Parenting Newborns & Infants (0-1) Support Group

Feeding your infant and ensuring they are getting enough nutrition is one of the most important aspects of parenting during that first year. This community is dedicated to those who are nurturing a baby, whether breastfed or formula-fed.

515 Members

5,050 Posts

0 Online

joleneLS 07/07/2010

We live in a small enough city. We live on one very far end and it only takes half an hour max to get to the other side of the city.

In the last month my daughter has decided she hates the car. Hates it. We can only be in the car for three minutes before she starts screaming at the top of her lungs. Sometimes she just has to see her carseat!

I give her toys, try to engage her myself, we have a DVD player in the car that we play her favorite cartoon on(imagination movers), we try and time our driving with her nap so that she will sleep in the car. But nothing. We even switched carseats because we thought maybe the one she was in wasn't comfortable.

Still, she will scream as loud as she can for the whole time we are in the car. Recentley we went to visit my SO's grandma, she lives 45 minutes away, and Marlow literally screamed herself hoarse.

It's getting to the point where we don't go grocery shopping until we open the cupboards and they are bare. Or when we are invited out as a family we decline because we don't want to put her in the car.

And suggestions or experiences?

lindseylu 07/09/2010

William has a favorite cd that I made. It has songs I downloaded that are sure to calm him down. Maybe a special toy she only gets in the carseat, we do that and it seems to help with William. It is tough, you hate for her to be upset but you have to go places. Good luck!

deleted_user 07/09/2010

Though my LO has never had this extensive of a problem. I find that I have to drive sometimes with my hand reached back touching her so she will calm down. I think it makes a difference if she is rear facing, too.
We always have a CD of her favorite music in the car.
The only thing I can say is, if you know that all of her basic needs are met and she's not uncomfortable in any way, try your best to soothe her but don't let it conform your life. Eventually all kids learn what's expected of them.
Good luck!

deleted_user 07/09/2010

http://www.babycenter.com/400_what-can-we-do-if-our-baby-hates-riding-in-the-car_500227_1.bc

There are some GREAT tips here....Good luck!

RoxiesMama 07/09/2010

I know how frustrating and STRESSFUL it can be to have a screaming baby in the car!! My son hated his carseat and the car for the first 4 months of his life. And recently I've had to have him in the car alot to do a lot of errands and shopping for his Christening and he seems to be hating it again. When Im in the car with my husband and the baby I found that if my son started having a fit I would sit in the abck with him and let him see me. I would talk to him and sing to him. This didnt always work...but it did a lot of the time. When Im in the car by myself with him I either put his music cd on and that usually calms him down OR when he is REALLY in a fit I just start singing at the top of my lungs...OVER AND OVER AND OVER....This trick has worked almost every time. I probably look like a crazy person to people in the cars next to me...but hey, whatever works!!! Im not sure that there is any one thing that works for every person...its finding that one that thing that works for your baby....mine is screaming a song...lol

I also dont play "his" music unless he is crying...that way its more like a treat.

deleted_user 07/11/2010

I didn't read any of the other replies and I didn't see that you mentioned it in your topic discussion, but have you tried one of those mirrors so that she could see you and you could see her? We found that this calmed my DD. Then, we went for a few weeks to visit family out of town and we didn't bring it. We had to have someone sit in the back with her so she didn't feel lonely (since she is still rear-facing). When we got home, she had to get used to sitting in the back alone again because it's only she and I that go out together, but I noticed that having the mirror again helped.

joleneLS 07/13/2010

We have a mirror in the car for her to see us, another for her to see solely herself, and we use the mirror in the passenger visor to peek at her too.

I don't drive, ever, because I have a heart condition that prevents me from getting my license. I often sit in the back with her but it does nothing. She still goes on screaming jags and it feels worse because she reaches for me like I should be able to take her out and make her feel better.

We have a DVD player in our SUV and we bought some kids movies, she seems to like the doodlebops but they only keep her interest for about ten minutes and then it's back to the screaming.

Join the Conversation