How to stop head falling forward in car seat

[roundandaroundagain]

My baby is 6 months. We have a joie spin 360 car seat but head drops forward when sleeping. Anyone use any products to stop this from happening that they recommend? Thanks

Bump

Is it possible to tip it back so they're not so upright?

Mine always dropped forward, the only way to stop it was to recline the seat but I'm not sure if yours does.

The straps need to be firm and make sure you’ve removed the newborn padding (if any). Other than that I’d suggest changing seats rather than adding products as they could compromise safety.

It reclines but not enough only a little. Meh!

The chair you’ve said doesn’t have enough reclination for the baby to go backwards. Does it go nearly sat down? If so my only suggestion is getting rid of the chair and gerri f one that reclines.

You shouldn’t put anything on their bodies to force the head to stop falling forwards. Not even those straps they sell for the head not to fall as they’re dangerous and could break their neck in rhe event of an accident.

@GrumpyHoonMain

The straps need to be firm and make sure you’ve removed the newborn padding (if any). Other than that I’d suggest changing seats rather than adding products as they could compromise safety.

I have removed the newborn insert. My first born was the same her head hung forward. But she went into this chair older unlike my 6month old. I don't like to add things too but I actually worry that it affects her airways still at her age.

@EasterIssland

The chair you’ve said doesn’t have enough reclination for the baby to go backwards. Does it go nearly sat down? If so my only suggestion is getting rid of the chair and gerri f one that reclines.

You shouldn’t put anything on their bodies to force the head to stop falling forwards. Not even those straps they sell for the head not to fall as they’re dangerous and could break their neck in rhe event of an accident.

The spin 360 was very expensive so this is disappointing. I am not sure I can afford a new one on statutory mat leave.

I haven’t got this particular seat but have had this issue. If you’ve taken any wedges or inserts out try putting them back in and see if it makes a difference. I took the wedge out my maxi cosi pebble when dd was 6 months old as I assumed she no longer needed it and had terrible head flop even though it’s reasonably reclined, put it back in and the problem stopped. Also make sure they are pulled right down to the buckle so there is no gap between the nappy and buckle, this ensures they are correctly positioned.

I have the same seat and the same thing happen with my daughter! think it might be the seat

0+/1/2 chairs aren't really for a 0+ child from a safety point of view as they try to support kids from newborn til they are 3-4 despite their body changing so much hence why they dont tilt etc so much.

When I was pregnant even the shop assistant in JL told me not to go for it, I thought she was trying to sell me 2 chairs (newborn and toddler) but then I read and understood why they're not recommended for babies

We had the same issue with the maxi cosi axiss fix when DD outgrew her baby seat. It didn’t decline enough because of the pitch of the back seat so we ended up sending it back and swapped it for the joie 360.

We went to a specialist car seat shop and we were told the same as PP that even though these types of seats are advertised as being suitable from birth that they aren’t suitable, and they would never recommend them for such young babies. I would ring joie and ask them for advice, it’s likely to be a common issue.

@EasterIssland

0+/1/2 chairs aren't really for a 0+ child from a safety point of view as they try to support kids from newborn til they are 3-4 despite their body changing so much hence why they dont tilt etc so much.

When I was pregnant even the shop assistant in JL told me not to go for it, I thought she was trying to sell me 2 chairs (newborn and toddler) but then I read and understood why they're not recommended for babies

This - we have an isofix car seat now but when DD was little she was in the car seat from the pram.

Same problem here with the maxi cosi mica. It was great newborn age with full insert, but it says to remove once 61cm long, and ds wouldn’t fit in it.
But without insert his head falls down when sleeping. It’s on the most reclined setting.

The full insert has to be removed also, but I think they should have made two separate parts so the bun bit could stay in longer than head part as better angle then

I would have bought another baby baby type and was going to for travelling and when small, but with lockdown since he was born we haven’t really used the car except locally as not allowed so didn’t bother. Would have done if motorway driving.

We had the same problem with the joie 360 and head flopping forwards. In Mamas and Papas they said that it is simply trial and error to remove /add some of the inserts to find the best one.

I didn’t have the same issue with the Cybex cloud-z and that is a 0+ seat too (goes up to 18 months). It’s also a 360 spin seat. I think it’s all well and good following the recommendation to have seperate car seats when babies but as most parents don’t weigh / measure their kids regularly it’s possible to miss the point when you need to upgrade and put your child even more at risk. 0+ seats are fine and in this situation it probably will help to try different seat options when the shops open tomorrow

Her head drops even when rear facing?

Hi, I had this problem when my little one was that age and found you can buy numerous different head strap support things that are soft on the front to cushion baby’s forehead and clip round the back of the car seat. They work a treat to stop their head falling forward however while they’re awake the baby can pull them down or push them off. Didn’t find a way round this issue but they did work really well at stopping the head droop once they’d fallen asleep. Hope this helps.

@lyd4165

Hi, I had this problem when my little one was that age and found you can buy numerous different head strap support things that are soft on the front to cushion baby’s forehead and clip round the back of the car seat. They work a treat to stop their head falling forward however while they’re awake the baby can pull them down or push them off. Didn’t find a way round this issue but they did work really well at stopping the head droop once they’d fallen asleep. Hope this helps.

Please don’t use one of this op and if you do please read about them first and the risks they carry on www.stuffmumslike.com/car-seat-safety-post-not-restrain-childs-head/

Can you go back to an infant car seat?

it's really not a problem. At six months she will move her head if it's constricting her airway, even while asleep.

Had the same problem with a britax romer 360. Was due to big slope of passenger seats in back of car (ford focus). Had to get rid of car seat and get one that could cope with rear angled seats. Second hand resale value not as bad as you'd think. A cheap replacement did us much better (Joie every stage). Not as easy to put baby in but didn't exacerbate my pain condition (which was the worry and why we thought we needed the britax). My relief when not getting head loll on baby while trying to drive was more than worth it.

I had the same issue quite a few years ago now with a Maxicosi seat which was isofix. It didn’t seem to be an issue with the seat itself, rather the angle of the back seat of the car. The only way we solved it was to have someone sitting in the back with the baby and moving his head back when it tipped forward. I only made very short journeys on my own and really worried about it when it happened. Not sure what the solution is.

@Flipswhitefudge - yes my son is rear facing and his head flops down when he sleeps on most reclines setting of maxi cosi mica. He’s 7 months. The ‘newborn insert’ was large and he only fitting in that 3 months max.

You need to put the Joie wedge back in. 6 months is the absolute minimum it can be removed, you can keep it in well over a year if you need to. Its function is to increase the recline angle so that young babies don't get head flop when they are sleeping.