“Well duh” you say, “don’t care seats stay in the car?” “Well yes,” I respond, “they should ,and that is the whole point.”

The seats I am refering to are the infant car seats. You know the ones the “baby buckets” they are called. The ones that pop in and out of the car, in and out of the stroller, are carried by an awkward cumbersome handle, can be placed in the frame when eating out, can be used as a baby seat or rocker when placed on the ground. All the while forgetting that these are “car” seats not multi purpose parenting devices.

I read a great article a while back about this very thing, the overuse and abuse of something that, not harmful when used properly as a car seat, can can cause lasting harm when overused. In this article titled Car Seats are for Cars, By Catherine McKenzie. The author mentions a few problems caused by overuse of car seats. The first is called Plagiocephaly, or flattening of the scull. It is caused by having constant pressure on one area of the scull like what happened to an infants head for prolonged periods in an infant seat. It can be perminant if left untreated.

Another problem says Dr. Jeanne Ohm, executive coordinator of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association is that, “many infants in strollers or car seats constantly tilt their heads to one side or the other. That’s a good indication that their upper cervical spine is out of alignment,” says Ohm. “Short periods spent in a car seat are fine, but “keeping them in that position where it’s easiest for their head just to fall off to the side—that leads to further spinal stress later on in life.” Ohm prefers to see parents carry infants in their arms and use different types of carriers. “Offering a variety of carriers supports correct postural development for the child.”

When I was pregnant with my first child I injured my back and was in physical therapy for a few months. The therapist had me go over the best ways to not injure my back when carrying the infant car seat. How to hold my wrist, where to position the carrier, how to put a knee in the car first before placing the seat in or out of the car to prevent possible strain. The funny thing for me is it was never suggested to simply leave the car seat in the car and hold the baby. Every time now that I see a mom bent sideways lugging a baby in an infant seat I am reminded of just how crazy it really is. Then when in the store I see a mom with a new baby in an infant seat locked to the top of the stroller, I wonder why more moms don’t think how silly it looks to have this huge bulky contraption that you are lugging around to carry your 10lb baby. Don’t get me wrong, I have been there myself, With my first we had the car seat stroller combo all 100lbs of it that we pushed with our little one proudly. When a friend later introduced me to baby carriers and baby slings much of that changed for my other children. But still how common it is to see babies that, except to get their diaper changed spend a majority of their time in these seats.

So now pregnant with my fourth child I am determined to make a change. I am going to challenge myself to a 30 day time frame to start to leave my car seat in the car. I know this will be hard with other children around, or if the baby falls alseep in the car and I would like to keep them asleep, but I think the benefits will outweigh those issues. Among the biggest benefit is the bonding that will take place with me instead of the seat. They have actually done studies to prove this, (if it didn’t seem obvious.) Researchers at Columbia University gave either a baby seat or a soft, wearable infant carrier to mothers of low socioeconomic status who had recently given birth. After 13 months, the researchers found that the babies who had been transported in wearable carriers were significantly more likely to demonstrate a strong attachment to their mothers. (1)

The more I read about the importance of attachment and parental bonding this seems like the least I can do. Help my back, and my babies development, all by not carrying around a bulky car seat? Why not? So why don’t you join me? Try for 30 days leaving it in the car. If you forget or have a crazy day, don’t give up, life happens. But I have a feeling after the 30 days are up, maybe you won’t go back. Good Luck!!

1.E. Anisfeld et al., “Does Infant Carrying Promote Attachment? An Experimental Study of the Effects of Increased Physical Contact on the Development of Attachment,” Child Development 61, no. 5 (Oct 1990): 1617-1627.