A recent study in the British Medical Journal caught me up short: It said that kids should be kept in rear-facing car seats until the age of 4. I pictured my own preschooler in a rear-facing car seat: The image that came to mind was of Wyatt practically folded in half, with nowhere for his on-the-verge-of-gangly legs to go.

At the same time, I could see why the BMJ findings made sense; what I couldn’t figure out was what I, or the mom of any little kid, should do with this info -- especially since I was pretty sure that the American Academy of Pediatrics, official recommendation on when to do the car seat flip-flop is when a child is at least a year old and weighs at least 20 pounds. So I called up Ben Hoffman, a pediatrician in New Mexico who’s on the AAP’s Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Protection and who’s also a nationally certified passenger safety technician (read: car seat fitter).

Dr. Hoffman gave me a quickie synopsis of the British study that caused me to regard the concept of car seat graduation in a whole new light: "Most parents tend to think about it as a right of passage,” he said. "What the study highlights is that it’s really not: Every time you move up, you lose protection.” He cited another study, published last year in the Journal of Injury Prevention, that showed that kids between 1 and 2 are more than five times more likely to be injured forward-facing than rear-facing. He went on to explain that when a child (or anyone!) is rear-facing, the force of an impact is spread over the entire back, so there’s less chance of serious injury. On a tot who’s sitting face-forward, all the impact would be concentrated where the harness straps of the car seat are touching his body. Plus, his head would be thrown forward; if he’s sitting backward, the seat would cradle his head and neck.

Finally, he underscored that the AAP’s 1 year/20-pound guidelines are absolute minimums: In other words, the point is not that at a year old you should turn a child around, but rather that a child should be at least a year old and weigh at least 20 pounds before you do it.

It all made sense, but to my knowledge there are few backward-facing car seat designed to accommodate the typical 4-year-old, which brought me back to my original question: What exactly do I do with this knowledge? The bottom line, Dr. Hoffman told me, is to keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible, up to the weight and height limits listed on his car seat.

If you’re interested in purchasing a seat that does allow preschoolers to sit backward, there are a few models on the market. Orbit’s Toddler Car Seat (shown, $360) is designed to be rear-facing up to 35 pounds. And Graco just came out with My Ride 65 ($159.99) that’s safe for rear-facing kids up to 40 pounds.

Meanwhile, I’m relieved that Wyatt’s fine in his forward-facing seat: I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have taken a reversal sitting down.

Here's our third and final installment from car blogger Marc Bertucco:

Yesterday, if you listened carefully, you might have heard the chirp-chirping of the cars of the New York International Auto Show being locked by key-fob as they took their final bow. Before Parenting walked away with only dreams of shiny new cars in our driveways, we spent time with familiar family favorites that are keeping it fresh with notable changes from previous model years.

If you live someplace where it snows or rains with any regularity, then chances are you either are the owner of an all-wheel-drive Subaru or know someone who is. The 2010 Outback re-embraces it’s outdoor adventure heritage with new styling that is more trail-ready hiking boot than city-savvy clog.



The new Outback combines 8.7 inches of ground clearance (higher than many popular SUVs) with almost 4 more inches of rear-seat legroom to ensure that it will be easier than ever to get kids and car seats in and out. Plus, more legroom means your favorite karate kids will have a harder time landing kicks to the back of the front seats!


For conscientious consumers of all things Green, Toyota’s Prius remains on the cutting edge with a new razor sharp design that not only slices through the air more efficiently than a Ferrari F430, but remains a mid-size sedan that swallows families and gear with ease.



Own a piece of the Green dream. Solar panels behind a sliding glass moonroof power a fan that circulates air when the car is parked keeping interior temperatures from getting Death Valley-hot.

 

Finally, Hyundai is fast becoming the car company you can’t afford to ignore. Vehicles like the luxurious Genesis and smooth-driving Sonata have earned rave reviews for value and performance. But really, Parenting loves that Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels has been helping kids fight cancer for over 10 years to the tune of 12.4 million dollars.



This year, Sante Fe SUVs (with a very special paint job) are touring the country visiting 30 children’s hospitals to deliver 1.3 million dollars to researchers fighting the good fight.



Every handprint tells a story.

Last week, Marc Bertucco looked at concept cars with high-tech and futuristic feature—including on onboard computer that will help you keep track of your kids (sort of) and a Millennium Falcon-like secret compartment where you can stow away your Bugaboo…or a Wookie.

Today, he's going to tell us about what’s new and exciting for families and available in your local dealership right now: Click here!

Hi all! Here's a guest blog from Marc Bertucco, who got the scoop for us at the Auto Show this week:

Every year, the New York International Auto Show is host to some of the shiniest, prettiest, newest, best cars and trucks you’ve ever seen. Parenting was there to uncover this year’s most interesting and relevant vehicles for our favorite families (that’s you!). We checked out storage cubbies, chatted up auto executives, took pictures, flipped and folded seatbacks and opened trunks over the course of two days.

After all, we had to make sure there was plenty of room for mom, dad, kids, groceries, a 1154-piece LEGO Mission 6: Mobile Command Center with working projection screen, and a Crayola Glow Station artist’s canvas with light wand and 13 stencil tracer shapes. At least.

In addition to showroom-ready cars already in production, there were tasty hints of what is to come with a virtual parking garage full of “concept cars.”

Transit Connect Family One is a rolling showcase of family-friendly high- and low-tech features that may end up in a production model Ford in the near future.



Now where did that darn stroller go?

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology connects backpacks (black with the blue RFID “luggage” tag), musical instruments and sports equipment to the car’s computer. The computer learns what you need and when, and will alert you if you’ve left something behind before you drive away for the Saturday morning soccer game. No word on whether you can RFID tag your kids.



You’ll never have to worry if you’ve got that car seat properly secured again. The same computer senses for proper belt tension and position.



Despite dire forecasts, Chrysler (the company that invented the all-time people- and gear-hauling champion) continues to develop a gasoline/electric-powered hybrid Town & Country minivan that may be available by 2013.



Next up, on Monday? We’ll take a look at the best of the new family vehicles that are ready to take home today! If you have any car questions, please post in the comment section and we’ll do our best to answer you soon!

We cannot stop thinking about "Fatal Distraction," a recent article from The Washington Post, which shares the gut-wrenching stories of parents who accidentally forgot a child in the backseat of a car and returned hours later to find them dead of hyperthermia (heat stroke). Reading it, I felt sick to my stomach, and terrified that it could one day happen to me.

 

Before you think, “I could never do that,” the experts quoted make a compelling case that indeed it could. Think about it: How many times have you done something on autopilot -- driven to work, prepared lunches, turned off the stove -- and then had only a vague recollection of it afterward?

 

Thankfully, KidsandCars.org has some concrete tips to help prevent this kind of tragedy:

• Always put something you'll need for work – cell phone, handbag, employee badge, etc. -- on the floor of the back seat, near the child.

• Keep a large teddy bear in the child's car seat when it's not occupied. When the child is placed in the seat, put the teddy bear up front in the passenger seat. It's a visual reminder that anytime the teddy bear is in the passenger seat, the child is in the back.

• Make arrangements with your child's day-care provider or babysitter that you will always call them if your child will not be there on a particular day as scheduled. Ask them to always phone you if your child does not show up when expected.

Read the full article here, and please, share these important tips with your friends and family.