Car Seat, strollers, swings, bouncers, playpens etc are often referred to as "Containers" by therapists. I will frequently see a well meaning parent parade around a shopping center or grocery store carrying their baby in their car seat or arrive at an event/parents house with their baby still in the car seat and proceed to leave baby in there for the duration for the visit.. A car seat is technically only designed to be used in a car. It is considered the safest option to use during take off and landing of an airplane. Babies spend far too many hours in these containers and we as therapists are starting to see the consequences of this. Babies who spend a good majority of their day in a "container" are at greater risk of developing plagiocephaly (flattened head), as the head is resting against a flat surface. In addition, babies remain very passive in their containers, which limits their opportunity to develop their skills.
What is the solution?
Only let baby be in a car seat when in a car. When not in a car, remove baby from car seat and place him in a sling, wrap, pouch etc. I will be discussing this is greater depth during the month of July, so please stay tuned. Make sure that baby gets plenty of supervised floor time. During the month of June, I will talk more about Tummy Time, so be sure to check in then. Limit the use of swings, bouncers, strollers and other "containers".
I want to hear from you....how much time does your baby spend in a "container"?
Friday
The Container Babies
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3 comments:
Far too much time I hate to admit. Thank you SO much for bring our attention to this important matter. Your blog is fantastic.
I had lunch today at Red Lobster and was shocked to see that they have some fold out slings that can hold the baby container. It is probably an improvement over the baby being on the floor and perhaps safer than a chair...but Oh how I longed for those babies to be held and touched.snesting
My baby is only in a carseat when we are in the car. She has been carried most of her life, and learned to crawl, turn over, and pull up/cruise at what is now considered an early age. She is extremely social and active, all of which I attribute to her having experienced life from an upright, face forawrd position in my sling. My mother in law is a physical therapist, she told me of this term today. I don't know how to help other moms without sounding preachy, but I long to see more babies held and kept engaged with their worlds.
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