Unhealthy to have baby in car seat for 1hr plus

onegirly

New member
I read online that that you should not have a baby newborn to 4years old riding in a car seat for 1.5 hours or more. You should take a break of 20min each hour they are in a car seat. Because the spine of a child is soft bone until the age of 4yrs anything beyond 1.5 hours in a car seat can be damaging to the curvature of the spine as well as the possibility of breathing being cut off.

Sad but true since DS has been born our longest car ride to date has been 3hrs. Everytime we plan to go somewhere we usually stop after an hour or so for food, potty break something . So we all had the chance to get out walk, stretch, eat before the rest of the trip.

Ok that being said we are now thinking of going on a "real" road trip probably about 15-18hours total drive time one way, that may be split into a 2-3 day car ride. We will be staying at our destination for 1-2 days then back to return home.

I'm very nervous since reading long car rides can cause spinal damage and possible suffication ...DS safety is #1
Please guide me through this as I hear all the time people taking road trips. How do they do it? What is the "safe" way to travel?
 
ADS

Mysweethoneybee

New member
Well because I never heard that my eldest as a baby rode in his bucket seat to Chicago and each way was a full day of travel since we live in SW Missouri. My middle son's first trip was at a year old but it was 12 hours of car riding with breaks for us to eat. Youngest went to Disney World with us when he was 9 months old. He rode in an Evenflo Titan for two full days of driving there and two full days of driving back home. My kids are all fine according to the chiropractor.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
how old is your ds?

they're talking about long times of just not moving out of the carseat, not being checked on, supervised, that sort of thing... and not newborn-4... more like infants... you know, how it causes pressure on the bony areas, pressure on the back of the head, that kind of thing. They aren't referring to the occasional long road trip, they are talking about a lot of carseat overuse... babies who are in the carseat in the car, in the stroller, in the house, sometimes only taken out for short times to be changed, held for a bit, fed (if they aren't being fed with a propped bottle).

Obviously it comes back to the statement "too much of anything is bad"

Take breaks to keep baby dry and comfortable and you'll be good :D
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Yes, if you're pulling over often enough to keep your child fed and diapered (or pottied, if he's older) then you should be fine.

An overnighter where the baby isn't removed from the car seat for 12 hours straight probably isn't healthy at any age - nor is it healthy for the adults sitting in the car that long without a break.
 

hope41more

New member
SOOO... When our son had GERD (really bad acid reflux) for the first year of his life and the doc suggested he sleep in his carseat for the first few months...... Gotta wonder about that, huh? We didn't do it, we bought a rock and play sleeper, but still...
 

laurengt

Active member
I'm in agreement with the "too much of anything can be bad" camp. I wouldn't worry too much about it for occasional trips.
 

onegirly

New member
My mind can run away with articles on the internet. I just had to ask because so many people drive long distances with children. We usually fly for long distant trips and well we stay pretty local for our entertainment. Now I just need to figure out our driving route, I'm getting a little excited now for our #1 family road trip.
 

HeatherMo745

New member
Ya, I'd say as long as you don't do it ALL the time you're fine! I stumbled upon an article that talked about the same thing and went to my husband all paranoid! Lol he calmed me down and basically said I'm silly to worry about such a thing because we hardly ever ride in the car for over an hour lol
 

ginny4

New member
well i guess i have forever screwed up my children then. :rolleyes:...my 2nd son lived in a carseat overnight because it was the ONLY place he'd sleep for the first few weeks of life. my others have napped in a carseat during rides & i've leftthem there for some time. i have never worried about it & none of my kids have any spinal issues.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
lol... again, it's all about moderation... and I'm sure that he had plenty of time out of the carseat when not sleeping. And a few weeks vs. a year or more is a drop in the bucket.
 

henrietta

Well-known member
I read online that that you should not have a baby newborn to 4years old riding in a car seat for 1.5 hours or more. You should take a break of 20min each hour they are in a car seat. Because the spine of a child is soft bone until the age of 4yrs anything beyond 1.5 hours in a car seat can be damaging to the curvature of the spine as well as the possibility of breathing being cut off.

Sad but true since DS has been born our longest car ride to date has been 3hrs. Everytime we plan to go somewhere we usually stop after an hour or so for food, potty break something . So we all had the chance to get out walk, stretch, eat before the rest of the trip.

Ok that being said we are now thinking of going on a "real" road trip probably about 15-18hours total drive time one way, that may be split into a 2-3 day car ride. We will be staying at our destination for 1-2 days then back to return home.

I'm very nervous since reading long car rides can cause spinal damage and possible suffication ...DS safety is #1
Please guide me through this as I hear all the time people taking road trips. How do they do it? What is the "safe" way to travel?

I doubt there's any research to support this statement, and if there is, it's geared towards really ignorant "parents" who leave their kiddos in their seats for hours and hours on purpose, including for sleeping b/c they're too lazy to move them (I'm NOT referring to those babes who sleep better in their seats!)

We've made many long car rides w/our two young kiddos, starting when they were babies. Both of mine were preemies!!! (A 29 weeker and a 35 weeker). Both had severe reflux. One was on an apnea monitor. Yes, a newborn can suffocate if the angle of their rearfacing seat is too upright--they may not wake up while their chin lays on their chest and thus suffocate. Otherwise, no.

Install and use your seats correctly-if you need help w/that, we're glad to help you here. And go on your trip and have a great time!!! We stop as soon as each kiddo wakes up after a 2-3 hr nap and whenever we all need to get out and stretch. Sometimes, that means we stop 5 times in one 10-12 hr trip (or more) and sometimes that means we stop only 2-3 times. My kiddos are just fine (as they'll tell you themselves--we just got home Sunday. I drove 400 miles by myself w/my two boys on Sunday. Last summer, I drove 600 miles w/them alone).

Have fun and plan your stops. Enjoy!!!

henrietta
 

henrietta

Well-known member
Yes, if you're pulling over often enough to keep your child fed and diapered (or pottied, if he's older) then you should be fine.

An overnighter where the baby isn't removed from the car seat for 12 hours straight probably isn't healthy at any age - nor is it healthy for the adults sitting in the car that long without a break.

No kidding. Nor is it very safe to drive overnight when you should be asleep. I had to do that last Saturday due to the storms in VA--it wasn't in the plan--and it was really tough. I was way too tired. Stopped A LOT to readjust my eyes and take a short nap.

(-;

henrietta
 

henrietta

Well-known member
SOOO... When our son had GERD (really bad acid reflux) for the first year of his life and the doc suggested he sleep in his carseat for the first few months...... Gotta wonder about that, huh? We didn't do it, we bought a rock and play sleeper, but still...

For some kids w/GERD, it seems to help. Both of mine had it, too, (one still does at almost age 7)...we never used the carseat for that either, but I have friends who did. Instead, mine just slept on me! LOL

henrietta
 

Avery'sMama

CPST Instructor
I have not heard about spinal issues but the positioning of newborns in car seats is NOT optimal for oxygen levels. That is why they do angle tolerance testing of preemies in the hospital. Even healthy full-term babies will have lowered oxygen levels after long periods of time in a car seat.
 

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