Car seats vary from one brand to the other. Some car seats do provide the inserts but with some they come without inserts. The infant inserts are used to provide extra support and comfort to your little one. The inserts are either head huggers that provide support to the head or cushions to boost and provide extra padding for your baby. However, you may tend to ask yourself when to remove the infant insert from the car seat and let the baby use the car seat on its own.
Guidelines for when to remove inserts
- All car seats come with manuals with instructions and most have got answers to what you seek. In the manual you will find a certain weight limit that should not be exceeded by the baby while still using the inserts. Once that weight is reached the inserts should be removed and allow the baby to use the car seat by itself.
- Some manuals also put age restrictions for when the inserts should be used once that age is reached its best to remove the inserts as per the instructions by the manufacturers.
- If the baby is not comfortable with the insert or it does not fit the baby then it is best to relieve them of using it. The most important thing is the comfort of your baby and making sure that you strap them in well to keep them safe.
- When they outgrow the inserts. If your child’s head no longer fits in the head hugger and the cushions do not boost the baby like they are supposed to it is advisable to remove the inserts.
- If by any chance the inserts get torn or damaged you should remove them since they won’t be serving their purpose if you left them in the car seat.
The decision to remove the infant inserts lies with you as the parent all you need to do is observe your child and see whether they are comfortable and if not you should remove the inserts. At the end of the day inserts only provide comfort and not protection so if they don’t serve their purpose there is no need to have them. With or without inserts what you ought to pay much attention to is whether your child is secure and make sure when they fall asleep they don’t tend to fall forward because they may end up hurting their neck or close their air ways.
In conclusion, since most car seats do not come with infant inserts it only goes to show that they are not really a necessity so for as long as you know a better way to provide your child with comfort while they are in the car seat you can definitely get away with not using the inserts. However, that does not mean you should do away with the car seat even when your child has got no problem with it.
