Essay On Rear Facing Car Seat

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In the United States, statistics show that car accidents are a leading cause of death in children between 0 and 14 years of age. A significant amount of the fatalities are due to improper restraint of the children while riding in the car. For the younger children, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that toddlers remain rear facing in their car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their specified car seat. According to Illinois law, a parent could face their child’s car seat forward at 12 months, as long as the child meets the height and weight requirements for the car seat. The rear facing car seat recommendation should be extended to at least 4 years old in order to protect toddler passengers during car accidents. …show more content…

An infant’s vertebrae are connected via cartilage, rather than bone. Those cartilage connections are called synchondroses, which will close over time. Before age 2, the vertebrae aren’t completely ossified. In fact, up until age 7, the atlas vertebrae have a 50% probability of being completely ossified. The atlas vertebrae are the most superior cervical vertebrae. The development of ossification in this specific vertebrae is important because it supports the entire head. As a young child, the spine and atlas vertebrae are responsible for supporting the head, which on average is 25% of the child’s weight. Due to the laws of inertia, a sudden stop of the vehicle will project everyone and everything in the vehicle forward. The impact that force has on a small toddler’s spinal column could be detrimental. The cartilage that connects the vertebrae needs to stretch just 1/4 of an inch, to result in a ruptured spinal column. Ultimately, the ruptured spinal column could lead to paralysis or

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