Growing up, my mom always put my siblings and me in our car seats while wearing our winter coats. Now as a mother myself, I naturally did the same thing. I always assumed that puffy coats in the car seat was the obvious thing to do until the nurse at the hospital gave me the car seat 101 course. It never occurred to me that you shouldn’t have your child wear a winter coat in the car seat. The reason is eye-opening, so I just had to write about it. That way, everyone can know the science behind why your child isn’t supposed to wear a winter coat in the car seat.
A Winter Coat in the Car Seat, and Why it’s a Bad Idea
So why are puffy coats considered unsafe for the car seat? Experts say that the seat belt buckles should be as tight as you can get them on your child. They should be tight enough that there won’t be any slack when you pinch the strap on their shoulder.
Bulky coats and winter gear make it impossible to get the seat belt straps as tight as they should be. In crash tests, the child dummy wearing a winter coat got ejected from the car seat since they couldn’t get the straps tight enough, while the dummy with no coat stayed firmly planted in their seat.
What if we get stranded in a rural area and my child gets hypothermia?
Hypothermia isn’t immediate, while car accident injuries are. Anyway, safety experts only say to not wear the coat in the car seat, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing your toddler’s coat with you for walking between the car and your destination.
How to Tell if Your Child’s Winter Coat is too Puffy
Put your child in their car seat with their coat on and buckle them as tight as possible. Then, take them out of the seat, remove their coat, and put them back in their seat with their coat off. If there is enough excess strap to pinch between your fingers, then the coat is too puffy. It’s recommended to not put your little one in anything thicker than a sweatshirt.
Tips to Keep Your Little One Warm
- Blankets: There are multiple coat alternatives for keeping your child warm in the car seat. Blankets are an obvious option; we keep several large, fluffy car blankets in the car, and my daughter bundles up in them during car rides.
- Car Seat Cover: If your child is an infant, car seat covers are a great way to keep your baby warm in the car during the winter months.
- Winter Poncho: My daughter wears a warm winter poncho. It looks adorable and keeps her toasty warm during car rides. The poncho makes it easy to safely buckle underneath the puffiness, so she can be warm while still being tightly buckled.
- Car Heater: Another simple way to make sure your child stays warm is to start up your car a few minutes in advance with the heater on, so the car will be nice and toasty by the time your little one gets in her car seat.
- Road Coat: There is this nifty invention called the road coat. It is a bit more pricey than the poncho, but it has all the functionality and warmth of a winter coat, and the buckles can be slid under the coat for a safe, tight buckle.
Video showing how Road Coat works as well as no coat
Conclusion
I hope the information in my article was as helpful to you as it was to me. Here is some additional car seat safety info if you want to brush up on your car seat knowledge:
Share this post with your friends if you think they need to know more about car seat safety! For more on baby safety, check out my article on Swaddling Do’s and Don’ts.
