Newborn babies love to sleep in the car seats! To keep them safe and their head confined, you must have the best infant head support for car seat.
As we have rules regarding when to put the baby in stroller without a car seat to make sure our child is safe, in the same way, we must use newborn head support for car seat to take care of their fragile head by avoiding it to fall forward while sleeping in the car seat.
Table of Contents
Why is it Important to Support Baby’s Head in the Car Seat?
The gentle rocking movement of the vehicles will make your child fall asleep in their car seats (no matter how many travel activities you have planned for them 🙄).
What happens if you don’t support a baby’s head?
While sleeping, their head may fall forward against the chest and the airways will almost completely be closed in this posture.
As their neck muscles have not grown enough so they can’t lift their heads to breathe. In some cases, your child may get serious head and spine injuries
Therefore, the parents must provide them with the best infant head support for car seat to avoid such mishaps.
What is the accurate and natural position of baby’s head in the car?
The accurate position for your child’s head while in the car seat is
“Turned to either right or left side”
Many parents have baby car seats, strollers, and head supports too but still don’t know how safely they could use them. Two things are important to keep your child safe and sound in the car seats:
- Accurate position of harness straps
- Accurate head position of the child
Click here to get to know “Newborn car seat straps correct position”
Note: you should never restrict your child’s head movement, you just have to provide them with the best infant head support for car seat.
When to Stop Using Head Support in Car Seat?
Does it really irritating you to daily adjust the car seat and then head and neck support for your child in it? Don’t be sad, you would not have to do it for so long.
“Children should use baby head and neck support for car seat until they are under 3-to-5 months of age (the minimum age limit for head support) or when your child shifts to forward-facing (maximum age limit for head support)”
Related: Rear Facing vs Forward Facing Statistics
As the child grows to 7+ months of age, they generally start holding their head independently very well. However, the head hugger is so safe that car seat safety experts recommend it even for adults.
Are Infant Head Supports Safe?
Some parents have doubts about infant head huggers and questions such as are infant head supports safe?
“Infant head supports are safe until or unless they have not been used to restrict the child’s head movement”
Reclining your baby’s head is very important. If they are not sufficiently reclined, their head may fall forward and they could not breathe properly.
Read our article: “How soon can a newborn travel long distance by car” to get to know all about traveling with your newborn.
Best Infant Head Support for Car Seat – Do’s and Don’ts
Does finding the best infant head support for car seat confuse you? Don’t be. You just have to read what you have to follow and what not to and it will clear all your confusion.
Baby car seat head support safety do’s:
- The baby car seat and head support should be of the same brand/company
- Your child’s head, spine, and rump should be aligned
- The head support should allow your child to turn their head to either side
- Baby car seat should be reclining and reclined to the manufacturer’s recommended angle
Baby car seat head support safety don’ts:
- The aim of head support should never be to restrict the child’s head movement
- Do not use head supports that position child’s head forward
- Do not use head holders that are not recommended as safe by the manufacturers or best car seat brands
10 Best Infant Head Support for Car Seats
A newborn baby cannot hold up their head and neck on their own at least from birth to 3-4 months of age. If you are taking them out in the car seats, you must have best infant head support for car seat.
As the child grows to almost 6 months of age, they have to learn how to hold their head upright. Still, you cannot let them ride without newborn car seat neck support.
Related: How Soon Can a Newborn Travel Long Distance by Car?
After getting the quick reasoning, we are going to guide you upon some very good infant head and neck holders below.
10 Best Infant Head Supports for Car Seats
| Sr. No. | Name of Brands | Specifications |
| 1 | Coolbebe upgraded 3-in-1 baby head neck body support pillow | Extra soft, hypo-allergic 2-head supports, and adjustable and removable infant inserts for newborns, infants, and toddlers too. |
| 2 | Infantino 2-in-1 tummy time & seated support – pillow support | Supportive and stackable pillows to grow with your newborn, fun toys for your child, and tummy time pillow too. |
| 3 | Yoocaa car headrest pillow, road pal headrest | The adjustable design is equally suitable for infants and adults, and compatible with all the well-reputed baby car seats. |
| 4 | Luckyiren baby head support for car seat | Made up of soft cotton (absolutely skin-friendly), suitable for strollers as well as car seats.
Note: make it tight enough to avoid slipping down. |
| 5 | Munchkin brica XtraGuard head support | Infant-friendly, comfortable, adjustable, multi-positional head and neck support, and have straps cover set (designed with silver ion technology) |
| 6 | Jzcreater car headrest pillow, head neck support pillow | Best in quality (durable), installation requires no additional tools and protects the child’s spine from deforming. |
| 7 | Boppy head support—noggin nest | Have pressure-relieving cutouts and a 3 or 5-point harness system for children of age 0-4 months. |
| 8 | Diono cuddle soft 2-in-1 baby head neck body support pillow for newborn baby | Adjustable, comfortable (made up of infant-specific ultra-soft fabric), nested design to provide full body support to your baby. |
| 9 | Hestya 2 pieces baby car seat support | Gender-specific, ultra-soft fabric, equally used for baby strollers and baby car seats, suitable for infants and adults too. |
| 10 | Jolly jumper 3 in 1 baby head hugger | Protect baby’s head from falling forward, comfortable and equally suitable for car seats and baby strollers. |
Conclusion
Having a best infant head support for car seat can safe your child’s fragile body from a lot of issues (spine deforming, breathing issues, car accidents).
Having head support is not necessary. It is for their additional comfort, and head and neck support. When they start holding them on their own, you can skip head support.
Frequently Asked Questions
When to remove head support from car seat Graco?
Graco head huggers are removable and adjustable also, so when to remove head support from car seat Graco? You can remove it when your child is 4-5 months old and has started holding their head independently.
When to remove Doona head support?
The parents wait for the time when to remove Doona head support to make traveling with the infant easier. Recommended by the Doona company experts, the parents should keep using the head supports until they are using the infant car seats.
How long do you use Evenflo car seat head support?
Recommended by the Evenflo car seat safety experts, Evenflo car seat head support should be sued for at least 2 years until your child is riding rear-facing in their car seats.
When they start riding forward facing, you can stop using head support.
When can I remove the Chicco keyfit 30 infant headrest?
Chicco Keyfit 30 I infant headrest is the newborn’s head positioner. You can remove the head inserts when: when the child’s weight exceeds 11 lbs. or as long as you are using the lower harness slots of the car seat.
Is it safe to use a car seat head strap?
If not properly used, the car seat head strap could be dangerous. It may cause asphyxiation (a state in which the airways get blocked because of the position of the baby’s head) and may cause severe harm to the restrained head in a car crash.
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