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Parenting 
  |  Toddler & Pre-school  |  Health  |  Car seat safety
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Car seat safety


question
I have a travel system for my newborn baby. I have used the car seat/baby rocker part of this regularly as baby seems comfortable in it, as opposed to lying the pushchair flat. However I have now heard that I should not use this for more than an hour a day as it affects baby's back. Can you tell me if this is correct and if so should manufacturers not provide guidelines on time limits with a purchase.

answer
Leaving your baby in the car seat for more than an hour a day will not cause damage to his or her back. However, I have some reservations about doing this all the time. One of the best guides to looking after a baby is to "do as you would be done by". And if we imagine being a baby, most of us would prefer to lie flat to sleep, rather than being in a car seat. After all, we don?t sleep very well in a seat on a ?plane journey. The other problem is that by sleeping in the sitting position, it might encourage your baby to get into the habit of cat-naps, rather than a long sleep. Babies need to sleep well in order to be rested enough to take their next feed, and they also do their growing whilst asleep. But it?s also important for a mother to have the confidence to trust her instincts. If your baby is contented, sleeping well and putting on the right amount of weight, you are doing all the right things! Christine Hill.

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