Study: Car Seats Shouldn’t Be Used as Cribs
August 25th 2009 by Dr.MOZ in Baby News, Car Seats, Healthy Kids
Car seats were designed to provide the optimal upright angle needed to survive car wrecks, but not to be used as cribs in the home as many parents are now using them. A Pediatrics study reviewed a small sample of 200 two-day-old newborns and found that oxygen levels where slightly lower for infants sitting in a car safety seats for sixty minutes
compared to infants sleeping in hospital cribs. Experts agree that babies shouldn’t be unnecessarily restricted in car seats at home because healthy oxygen levels are needed for proper development.
Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ
> more at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 25th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
There has been a lot of information over the past few years regarding children’s safety when in a car seat and whilst the information you have provided is extremely helpful, I unfortunately think it is only the tip of the iceberg.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Very interesting..I have never heard of this before, but being that I am a new father I am very interested. I definitely see how it makes sense and I agree with an earlier post that this is only one of the many things that we are beginning to hear about relating to car seats. Great stuff!
August 27th, 2009 at 2:09 am
2 of my friends actually do that. i will send this info to them right away.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I didn’t realize those facts about car seats. I guess it makes some sense but I never would’ve thought car seats restrict oxygen.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I’m surprised. Telling the truth i think that i used the car seat in this wrong way several times. It’s a pity that i’ve not read this information earlier!
August 27th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
How much lower is “slightly” lower? Im assuming as the child gets older, it wouldn’t have quite as much effect as on a 2 day old?
August 27th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I did a quick search on the pediatrics site, but couldn’t find the study. As always, the devil is in the details, and I’d be interested in reading more of their data.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I think this is right. Car seats are not really as relaxing and comfortable for babies as at home.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:26 am
That’s a nice topic for discussion.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Nothing bothers me more than when a care seat is USED as a crib and a place where a baby sits for an extend and unnecessary amount of time. I seen it happen.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:56 am
Good information, but in the same time…it makes us wonder what to do in order to have safety into our cars?
September 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
This is important information that the public needs to know. We should never be surprised when parents do things we assume they should already know. Especially in these cost cutting times parents should be aware of the dangers of using a car seat as their at home crib option.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Good post. I agree with you 100%. I have seen many of friends and my cousin do this at times. I told him he shouldn’t his answer simply was “The Kid is comfortable and sleeps longer if I don’t take him out” I think that’s selfish and we as parents need to be more responsible. Thanks
March 5th, 2010 at 5:02 am
As a daycare owner and provider i have heard this during some of my training. The fact of the matter is that most kids hate being in their car seats because of the restraints. I know it’s probably easier to leave the kids in their car seats unit they wake up and i myself was guilty of this until i found out about it being unhealthy.
April 10th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I am glad you posted this article. There is a lot of ignorance and misinformation out there. Sacrificing the health of your baby to save a few bucks is unacceptable and morally wrong.