[Source:  The Atlantic]
Thanks to Loren Shlaes of the Pediatric OT blog for sending us the link to this article.
While I don’t think anyone would advocate doing away with car seats, the article brings up some good points.  What do you think?

The Risks of Child Car Seats
Participating in a TEDx event at a nearby library, I heard one of the other speakers, the founder of our local Waldorf School, reflect on the hazards to a child’s physical and mental development from confinement to a car seat. The issue really isn’t car seats for actual automobile travel; there’s strong evidence that they have have helped reduce children’s automotive deaths dramatically. It’s the convenience of the technology as an all-purpose transport, while running with a carriage, supermarket shopping, etc. Could there be perhaps subtle long-term effects of prolonged use of the seats outside automobiles? (The FAA recommends but does not mandate them for air travel — a different, harness-type seat, incidentally.)
I started to wonder whether there is scientific evidence on the presence or absence of long-term negative effects from extensive child-seat use, whether in frequent, long auto trips or outside automobiles. And I was surprised to find nothing in PubMed and PsycInfo, the two most relevant databases.
Read the Rest of this Article on the Atlantic Monthly Website