ERF and leg length

[wannabesmc]

Okay, I admit to being a dork. I'm not even ready to start TTCing, but I'm on here all the time doing research on what I would want for my LO one I have one. So, here's my ridiculous, so-doesn't-matter-right-now-anyway question. I've noticed in most of the posts people talk about the child's height in terms of torso length, for the back of the seat. But what about leg length? Would that affect ERF? I know when my niece turned one my mom started immediately getting on my sister that it was time to turn her seat around. My sister held out for a couple months, more out of not wanting to mess with it than out of any belief that the child should continue to be RF. Finally my mom told my sister that the baby's legs were getting too long and if they were ever in an accident her legs would shatter, since her feet were kind of pressed against the seat. Is that really an issue? Do carseat manufacturers take things like seat depth (and therefore leg length) into account when they give height rec's for RF? I'm going to have to battle my mom on Every. Single. parenting choice I make, so the more info I can arm myself with now, the better.

BTW for all I know the leg length would be pretty much a non-issue for my kids anyway. I'm 5'3" with a long torso. However, as a future SMC who will be using an anonymous donor no way of knowing the "father's" body dimensions - and I am making height one of my criteria in my search.

[TheGirls]

Leg length is not a factor in ERF safety.  Most kids cross their legs or fling them over the side or prop them up on the seat.   My DD likes to prop hers mostly.   There has never been a recorded case of a child's legs being broken during an accident while RF.  In fact, broken legs is a very common injury while FF because the legs aren't well supported and fly into things (the seat in front, for example).   So even long legged kids' legs are safer RF than FF.  Also, FF a young child risks the child's NECK because of the potential for internal decapitation.  Legs are a lot easier to fix than necks. 

Some seats do have more legroom than others, which may be a factor in comfort for some children and in how easy it is to buckle them in. It's not really a safety thing. 

[wannabesmc]

"Legs are a lot easier to fix than necks." Thanks for giving me the perfect line to use on my mom. And thanks for the info. Only my family would even THINK about ridiculous things like that, probably. Of course, I'd never even heard of ERF until I found this site. Everybody I knew always turned the child around shortly after the first b-day - sometimes even ON the b-day. It almost seems like a rite of passage around here.

[an_aurora]

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

At the very bottom of the page is a photo album of older kids RFing.  

And, for what it's worth, children are MORE at risk for broken legs when forward-facing than they are when rear-facing!

[WindyCityMom]

I've seen people say "Broken leg? Cast it.  Broken neck?  Casket."

[SubliminalDarkness]

We have parents like yours, too, who think they have all the answers and think it's their business to offer their opinion on every.single.thing and except us to care and act on it. Um, no. 

You'll do yourself a favor if, instead of trying to actually argue every issue, you just put down lines and tell your mom(and whoever else) that this is your child, your choices, and while you appreciate her interest in the baby, it's just not her place. Really, you don't want to be battling over every.little.thing.