible, because in the event of a collision, your baby’s whole body is protected by the seat as it absorbs the impact over the whole head, neck and spine, whereas in a forward-facing seat, your child’s torso is held in place but their head, neck and limbs are thrown forward causing great strain on the neck specifically, which may lead to serious injury or even death.
A baby’s head makes up 25% of its body weight, which shows why the impact can cause such injury, when we consider that an adult’s head only makes of 6% of their body weight.
Always remember that even if you have a bigger child, they will develop at the same rate, and so you still need to consider staying rear-facing for as long as possible. We have an extensive range of rear-facing seats to suit all children and cars, so browse our range and feel free to contact us with any queries you may have. We are happy to help.
