how do you keep child's head from "flopping" in car seat while asleep?

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When your older child (say 2+ yrs. old) falls asleep in the car seat...how do you keep their head from falling forward (and side to side to side) while driving?

I know this sounds silly, but are there devices out there that keep their head in a seemingly comfortable position while they sleep on the road? It just seems to me that it would be uncomfortable for them and it looks like it hurts DS's little neck.

I usually just try to prop it with a blanket or whatever I have that's soft in the car, but that doesn't work for keeping their head from falling forward when we have to brake. The same with those soft things that go around little one's head...kind of like for infant's...with the bigger kids it doesn't keep their head from falling forward.

Sounds random, I know...but thought I'd throw it out there.

[Joolsplus2]

Side to side flopping isn't a problem, forward flopping is really only a problem for very young infants who can't raise their own heads.

What seat do you have? How about just seeing if it's acceptable to recline it, or if she's under the weight and height limits, turn her back rearfacing?

You could try a little neck pillow, or something that doesn't interfere with the seat's installation or the harness, but in my experience kids don't tend to love those things when they are awake and they are on the floorboard where you can't reach them when they are asleep, lol.

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Thanks for the suggestions...but DS is now 6 and rear facing not an option. I thought of a neck pillow, too, but it wouldn't really solve the forward flopping thing either. And he, like many other kids, falls asleep while on the road...not really convenient to pull over and recline his seat.

It's not that I'm worried about it being a "danger" necessarily, but more that it looks so darn uncomfortable.

I thought more parents would have this problem since we have two older ones that I went through it with, and now DS is going through it and DD will go through it when she gets a little bigger.

[sarahsthreads]

Yeah, I felt bad for DD a couple of weeks ago when we went for a 6+ hour car trip. I looked back a couple of times and her poor little head was completely flopped forward. She actually asked at one point if she could sit "backwards" again, but she's definitely over the 33 lb weight limit in clothes. Poor kid.

I'm planning to buy her one of those neck pillows for next time, although it won't be until around the holidays so we'll see if I remember by then!

I'm assuming it's not OK - and probably not too effective - to get the "seatbelt buddy" kind of things that wrap around the harness straps. Those would only prevent the side-to-side flopping anyway...

Sarah

[Joolsplus2]

Ugh, sorry! Saw the (2+) and didn't see past it..not sure why I assumed 'her', lol.

What seat are you using? Usually kids that old can be taught to turn their head sideways so their forehead is leaning into the side wing, and some seats are waaaaay more supportive than others for sleeping

[Piglet]

Our latest favourite car accessory is a Zoobie. It is a stuffed animal that converts to a pillow and a blanket. The nice thing about them is that the head on the stuffed animal is a little pillow and it is just perfect for tucking into the seat wing.

http://zoobies.com/main.html

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It sounds like maybe that is part of the problem...the "wings" on this particular seat are practically nothing. I can't recall what exact seat it is offhand...likely a Graco something or other.

It makes it to where he tries to lean his head on it to go to sleep, but ends up just falling forward because there's really nothing there to lean on. Also explains why when I try to prop his head with pillows or whatever else I have in the car at the time, it doesn't really work.

Those zoobie thingys are cool!

I think I'll just have to make sure I get a bigger car seat for DD that has the bigger wings.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

We have that problem in the Radian, but not the Marathon or the Safeguard. It's really related to the size of the side "wings" as you stated.