Car Seat Naps: Are They Perfectly Fine, or a Problem?

Over the past several months, I have slowly increased my reliance on the car to initiate naps for my now 22-month-old. It is not something I am proud of, but after talking with other parents it is obvious that I am not alone.

There are two primary factors at work for me: she fights her naps no matter how tired she is, and I am often in the car around the time she needs her nap. Now that we have transitioned to the toddler bed, putting her down when she is tired does not work because she will simply get out of the bed and bang on the door until someone comes. I do want to mention that this scenario does not occur at night, when our bedtime routine works rather smoothly.

However, though my little girl goes to bed at night with little resistance, the afternoon nap is an entirely different story. Before turning 1, her morning nap was pretty easy, then the afternoon nap was more difficult, so that dynamic has continued. Since she becomes tired around the same time each day, it is not too challenging to plan around the nap time – but my big challenge during the day is how to best incorporate the nap’s beginning. That leads me to the car seat nap scenario.

We try to meet my wife during her lunch hour when we can. This is typically at a park, and even if we are unable to meet her, we go to the park around that same time (late morning or noon), weather permitting. After eating, and playing vigorously, it is a natural transition to nap time. Given the time of day, she usually just falls asleep in the car on the way back home, then I put her to bed once we arrive home and we are all good.

So, is this ok?

You’ll find many different views when you research this. For example, parenting.com says, “Yes, but experts caution not to make it a daily habit. Motion sleep, whether it's in a car, swing, or stroller, isn't as restorative as crib sleep because it doesn't allow for as deep a slumber. Like all experts I found, parenting.com writer Mindi Berry adds: “But a nap in the car is better than no nap at all.”

Though I did not see anything in my research stating that car seat naps were a big problem for toddlers, I did see a report on parentingdish.com that says newborns should not sleep in their car seats for long periods because it lowers their oxygen levels. The Web site quotes a recent study in the journal Pediatrics that says “seats can compress the chest wall and reduce the airway size, possibly resulting in lower oxygen levels in the blood.”

Researcher Dr. T. Bernard Kinane, the chief of pulmonary pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, is quoted in a CNN story saying, “Car seats and car beds can result in mild respiratory compromise in about 20 percent of newborns."

So be cautious with newborns sleeping for lengthy periods in the car, and for toddlers, it seems OK to me, as long as it’s typically just a brief nap before transitioning to bed.

By Brian Doolittle, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting