I'm not car free now, but I was my my daughter was small. In fact, I think I'm was one of the first people to strap a carseat in a Burley, and at 4 months she had a helmet! I didn't mind it, it is just the way life was. I try to be car free as much as possible now, but it's not so easy; we live in the 'burbs, and have to drive 20 minutes to get anywhere.