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How to Keep Your Kids Happy (and safe)
Car seat toys: Attaching toys to your child's car seat is fine, as long as the toys pass the "ouch test." Hit yourself in the head with the toy. If you don't need to say "ouch," it's safe to use the toy in the car. The carrying handle provides and easy attachment for toys--but some infant seats do not allow you to keep the carrying handle in the up position while driving. Read your car seat owner's manual to see if your carrier's handle can be left up during driving. Dressing Your Child: Not only is it unsafe for a child to wear lots of bulky layers, it's also uncomfortable, because kids will feel more restricted and soon overheat when the car warms up. Dress your child in several thin tight layers if it's cold outside. Once you've buckled him into the car seat, cover him with blankets to keep him warm. When the car warms up, you can pull the blankets off.
A rear-facing child in a car seat can easily see out the rear window, where the scenery goes by more slowly than the side windows--just like the front window. The only difference between being rear-facing and forward facing in a car is whether you see where you have been or where you are going. A study of several hundred children in rear-facing and forward facing car seats supports this conclusion – finding identical rates of “car sickness” – about 2%. Interacting with Your Child: While your child can’t see you when you're driving, even very young babies can recognize the voices of their parents. Talk to your baby – or play music and sing to it. You don’t necessarily need to listen to “baby” songs – kids like music with a beat, so many of your favorite songs might become the baby’s favorites too. Irritability: It's developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers to dislike the car seat and other forms of restraint (like high chairs or strollers). These restraints limit a child's mobility and freedom; most kids would much rather be crawling around exploring the world around them instead of strapped into a car seat. But while its disconcerting to hear a baby cry, it's also important to realize that it's unlikely that the baby is crying out of pain. Crying is the baby's only form of communication. He might be trying to ask "Are we there yet? I want to get out and play!" As any pediatrician can tell you, the crying baby is the most reassuring baby, because you know his airway is open. |
Sun Shades: Many parents install sun shades on the rear windows of their cars. Unfortunately, many sun shades are dangerous. Some sun shades obstruct the view out the rear window, so that the driver can't see out clearly and/or contain hard plastic rollers that in a crash will likely fly off and hit the baby. The three sunshades below are recommended since they're quite lightweight and allow the driver to easily see through them – while still blocking the sun from the baby’s eyes. 
Motion Sickness: An adult’s experience riding rear-facing – usually on a train – is very different from that of a young child riding rear-facing in a car. When rear-facing on a train, you are forced to look out the side windows as the scenery passes by very quickly. Ask any adult who gets motion sick, and they'll tell you looking out the side windows makes them the sickest! They'll be quick to point out that looking out the front window is the best thing to do, since the scenery goes by much more slowly, making them much less likely to feel sick. 
