What do we think about the recommendation

[arivecchi]

that new parents only buy a snap-n-go at first? I would never rec. that to a new parent. IMHO, only using a snap-n-go will lead to infant car seat overuse.

What are your thoughts? I've thought about writing about this in the Suggestion Box but wanted to know what others thought first.

[Multimama]

I think in a recent thread I said I hate the overuse of infant carriers so much that I wish the snap-n-go as a category of stroller didn't even exist, even though I have used one myself and know it can be a great help.

I wish Baby Bargains would stop recommending that, especially given that there are strollers available now that can both take a car seat and have a lay flat option for baby. Save the money on the snap n go and you have more money available for a quality stroller that will have high resale value and end up saving you both stress and money in the long run while also being better for your baby.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think you know that I am 100% in agreement with you about the overuse of carseats. I dislike this suggestion/ recommendation very much. I think that carseats should be for the car and that is the point the book should emphasize.

Beth

[Multimama]

I think you know that I am 100% in agreement with you about the overuse of carseats. I dislike this suggestion/ recommendation very much. I think that carseats should be for the car and that is the point the book should emphasize.

But it's such an unpopular opinion in the general public that I can't imagine BB going against the grain and rec'ing the idea that carseats are for cars. Even if buying a convertible and using it from birth is definitely the $ saving thing to do.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I [respectfully] think it is bad advice. There is no reason to keep babies in carseats. Everyone needs a BJCE to walk around their neighborhood, right from the very first day.

Really, going out to run errands means a baby stays in the very same seat for hours in the exact same position. How awful.

[Kaylee31]

I agree, it's kind of misleading information. I liked having a SnG, but only for quick in & out errands. But a lot of people don't know that overusing a carseat is bad. I for one, used the carseat & travel system exclusively for the first 2 months after DS was born because I didn't know any better. And I see people using the carseat w/their stroller, on top of shopping carts everywhere I go it seems. So it's a common misconception. Now if you plan on wearing a carrier a lot and not really using a stroller the first 6 months or so, you might get away with just the SnG. But I still wouldn't recommend it.

[liamsmom]

I followed that advice and regretted it pretty quickly. At least I had the common sense to buy the SnapnGo used since it would be a temporary stroller. DS was ridiculously heavy by the time he was 3 months old anyway and carrying him in the car seat sucked!

With the next DC I'll probably wear the baby as much as possible and/or get an Indigo or something similar. And that's what I recommend to new parents now.

[mommylamb]

I have mixed feelings about it. As someone who made bad stroller decisions in the early part of parenting, I totally get why they would make that recommendation. I just wish I had read more of this board before I made stroller purchases because I might have ended up with better strollers. Maybe it's ok to make that recommendation with a caveat that you should limit baby's time in a car seat. I did buy a snap and go, and it was nice in the beginning. But I didn't like lugging the car seat in and out of the car, so I moved away from it (and from the infant car seat) pretty early on anyway.

[Multimama]

You know, I *just* realized that I only had a snap n go (well, a stroller with no recline so only worked with the carseat for the first 6 months) when DS was born. LOL. Such a bad decision for me after my unexpected c-section. I guess I must have just blocked it out since I regretted it so much!

[Trigglet]

I have found an interesting issue that pushed me towards overuse of the car seat early on, and that was that leaving it in the car becomes very undesirable when you live somewhere that summer temps are routinely in the upper 90s. We were finding the car seat getting dangerously hot, and so taking it into the a/c store/restaurant etc seemed much the better solution.

I totally concur that leaving the baby in the same position for ages is undesirable, but I can also see why people do it. This, of course, does not mean we should be recommending it! I agree that the snap-n-go recommendation has serious drawbacks.