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You've Been Carrying Car Seats The Wrong Way, Here's The Right Way To Do It

Daily Mail / Bridge Family Chiropractic

Being a parent is a little like being an event planner, personal chef, chauffeur and maid all rolled into one.

On top of being stressful, hectic, and busy, a parent's life is also pretty rough on our bodies.

When we say "they grow up so fast," we really mean "when did you get so heavy?!"

One of the most grueling jobs of all is carrying around your newborn's car seat.

Plenty of parents have tweaked their backs picking up these giant baby holders, and the same could happen to you if you're not careful.

Which technique do you use?

There are three popular techniques used to carry around a car seat.

Most parents loop the seat's handle into their elbow, the way you would carry a purse.

Car seat

Other parents hold the seat's handle in an underhand grip, like a dumbbell.

Prince William car seat

Finally, parents with heavy seats will often carry it in front of them with two hands.

Kim Kardashian car seat

Consumer Reports actually recommends this posture, as long as the seat is held close to the body.

"The greater the horizontal distance from the weight you're carrying to your torso, the more stress on your joints, discs, ligaments, and muscles," physical therapist Mary Ellen Modica told them.

But in a viral video, a mother and chiropractor demonstrated an even better way to hold your baby's seat.

A better way to hold a car seat

Dr. Emily Puente uploaded a demonstration of her favorite car seat-holding technique on Facebook a year ago, and soon it was going viral.

That's because so many parents were blown away by her clever grip, which Puente says puts less strain on the body.

Emily Puente car seat
Dr. Puente hooks the car seat and supports it with the same arm.Bridge Family Chiropractic

While Puente hooks her arm through the seat's handle in a purse grip, she positions the same hand under the seat to hold it up.

"It's not going to hurt your shoulder, it's not going to hurt your hip, and you're not going to have to use your knee to swing like I had to do with my two [kids]," she explained.

Since she uploaded it last year, Puente's video has been watched over five million times.

But the chiropractor warns the grip won't work for everyone.

"This method won't work for all seats"

Puente admitted that her trick won't work for all parents, because each cat seat is different. And in fact some parents did complain that the hold was painful for them.

Puente says babywearing is a healthy alternative to car seats.Shining Light Prenatal

"We also wanted to share that while car seats are the ideal choice for safety while riding in a car they aren't the top choice for a baby if you're able to hold them or babywear instead," she wrote.

But parents will always rely on car seats, especially since a new study has confirmed they're the safest way to protect your child in a car.

But emergency workers have their own important advice for parents about cat seats.

The one thing every car seat needs

Paramedic Kaitlyn Lawson's own parenting tip also went viral on Facebook.

But instead suggesting how parents could protect their backs, she was urging them to protect their children.

Lawson says that whatever kind of car seat you buy, you should make sure it's labeled for emergency workers.

Car seat label.
Kaitlyn Lawson / Facebook

"It takes two minutes of your time to write out your child's name, date of birth, emergency contacts, any medical conditions, any medicine your child is on, and even your child's doctor, then stick it to the child's car seat," she explained.

Parents aren't always conscious and able to help emergency workers after an accident, so the label could save a child's life.

Another rescue worker shared her own advice about car seats, and it's just as important.

Hold your kids tightly

Another paramedic, Krystal Kleidon, says the most important part of a car seat isn't the style - it's the fit.

On her blog Project Hot Mess, Kleidon share crucial advice about how to properly use a car seat.

Car seat safety
Project Hot Mess / Facebook

Kleidon and her husband, who is also an emergency worker, say that children who survive a car crash they are always buckled in tightly.

"Between my husband and I, in our 20 years experience, we have NOT seen a single child harmed in a car accident where the child was restrained in their seat properly," she wrote.

"Not a single one."

The restraints should fit snugly enough to keep a child in place even when the seat is titled upside down.

The EMT admits that "the discussion around car seats is ALWAYS a heated one," but this tip applies to all cases.

Are you following these safety rules?

[H/T: Huffpost, Babble, Love What Matters]
