Recent research by two orthopedic doctors at the Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital Medical Center suggests we should keep babies out of car seats. Well, at least when we are not actually IN the car.
The study, which was published Pediatrics, claims that about 9,000 car seat accidents occur each year, but the baby in the car seat is outside the car. Injuries to the babies included head and neck. Injuries occurred while the baby was still in the car seat, but not strapped in and the car seat was set somewhere like a table, countertop, or shopping cart and then fell off.
If you are wondering just how the seats fell, the research said that parents are often under the misconception that the babies can’t move that much. The doctors suggested that it’s okay to leave children in the car seat outside of the car as long as they are buckled in and not left unattended.
Hal Runkel, author of “ScreamFree Parenting,” is not surprised by the findings of this research. He said, “While it’s fascinating to learn how many car seat accidents are happening, it’s not terribly surprising.” He went on to say many parents are “overtaxed physically and emotionally” and that can lead to them taking shortcuts which cause the injuries. Runkel also pointed out it was interesting that a safety device is the cause of accidents when used for purposed other than that for which it was intended.
But, he did cut the parents some slack. He recognized that parenting was difficult and parents often overschedule themselves, which makes them less attentive and more hurried.
I have to admit I pulled a boneheaded move when my son was a baby. I’d take him to work with me and leave him in his car seat as he slept. He was about 2 months old, so I am sure he could move about. Although I often unbuckled him, I kept his car seat on the floor, right beside me so I could watch him.
But, the worst mistake I made (and thankfully it never turned out to be an issue) was that as a new mom, I was so tired and overwhelmed that when I left work, I’d make sure he was locked into his car seat, but forget I had unbuckled him in the office. So the car seat was safely buckled in, but my son wasn’t!
Imagine my horror when I got home and realized that. Fortunately, I lived in a small town and worked only a few blocks from home. Still, the fact that I was not paying as close attention as I should have scared me.
Have you had any close car seat encounters?