Safe coats for under car seats?

[jamijesse]

With winter looming I was wondering if someone could tell me just how much coat is safe to where in a car seat.

Last winter we ended up buying a car seat poncho for ds which was very helpful. With as cold as it gets here we still have to throw a blanket over but that's no bigee.

For our soon to be six year old daughter though we'd really like to be able to find something she could wear in her seat. Last year we just went the route of taking off her coat and putting it back on. If we can't find a thin enough coat this year we'll be doing that again.

It seems though that I read here or somewhere about a certain brand of coats that are really warm but not bulky. Maybe it was land's end or columbia or something. Anyone familiar with these. If not does anyone know of any type or brand of coat that would be warm but could be worn safely in the car seat?

[azgirl71]

With winter looming I was wondering if someone could tell me just how much coat is safe to where in a car seat.

Last winter we ended up buying a car seat poncho for ds which was very helpful. With as cold as it gets here we still have to throw a blanket over but that's no bigee.

For our soon to be six year old daughter though we'd really like to be able to find something she could wear in her seat. Last year we just went the route of taking off her coat and putting it back on. If we can't find a thin enough coat this year we'll be doing that again.

It seems though that I read here or somewhere about a certain brand of coats that are really warm but not bulky. Maybe it was land's end or columbia or something. Anyone familiar with these. If not does anyone know of any type or brand of coat that would be warm but could be worn safely in the car seat?

You do not want to have your child wear a thick heavy coat as it will compress in a collision causing the harness to fit looser and the child "possibly" coming out of the harness. Lands end as well as Columbia do make fleece jackets that ate acceptable for use in a car seat. I do not have any links to them. Sorry :( If you find one that you are not sure about you can post a pic on here and we can look at it and tell you our thought on it.

[jamijesse]

Yep I knew about the coats being unsafe thankfully from this site last year. I'm so glad I found that out.

Isn't there a certain thickness that's safe? I guess I'm not sure if it varies depending on the kid and the seat. I've heard to get buckled in properly with the coat on and then get back in with the coat off and see if the harnass is then too loose. Honestly though even with a thin jacket I would think it would be too loose. Not sure if that's the case though.

[lovinwaves]

We do Thin fleece jackets/coats in the winter along with fleece blankets piled on top :)

[Kashi]

Yep I knew about the coats being unsafe thankfully from this site last year. I'm so glad I found that out.

Isn't there a certain thickness that's safe? I guess I'm not sure if it varies depending on the kid and the seat. I've heard to get buckled in properly with the coat on and then get back in with the coat off and see if the harnass is then too loose. Honestly though even with a thin jacket I would think it would be too loose. Not sure if that's the case though.

I do it kind of the opposite way.

Buckle kid in without coat, ensuring the harness is tight enough. Then take them out without loosening the harness, and have them get back in with the coat on.

[CarSeatPoncho]

There are fleece jackets that have the windproof lining on the outside, but I've found that it's hard to tell whether those are bulking up too much.

What I've found works well for an older child is a lined windbreaker (the kind you'd wear in the spring) UNDER a regular fleece jacket. This combo seems a little backward, but it does keep the child toasty warm, I think bc the fleece snugs around the windbreaker and keeps the body heat so close inside. I think jackets with the wind-resistant layers on the outside might hang more loosely on the body, and let more cold air in.

This is the fleece we used:
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?page=trail-model-fleece-hooded-jacket&categoryId=47649&parentCategory=501655&cat4=501484&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&feat=501484-sub2

For your son, you could also do the lined windbreaker underneath, too. The windbreaker keeps the body heat close in and cuts the wind, and the poncho acts as the insulation and captures the warm air from around the body. I did this with my DS last year and he was always toasty warm, even in 10-15 degree weather. Hth!

PS: I'm glad the poncho worked out!