4 Reasons to Skip the Infant Car Seat

When you’re purchasing a car seat for a baby, you have two options available to you: A rear-facing infant car seat or a rear-facing convertible car seat that is designed for use with infants. Typically, infant car seats work for babies for a maximum of one year (this will depend on the height and weight limits of a given seat, though there is research that indicates infants should always be moved to rear-facing convertible seats by the age of one year, even if they still fit in their infant seats). Rear-facing convertible seats, on the other hand, have high weight limits (around 65-100 lbs.), which means kids can use these seats as they age. The seats will often last until a child is ready for a booster seat, though some are also designed to function as booster seats (these are often referred to as “all-in-one” car seats).

Though car seat safety experts note that both infant car seats and rear-facing convertible car seats that are designed for use with infants are safe, most parents automatically purchase infant seats when they are expecting a baby. This is likely because these seats are specifically labeled for infants, parents see their friends and family members using these types of seats, and parents perceive that having an infant seat with a carrying handle will be convenient.

Just over four years ago, when my husband and I were expecting our first child, we began researching car seats. First and foremost, we wanted our child to be safe. As long as she would be, we also wanted to make a practical and affordable choice. We now have three children and have purchased a half dozen car seats. Not a single one of these seats has been an infant car seat; every one of them has been convertible. I’ve been asked about this a few times, so today I’m going to share the reasons why we’ve skipped infant car seats in favor of convertible ones.

Why skip the infant car seat

Cost

As I noted above, infant car seats last for a maximum of one year. In other words, if you begin by using an infant car seat, you’ll need to purchase another car seat within one year of your baby’s birth. Car seats aren’t exactly cheap, so this isn’t an economical choice. Moreover, most parents I know are only able to use their infant car seat for around 6 months. This is because the combined weight of the seat and the baby become great enough that the parents can no longer comfortably carry them. At this point, most parents purchase convertible seats because they are roomier for their babies.

Convenience

Many parents feel that the portability of infant car seats—namely their carry handles and the fact that they can be snapped into bases in different cars and in strollers—makes them convenient. Personally, I’ve never thought it was convenient to lug around a bulky, heavy car seat, to have to find a place to set this once inside a building, or to push around a space-consuming stroller to which a car seat is attached. What I do find convenient is pulling a baby out of her car seat and placing her in a wrap or carrier so my hands remain free and I don’t have to carry anything else with me except the diaper bag. If I’ll need to set the baby down at some point (such as when I’m going to a doctor’s appointment), I’ll simply take a stroller with me and place the baby in the stroller for a time.

I have heard a number of parents say that they prefer infant car seats because they are able to get their sleeping babies out of their vehicles without waking them. This is an important benefit to infant car seats! However, there are two things to consider in regard to it. First, I can often get my little ones out of their convertible car seats and into a crib or bed without waking them. This is especially true for the youngest. Second, even if you use an infant car seat to get a sleeping baby from a vehicle to a home, you should never leave the baby in the car seat to sleep. For safety reasons, you still need to unbuckle the baby and place him or her on an appropriate sleep surface (source and source). This isn’t all that different from unbuckling a baby from a convertible seat.

Development

It’s not unusual for babies to spend significant amounts of time in their car seats each day, particularly if they ride in infant car seats. There’s the time they actually ride in the car, but then they may also sit in their car seats while their parents grocery shop and while their parents eat dinner at restaurants. Even if their parents are doing something active (walking through the mall, walking around a park, etc.), it’s quite possible that the babies are strapped in their car seats because the car seats are attached to their strollers (such as occurs with the use of travel systems).

All this time spent strapped in car seats can be harmful to babies’ development. It can cause Container Baby Syndrome (CBS), which is “a collection of movement, behavior, and other problems caused by a baby or infant spending too much time in a ‘container’” (source). Car seats are probably the most common container used by parents, but other examples include swings, bouncers, and strollers. The relative immobilization babies experience while in containers can cause delayed development of common skills (rolling, crawling, walking, etc.) and even lifelong problems such as flat heads (plagiocephaly or brachycephaly), decreased muscle strength/coordination, ADHD, obesity, and problems with speech, sight, hearing, and thinking.

Thankfully, CBS is completely preventable. Babies will not develop it if their time in containers is limited, they have appropriate tummy time, they are allowed to move about freely in a playpen/on the floor, and they are frequently held in upright positions by caregivers. Because convertible car seats don’t have carry handles, we’ve had to pick up our babies each time we exit the car. It’s a small thing, but it guards against CBS and gives us lots of time to be in physical contact with our babies. Interestingly, physical contact actually has the opposite effect of sitting in a container—it promotes healthy development (source and source).

Health and safety

Though infant car seats are certainly safe when used as car seats, their portability makes it easy for parents to use them in unsafe manners. Of course, not all parents use them in unsafe ways, but I know I would be tempted to do some of the following if I was carrying my baby around in an infant car seat:

• Perch the car seat on shopping carts and other high surfaces. It is super convenient to place car seats (along with their babies) atop grocery carts while shopping or set them on surfaces like counter tops or sofas while packing the diaper bag or unloading groceries. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to make a car seat tip over. Babies who tip on elevated surfaces can suffer falls that result in serious injuries.
• Use the car seat for naps. Babies can become strangled, asphyxiate (from their chins falling to their chests), or suffer head injuries from falls when left in their car seats to sleep.
• Leave the seat unbuckled when not traveling in the car. If babies are not secured in their car seats while outside of vehicles (such as when a car seat is attached to a stroller), they can asphyxiate (from their chins falling to their chests), strangle on the straps, or fall from the car seats.

You may think that these behaviors rarely result in injuries, but they actually happen quite often. According to researchers, “43,562 babies were treated in emergency departments for car seat accidents that occurred outside of motor vehicles from 2003 to 2007—which translates to about 8,700 babies a year. Most of the children were 8 months or younger, and most suffered a head or neck injury as a result of falling from the car seat” (source). Here are some specific examples of incidents that have occurred.

Final thoughts

Using an infant car seat doesn’t mean you are financially irresponsible, your child’s development will suffer, or that he or she will be unsafe. That’s not what I’m saying here. However, we are blessed to have so many options available that we need to consider all of the implications of our car seat choices!

Once you’ve worked through all of this and have chosen to go with an infant or convertible car seat, you’re still not done making decisions! You have to choose an actual car seat. Not all convertible car seats are suitable for newborns, so in two weeks we’ll take a look at how to choose the right one for your newborn.

What type of car seat have you chosen (or did you choose) for your infant? Are you glad you went with this choice?