Any articles on car seat time limit safety? Husband wants to take 6 m y/o on 25 hour trrip
- Thread starter umaid
- Start date
@inheretic Traveling with a baby seems easy once you have a toddler 
samuelcox003
New member
@umaid Lullaby Trust
https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/car-seats-and-sids/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20published%20evidence,should%20be%20taken%20out%20frequently.
A study they refer to (Is the infant car seat challenge useful? A pilot study in a simulated moving vehicle):
https://fn.bmj.com/content/102/2/F136
https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/car-seats-and-sids/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20published%20evidence,should%20be%20taken%20out%20frequently.
A study they refer to (Is the infant car seat challenge useful? A pilot study in a simulated moving vehicle):
https://fn.bmj.com/content/102/2/F136
@samuelcox003 Thanks! This is what I was looking for
cassandra77
New member
@cassandra77 I agree and would say this even if they don't put mask mandates because you can get a non stop flight. I would not want to take a long road trip with a baby.
@umaid We drove from the Canadian border down to mid-Florida, but we drove at night in 4-7 hour increments and stayed with family or hotels down, and then did a couple long drives back during the day with a bunch of stops between hotels at night, baby was 5 months old. Positional asphyxiation isn’t as much a factor past newborn age since they have much better neck control, according to the nurses we spoke to about our trip. We stopped for scenic views and to let him wiggle around in the back seat before restarting, if we drove during the day. This was a week trip and we only spent two nights in Florida. Basically two days every stop until we drove back and then it was just us fighting to get home. Doable, pretty enjoyable if you break it apart like that.
@inhiminen Positional asphyxiation is a risk until at least 12 months. current guidelines even recommend caution up to 24 months of age.
@inhiminen I don’t judge. I commented that we left in the early hours of the morning for road trips so that our daughter would sleep for at least a few hours of the trip. I just wanted others to know that there still is a risk to it and to be vigilant even if their child is a little older.
@umaid Maybe google the problem with using "containers" for babies. Also google babies sleeping in car seats (which is dangerous because they don't necessarily have the muscle strength to wake themselves up as their airway slowly collapses while their head tips forward). Also, read your car seat manual - the manufacturer provides the time limit.
Does your husband wear a seat belt because he knows all the research about car safety or because it's a safety guideline by the manufacturer (or the law)? Nothing wrong with looking for research, of course, but it's interesting that people follow a lot of guidelines without knowing the research but when something annoys them they suddenly jump on others around them to prove the guideline with exactly perfect research (which doesn't exist). I think your husband should prove that it's safe and healthy to strap a baby in a car seat for X number of hours with napping, going against the manufacturer guidelines.
Does your husband wear a seat belt because he knows all the research about car safety or because it's a safety guideline by the manufacturer (or the law)? Nothing wrong with looking for research, of course, but it's interesting that people follow a lot of guidelines without knowing the research but when something annoys them they suddenly jump on others around them to prove the guideline with exactly perfect research (which doesn't exist). I think your husband should prove that it's safe and healthy to strap a baby in a car seat for X number of hours with napping, going against the manufacturer guidelines.
katrina2017
New member
@umaid I took my 6 month old on a 12ish hour journey (45 min car trip, 5 hour boat trip where she wasn't confined and another 6 hour car trip with two stops incorporated). She was brilliant for it, but I felt bad for her. If it had been 12+ hours of just the car she would have screamed her head off. I also can't imagine getting her back into the car the next day, we made sure the next day was whatever she wanted to do. I think its worth trying to make other arrangements. Can you and baby fly there and meet with the rest of the family once they've already got there?
@umaid Assuming you’re I Canada based on departing location so: The CPSTs on Safe Seats for Kids Discussion Group on FB can offer some excellent resources on why this is completely unsafe for a baby. If you cannot get anything here, I highly recommend you join the group and post there. Good luck!
@lizmoshes Great idea, thanks. I'm part of that group.
katrina2017
New member
@umaid This is anecdotal- sorry if breaks rules of the sub. Third babe; my family is a 10 hour drive away. We make the trip 2-3x/yr. Our first trip with the third will be this summer.
It takes us about 12.5 hours with a baby vs with older children if done through the day (nighttime is easier). We stop every 2 hours during the day for bottle and diaper change.
Of course the recommendations regarding asphyxiation worry me, but if I’m feeling anxious I’ll move back to sit with the baby. We’ve decided that it’s worth the extra time and caution to go see my ailing Grandmother, who can’t make the trip our way.
I’m staying tuned to see what research people bring in case I change my feelings that for us it is worth it!
It takes us about 12.5 hours with a baby vs with older children if done through the day (nighttime is easier). We stop every 2 hours during the day for bottle and diaper change.
Of course the recommendations regarding asphyxiation worry me, but if I’m feeling anxious I’ll move back to sit with the baby. We’ve decided that it’s worth the extra time and caution to go see my ailing Grandmother, who can’t make the trip our way.
I’m staying tuned to see what research people bring in case I change my feelings that for us it is worth it!
@umaid Its really annoying nobody posted any articles. 12.5 hours seems extreme, but what about 3 hours? What about 4 hours? How many consecutive days?
A lot of these studies do a terrible job collecting the data and don't have the evidence to support their claims. I'm curious about a 6 hour trip without any studies. 2 hours is a round number, so I don't trust it was rigorously identified, as much as arbitrarily selected for a single study.
A lot of these studies do a terrible job collecting the data and don't have the evidence to support their claims. I'm curious about a 6 hour trip without any studies. 2 hours is a round number, so I don't trust it was rigorously identified, as much as arbitrarily selected for a single study.
@umaid We have driven to Port Charlotte, FL from north of Toronto multiple time with my kids. The first time my oldest was 5 months, then again a year later. We plan to drive down again this winter with a 3 month old, 2.5 year old & 4 year old. I’m more worried about the older kids than the baby to be honest. We plan the drive to be when they are mostly sleeping.
Day 1: leave after dinner and drive to border, stay in hotel.
Day 2: drive all day (approx 5am until dinner) stopping every ~3hrs
Day 3: leave early morning and arrive around lunch
You just have to have a relaxed mindset/not be rushed and it’s totally doable. Children in Ontario are in a car seat/booster until they’re around 10 now depending on height and weight so limiting trips to a few hours isn’t really realistic in my opinion.
However, if you don’t want to go or you don’t feel comfortable then tell your husband. You don’t need scientific facts to back up your feelings.
Day 1: leave after dinner and drive to border, stay in hotel.
Day 2: drive all day (approx 5am until dinner) stopping every ~3hrs
Day 3: leave early morning and arrive around lunch
You just have to have a relaxed mindset/not be rushed and it’s totally doable. Children in Ontario are in a car seat/booster until they’re around 10 now depending on height and weight so limiting trips to a few hours isn’t really realistic in my opinion.
However, if you don’t want to go or you don’t feel comfortable then tell your husband. You don’t need scientific facts to back up your feelings.
recovery1984
New member
@capalay It's not really about OPs feelings but more the safety recommendations for babies not spending more than 2hrs in car seats. Your post reads like you are maybe not aware of this guidance rather than being dismissive of the reasons for it? The risks are specific to babies not all children in car seats.
@recovery1984 I can see how it could come across like that I guess. It seems like she already knows that babies aren’t supposed to spend extended periods of time in car seats though. I’m definitely aware of the recommendations which is why we stop frequently on our trips.