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Car Seat Confinement
How Long Is Too Long in a Car Seat?
By Lisa A. Goldstein
Myer Markowitz of Pittsburgh, Pa., also lived in his car seat the first several months of his life. His mother, Michelle, actually put the car seat in his room where he'd sleep in it instead of his crib or bassinet. This was the only way he'd fall asleep or sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Markowitz believes it worked so well because he was so snug. "He could still move around a little bit, but not so much that he'd wake up," she says. "We tried the bouncy seat and the swing also, but the car seat worked best and was so easily portable. We would just put the car seat right in his room beside his crib."
When individual situations – such as fussiness, not calming down or going to sleep – are managed by placing the baby in the car seat, this is one of the many options a parent may try to meet the needs of their infant, Thompson 
says. "But it should be a decision made at that time, based on Baby's expressed needs and not an action that the parent has made part of a routine," she says.
To avid dependence on the car seat, parents can try duplicating the environment. Dr. Charles Sophy, a Los Angeles-based child psychiatrist who is also the medical director of the Los Angeles Department of Health and Family Services, says the car seat environment can be easily recreated for children during sleep time. This is done by "swaddling your child and placing them in a 'Moses' basket into a crib," he says. "This allows your child a feeling of security and safety while being in their crib and their room, which is where they need to be."
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