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West Valley City • Utah parents are mulling new advice given this week by two national organizations who say children should stay in rear-facing in car seats until age 2.
The quandry: keeping toddlers occupied while they are staring in the opposite direction of everyone else.
Mahina Jones, of Murray, said it is already difficult to keep her children from getting agitated in the car, let alone if they are staring at the back of a seat. For her, an upset child leads to even more distractions for the driver.
"To keep them rear-facing until 2 is absurd to me," Jones said Monday as she attended a car seat safety check hosted by the Safe Kids Coalition. "For me personally, I won't do it."
Yet the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in separate but consistent recommendations, say the evidence is clear that children should ride rear-facing in car seats beyond the previous recommendation of age 1.
One-year-olds are five times less likely to be injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing seat, according to a 2007 analysis of five years of U.S. crash data. Toddlers have relatively large heads and small necks. In a front-facing car seat, the force of a crash can jerk the child's head, causing spinal cord injuries.
Brianne Christianson, of Kearns, has four children in car seats and had made the decision to keep them rear-facing until age 2 even before this week's advice. She said her decision mostly had to do with their weight and not the age requirement.
"I always keep them rear-facing [because] I know it is safer," she said.
Christianson said she found a remedy for her children that keeps them occupied.
"As long as [my daughter] had her books and toys she didn't have a problem."
Both the academy and safety administration also said older children who have outgrown front-facing car seats should ride in booster seats until the lap-shoulder belt fits them. Booster seats help position adult seat belts properly on children's smaller frames. Children usually can graduate from a booster seat when their height reaches 4 feet 9 inches.
On Friday, the coalition conducted a community outreach program with help from staff with the Salt Lake County Health Department, Highway Safety Office, and area hospitals. They gave away new car seats and educated parents on a one-on-one basis how to properly secure them in their cars.
"In Utah we see eight out of nine car seats improperly installed," said Salt Lake County Safe Kids Coalition chairman May Romo.
Kevin Condra, of the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, said the two main things he sees during the events are parents who are unsure about the lifespan of the car seat, and how to properly secure it.
Condra said most car seats have a six-year lifespan and if they have been in an accident they should be replaced.
"The important part is if [parents] come to the event and are concerned, we want their little ones to go away safe," Condra said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report —
Get child seats checked anytime
O Child seat safety checkpoints are done about four to six times a year in Utah. But if parents are unsure their seats are properly installed, they don't have to wait until the next event.
Find nearest fitting station • safekidsutah.org —
Utah law
Children under age 8 • Must be restrained in a car seat or booster seat.
Children taller than 4 feet 9 inches • Do not require a booster seat regardless of age.