Almost 9,000 infants go to the ER each year for car seat-related injuries
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comTo protect babies, keep car seats in the car
Seeded on Tue Jul 6, 2010 10:29 AM EDT (msnbc.com)
— Filed under: health
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I had this happen with my first, and never again. She was strapped in, but it is so easy for something to happen to tip the cart or make the seat fall. Luckily she did not get hurt.
But that is why baby wearing can be so great! Just get an easy to wear carrier like a sling or pouch and you just pop the baby in and shop/clean/etc... They will be happier to be close to you and more involved in your life. And you can have the peace of mind knowing they are safe and comfy.
It's always safer to make sure the car seat is fastened into the car PROPERLY and then left there. I have seen too many parents throw the car seat into the car, put their kid in it, and go without checking to make sure the seat is secure. I know everybody is always in a rush but there are some things that are important enough to take the extra minute or two to do properly.
An interesting point to make given how many car seats are supposedly not properly secured (don't have the # off the top of my head). If you're constantly moving it and out of the car, does that increase the chance of improperly securing it?
Give this an entire moment of thought: is a kid safer surrounded by crash-resistant plastic, or on his or her own? So long as the seat is properly buckled, the kid is far safer inside it. Just the act of taking the kid in or out of the seat, let alone hauling him or her around at chest or shoulder (or shopping cart) level, exposes him or her to much more risk.
What are the statistics on parents dropping babies on the ground, or letting them wander freely into the path of danger? A real news reporter would provide that information.
Is this a serious comment? Ever heard of a baby carrier? Get a sling!
What did people do before carseats (used as baby carriers)?
Sheesh
Jonathan -- not true, unfortunately. Several studies done since 1995 have shown that health, full-term infants' oxygen levels decrease alarmingly when they are left in a (properly-installed, correctly-angled) car seat for longer than an hour or so. The problem is much worse when the seat is removed from the car, because it doesn't necessarily sit at the correct angle when it's on a hard surface (compared to the car seat base it snaps into). Additionally, the majority of car seats are *not* installed correctly, which implies that infants are at an even greater risk for hypoxia (lack of oxygen) when they're in the seats. Every single study recommended keeping car rides shorter than an hour, and NOT using the car seat outside the car. Babies are born to be held, not strapped into a plastic container for hours on end.
I see parents with car seats sitting on the front of shopping carts every time I am shopping. A warning against this practice is posted on car seats as well as on the front window/door of many stores. I know new parents are tired, but I wish more would use some common sense.
Wednesday - have you ever tried to manage a stroller and grocery cart? I suggest you do before you judge those of us who have to do this. When we do this our child is always strapped in securely. In fact when I walk around Costco or Whole Foods and see all of us parents with little ones in their car seats on the cart they are without exception stapped in. Is it ideal? No absolutely not, but what do you suggest parents do? Until about 6 months of age they are too small and often cannot sit up well enough to sit inside the cart - and the straps inside the carts are hardly what I would call secure.
Do you suggest we get a sitter everytime we need to go shopping? That is impractical and expensive. Please do not judge parents like this. Every child can have an accident and except for a tiny minority of parents every time our children take a tumble we beat ourselves up for days.
yeah, because it is better to hold your baby while pushing a full shopping cart. there is no way your baby could be harmed while trying to do both actions at once.
Try wearing your baby while you grocery shop. Works wonders! I used my front baby carrier for this and I never put the car seat in the grocery cart. It is not meant to be used that way and is dangerous.
azmom - Wearing a baby is a nice idea, but doesn't work for everyone. My son hated it and screamed his head off when I would put him in any kind of a carrier. I tried lots of kinds (Kangaroo Korner, Mei Tai (sp?), Bjorn, Snuggli, Moby, etc.). He was fine in my arms, just didn't like being put in the carriers--I think he felt too confined. I wish it would've worked, because I think it's sweet. Anyway, just don't assume that because it worked for you that it is the solution for everyone.
Love all the baby wearing comments. These micromanaging mommies must have missed the sling recalls over suffocated babies. Even when you have your infant a frogs hair away from you tragedy can strike. They can die sleeping in a dropside crib that's design was previously thought safe. They can get a dose of tainted Tylenol "the brand pediatricians trust". They can contract whooping cough at 3 weeks old because some other mommy thought their baby was more important. These are all articles on infants I've seen in the last week. I'd like to thank the authors of this study and article for giving moms one more thing to worry about and one more thing for people to judge them on.
Jo - I can't believe that these are serious comments... I have 3 kids under 5, one being just 2 and the other under 6 mos and I cope. Carseats are for cars. Maybe you should just get a sitter...I don't take my kids shopping with me if I can help it...why would I want to? I like shopping to be stress-free.
Who uses a stroller & a shopping cart? Don't be silly. I have a 20 month-old and a 3 year-old. When the little guy was tiny, I put my little girl in the cart, and the baby in a sling. I could push a cart through Costco, do my shopping, and breastfeed all at the SAME TIME, and no one ever even knew I was nursing that baby--ladies would often want to see the baby, & I would have to warn them that he was eating! I don't use a carrier seat--they're dangerous. I just use a Britax convertible from birth.
@cynical1--The baby carrier that was recalled (It wasn't properly a sling--more like a baby-carrying purse) was an unsafe design. In general, baby slings, used properly, are very safe. These seats, in my experience, are not even acceptably safe when used properly (in the car only). You could not PAY me to put my kids in one, even just for its intended use, let alone all the other things they are used for that are not their proper use.
There ARE some carseats (graco snugride for one) that clip into the grocery cart and are totally safe.
Thank you Mummy33! We have a Graco - and like I said we have no choice other than to put it on the cart - we always check that it is secure, and of course the little one is always strapped in...
Just because the car seat clicks into the shopping cart does not mean that it is safe or was meant to be used that way. This is a very dangerous practice. There are other options like using a baby carrier while you shop. Much easier than a stroller and much safer than having a top heavy car seat in the shopping cart.
Read the Graco instruction book and it will tell you to never put the carseat on top of the cart!
Baby carrying didn't work, top of the cart car seat scared me, so i just put the car seat in the cart and had my husband follow with another cart. I'm a big girl so all the slings/snuggies/ meities etc didn't fit me, so i had to do it the only way I could. I never left lil man in the car seat for long, I preferred holding him.
I'm a plus-sized gal, too. Slings & mei tais are easy to make. Anybody who can handle the most basic use of a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch can make a good, solid, and safe ring sling for under $20. For a bigger sling, you just make it longer. I wear about a 2xl and I make my slings about 3 yards long--and a sling that long works well even for my 20 month-old. http://www.thebabywearer.com has good directions. Yes, it really IS that easy! i've been sewing for many years, but, truly, the skills needed are about those necessary to make a pillowcase. All a sling is is a long strip of fabric, hemmed, with rings firmly attached at the end (I use 3 or 4 rows of zigzag stitching when I make slings, to attach the rings) If you have the need again, and you know someone who has any sewing machine skills, see if they can help you out.
ours also latches right into the cart. i feel safe putting my baby's carseat there. until this article and the feedback from it, i never realized people were judging us parents for putting carseats on the front of the carts. some people must not realize there is actually a safe way to do it (having it latched on and the child strapped in)
Just because the seat latches onto the cart doesn't mean it's safe. The seat can still flip backwards (probably not a common occurence but still a risk - and really, is it worth it?). Safer to put the seat into the cart itself or use a front carrier.
Kelly - I'm curious. Can you give a reasonable scenario where a carseat that is latched to the cart will flip backwards? An infant strapped in is not going to cause that to happen.
It might not happen by itself, but what about when your 2 year-old is in the back of the cart & pulls up on the carseat to play with baby when you're not looking? That's an easy scenario.
Heather, I don't think so. The weight of a carseat with an infant strapped in and latched to the cart would be too heavy for a 2 year old to flip backwards. The seat is latched closer to the head of the infant, so the 2 year old would have to flip it from the feet end. Since the 2 year old would be sitting behind the carseat, I don't think it would be possible.
I have a Graco carseat as well. If you look in the instruction manual, it explicitly says that the car seat should NEVER be placed on the shopping cart. It scares me when I see so many people doing that. If you have no other choice, you can always place the carseat inside the actual shopping cart and it will be much safer.
Most car seats do not allow what Mummy33 recommended, in fact GRACO does not allow this. Make sure you read your instructions. Everyone who can read this and has a child in a car seat should have visit a car seat technician to get their seat checked. The misuse rate is very high, always read the instructions and follow them.
TWICE I have seen this happen- a parent placed a baby in a car seat on a counter, and the child wiggled so much the seat scooted over to the edge of the counter. The first time, the child actually fell off the counter but fortunately was not hurt. The second time was in a restaurant, and the mother was in the next room, and I was able to call her and point out her child's car seat was about to fall off the counter. Both babies were around six months old, when they are starting to get more active, and the parents did not realize the increased wiggling would move the car seat around.
#1 cause of baby injuries.....parents who are not watching their babies. Period.
What about us with twins or two very small children??? Or if it is so unsafe to have a car seat in a shopping cart what about putting a child that can sit up the cart can still tip. Or for that fact what about the parents that do put the child in the shopping cart and do not buckle them or can not buckle them for some reason and they fall out. And it sounds like a good idea for a carrier try lifting dog food with an infant strapped to you.I geuss all parents should take advise from others someone said it earlier if you leave your child unattended bad things happen and every one makes mistakes accidents happen you can"t put your kids in a bubble.
I've lifted dog food with babe in sling. The 40-pound bag at Costco. Takes a bit of doing, but it IS doable.
When it comes to children, nothing is ever completely safe, as a parent of two. Anything can, will and usually does happen that could potentially be harmful.
Stoves, Microwaves, Refridgerators, Shopping Carts, Open/Closed Windows, Glass Sliding doors, Carseats, Cribs, Pets, Lighters, Cleaning Products, Bug Sprays, Tv's, Dressers, Any type of furniture can be tipped and fall onto a child with enough pressure or if it's broken or cracked, Toys, Pillows, Window Blinds, Household Tools IE Nails, hammers, Scredrives, Picture frames on a wall could fall and hurt a child, Gardening Tools, Playgroudn equipment, Laundry Detergant, Food allergies, Medicine Allergies causing severe allergic reactions Including possible Death, Sids,
Then you factor in medical issues a child could develope, Lead poisoning from too much tap water, pesticides on food products,
Weapons such as guns, knifes, Or even a fork sticking out of a dishwasher, Dryers that children can get trapped in, Cars, Trunks of cars, Ropes, Strings, Collars. Suffication, choking, smothering.
If a parent took the time to truly think of all of these issues and the what if's. Our children would never be able to live a normal life out of paranoia. Anything and everything in this world that we rely on or use daily could harm or possibly kill a child and an adult.
When a child falls out of a window everyone says those horrible parents take their kids away. What happened was horrible. But children are curious, determined and almost fearless when it comes to things they want to get into.
You simply cannot account for every possible horror, You hope it doesn't happen to you and you try to avoid it but sometimes it happens no matter how hard you try or how good a job you think you're doing.
It's part of being a parent. Some parents are horrible they are abusive and disgusting and neglegent and their children suffer. But not ALL parents are because of ONE horrible accident that happens to half of the worlds population atleast ONCE. So shut up already..when it's you in that position then you can offer an opinion, until then...save your judgement for the people who purposly place their children in harms way. Not the ones who are unlucky enough to learn a harsh lesson in the worst way...no truly loving parent should ever have to go through that.
Continuing to misuse one of these seats when you are aware of the risks (especially the blood oxygen saturation issue mentioned in the comments--get more info on this, it was news last week--several babies have DIED this way!) IS purposely putting your baby in harm's way. Now, you know the risks. The seats themselves are unsafe. They are no good in wrecks (see my comment above). They are a falling hazard out of the car. Even more importantly, they are a suffocation hazard everywhere! Are you planning to change how you do things, or keep fussing about how other people should butt out?
Hey I am a mom that brings my baby carrier in with me to the store or such. I either have him in the seat part of the cart and have it lached or actually in the basket part of the cart. When I put him in his carrier at home he is on the floor and buckled in. When are we going to start asking parents to use common sense and keep their kids safe. There shouldn't have to be so articles about things like this. No child should get hurt or die because their parents don't think things out. Being a parents is a full time job with manditory overtime, it is always a good idea to look at everything from the kids level and see what they can get into. No parents is perfect, but a little common sense goes a long way.
CAR SEAT--- What part of that is unclear? CAR SEAT.
What this article fails to remind people, is not only is it dangerous to take them out of the car for danger of the infant falling out, but removing the car seat from the car can cause other forms of danger. Infants in their seats also face suffocation. Remember when you had your car seat PROFESSIONALLY installed!?! That is so the angle on the car seat is correct to prevent suffocation from chin to chest. That being said-- the car seat in the stroller is considered safe, because the manufacturer insured it was the proper angle for their seat. Was never made for a grocery cart, inside the cart or on the cart.
Additionally leaving your baby in the car seat for "convience" can created a damaged lumbar system, causing back and hip displacement ( can cause delayed walking or even crawling).
I think this article is a no brainer that it is dangerous to leave your baby unstrapped ( duh). Shamefully it doesn't point out the other dangers about CAR seats.
If you need to take your baby somewhere slings and carriers, or a stroller ( where the car seat does attach PROPERLY, else if none of the options work for you... stay home or find a sitter.