Car seat safety: what you need to know

Jax’s story

“Please keep reading, this post could save your baby’s life.

Did you know that if your child’s car seat was forward-facing and you were to get in an accident their neck would get hit with the force of 180kg 220kg? Where as if they were to be rearward facing that force would be 40kg-60kg?

I’m so thankful to have known that information before the absolute worst happened to us. And I’m hoping that by sharing our story it may convince some people to rearward face for as long as possible.

A month ago I put Jax in his seat, did a pinch test on his straps, and then started to make my way to my parent’s house just like I have done so many times in the past. Though this time we never made it there.

Instead, the next thing I remember was men putting me in an ambulance and telling me that I had been in an accident. Jax was no where to be seen, and all they told me was that he was airlifted to the Royal children’s hospital in Melbourne. After having spent the night in the hospital myself, I finally got to go see him. Nothing could have prepared me for seeing my little man in that massive bed with so many tubes and wires everywhere. He had a fractured skull, a brain bleed, high pressures in the brain, and a torn ligament in his neck. It was an awful lot to process, I had no memory of what happened and suddenly I could lose my precious boy. It was touch and go for a while, but four surgeries, four weeks in hospital, and many tears later I was thankfully lucky enough to be able to take my boy home without any permanent issues.

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about what life would be like if we weren’t so lucky. If I hadn’t known to keep him rearward facing, he definitely wouldn’t be here the doctors have told me.”

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