Parents always want the best for their children, including the best daycare, clothes, food, toys and car seats. As much money as some parents spend on car seats for their children, one would would never imagine that the safety device could be deadly when used incorrectly. Especially for something like taking a nap.

Authorities warn that infants should never be put to sleep in car seats.Wwhy? It can be fatal. Ali and Derek Dodd lost their 11-week-old son, Shepard, when a daycare worker put the baby boy in an unbuckled car seat in an empty room. After two hours, the worker returned to the room to find Shepard was blue and unresponsive. Hours of attempts to resuscitate were futile.

“I was able to kiss him on the forehead as they wheeled him in,” said Derek Dodd. “He was cold. So I knew it was coming.”

For the Dodds, the trauma of losing a baby was magnified when they learned a citation from the Department of Human Services showed the day care operator was warned about the dangers of allowing a small child to sleep in a car seat just 11 days before to Shepard’s death.

It is likely Shepard died from positional asphyxia, which happens to newborns and babies who get into a sleeping position and their airway closes. Newborns and infants do not have the neck strength necessary to lift their heads enough to breathe.

IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK

Authorities and experts warn parents and caregivers to put babies on their backs to sleep at all times. Ali and Derek are warning other parents about the dangers of putting a baby in a car seat to sleep. They are lobbying the legislature to implement safer sleeping guidelines for babies.

The tragedy of all, the Dodd’s baby’s death was so avoidable. Please SHARE.