Are there any links that prove bulky coats are dangerous?

Suzibeck · Nov 10, 2007

Dh is upset that I make dd take her coat off before I buckle her. I have not had luck finding her a carseat safe coat for this year yet, at a reasonable price. Money is REALLY tight right now. He doesn't believe that a coat can compress enough in a crash to cause injury, let alone ejection. He says the car seat techs don't know what they are talking about.

I told him I would not make our daughter a crash test dummy and he would have to live with it, and he will, but I would really like some proof to convince him. He was anti-erf until he watched the crash test videos. He really is a good guy. But he can't see how a coat could be dangerous. He was once in a serious accident in a car with too many people, no one wearing seatbelts, and there were no life-threatening injuries. He doesn't have the healthy fear of what could happen that I do after working in special ed and seeing the results of improperly restrained children.

Jeanum · Nov 10, 2007

Not "proof" per se like a crash test video, but an official source of CPS info., Safety Belt Safe USA, has a FAQ about coats/bulky clothing: http://www.carseat.org/Resources/FAQs.htm#coats

jdchic3 · Nov 10, 2007

Did you try putting her in the seat with the coat on and then taking her out (without loosening the harness), take her coat off and then put her back in and show him how much slack there is?

jdchic3 · Nov 10, 2007

What do you consider reasonable? I have these (in their smaller infant/toddler sizes of course

) for my DD and DS and they have free shipping right now. http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...alogId=1&langId=-1&categoryId=45279&feat=28dp

Suzibeck · Nov 10, 2007

jdchic3 said:
Did you try putting her in the seat with the coat on and then taking her out (without loosening the harness), take her coat off and then put her back in and show him how much slack there is?

Yes, but he doesn't think it would compress enough to make that much slack in a crash.

Jeanum said:
Not "proof" per se like a crash test video, but an official source of CPS info., Safety Belt Safe USA, has a FAQ about coats/bulky clothing: http://www.carseat.org/Resources/FAQs.htm#coats

He wants to see actual proof. It seems that the bulky coat thing is a theory, with no tests or real life stories to prove it is an actual danger. Kind of like some people think legs could get broken rfing.

jdchic3 said:
What do you consider reasonable?

I guess I should have said cheap, or free. We are sinking into debt again after digging ourselves out a while ago. This pregnancy is killing us financially. We are at the point of do I take my meds or do we eat. If I don't take my meds, I end up in the hospital, which will cost $100 a day and won't help our situation at all.

joolsplus3 · Nov 10, 2007

((hugs))

Can you guys just agree to disagree and compromise by unzipping the coats in the seats and putting the harness right over the clothing layer?

He probably is on the right side... nothing bad will happen...in your case, where you have a properly installed and used seat... it's the 99% of kids in improperly used and installed seats that are going to suffer the consequences of even MORE slack in the system due to a coat, KWIM?

heathernick06 · Nov 10, 2007

I'm not sure what size your daughter wears, but Old Navy sells cute micro fleece jackets and pullovers for pretty reasonable prices. My son has one and he usually wears it over a few layers of clothes. It seems to keep him pretty warm, and I don't have to loosen the straps on his car seat when he wears it so I think it is ok

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?searchCID=26519&pid=516529&scid=516529002&vid=-1

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?searchCID=26519&pid=524962&scid=524962002&vid=-1

Suzibeck · Nov 10, 2007

I need to comb the thrift stores around here again. The coat she has is a hand-me-down Columbia, nice coat, but that thing is huge! It is a pain in the rear to pull it out from under the straps to buckle next to dd's clothes. Ugh! When my other dd wore this coat, she was bigger and heavier and rode in a booster most of the time. It was much easier to pull it around the seatbelt then. I can't figure out why I don't have a thinner coat around here for youngest. Oh well, I will work something out and in the mean time, dh will deal with it. He will grumble, but he will do as I ask.

Mom2nj · Nov 10, 2007

Which DD needs a that is thin? I have a size 5/6 royal blue columbia fleece jacket that is too big for DS or DD, you are welcome to use that. Guess I should have read the last post more.... in a hurry, gotta cake in the oven that should be done...

Mom2nj · Nov 10, 2007

It's actually a 6/7, I just took the cake out, then went and pulled the coat out of the tote.

Suzibeck · Nov 10, 2007

Thanks anyway Jane! It is my little one that needs a thinner coat. I usually try to get a Land End Sqaull or clone type coat. In past years, Meijer had jackets that were thin fleece with an outer windbreaker layer. They won't keep a kid warm who is staying outside but they are fine for from buildings to car. They don't have them this year, I hope I can find one at a thrift store. She is a size 4 on top.

mimieliza · Nov 10, 2007

I've heard some people suggest taking off the coat, buckling her in, and then putting the coat on backwards.

Suzibeck · Nov 10, 2007

mimieliza said:
I've heard some people suggest taking off the coat, buckling her in, and then putting the coat on backwards.

Yep, that is what I do, but dh is impatient. He doesn't like to take the time to take the coat off, buckle her, put in on backwards and then reverse the process to get out. He isn't happy, but he did it without complaint when we went to church tonight.

jdchic3 · Nov 10, 2007

How far is it from the house to the car? Could she just go out to the car without the coat and then put it on backwards once in the car?

heyruthie · Nov 10, 2007

I just had a really cool idea for a carseat poncho earlier this week! At my local IKEA, they have a large fleece blanket called "IRMA" that costs (I think) $1.99. It is really nice, soft fleece. The color they had at my IKEA was an "ice blue" type hue. (Good for either boy or girl.) You could EASILY make a 2 layer poncho out of it for a small child by cutting it in half, and doubling it and cutting a head hole. Or you could make it 1 layer, if the child is bigger--or simply buy 2 for a bigger child. Total cost? $1.99-$2.98. I bought three of them for the boys' bedroom, but I'm thinking of going back for more and making carseat ponchos. All you need is scissors! No sewing

ETA:
OK, it costs $2.49. I was close! Here's a pic, and a link:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00070489

BookMama · Nov 10, 2007

My DH is impatient too, and he's the one who drops the kids off in the morning. (And I have also had a hard time finding a car seat appropriate, affordable coat that will keep DS WARM at recess when it's winter here in the Ann Arbor area.)

Here is what I've gotten my DH to do. (Apologies if you already know this trick.) DS sits in the car seat with his coat on but unzipped. He/DH buckles him, then pulls the front of the coat through the car seat straps as much as possible, then zip up the jacket. It's not perfect, but at least it's removing 50% of the bulk, and we can do it this way without loosening the harness (and that's the goal, after all).

Hope that is helpful.

Jenn · Nov 10, 2007

hmm which part of mi? I'm towards flint and have a boys small grey fleece columbia you can have if you want it.

cryswilkins · Nov 10, 2007

I was at Target today and saw a nice winder coat with a zip out fleece that was only $14.

What size is your DD? I may have something depending on the size I have 3 neices worth of hand me downs.

Suzibeck · Nov 11, 2007

Thanks everyone! We are in the Holland area, the wind can get pretty bad here by the lake. My youngest is probably a 4/5 for a coat right now. Bless those of you who have offered hand-me-downs! I'm not sure that any of them would fit dd however, but I'm touched!

This is what I'm doing at the moment to keep us both happy: Dd has a fleece hooded jacket that is too small (sleeves are good 2" too short), but she likes it, so she is wearing that with her very thin windbreaker over it to give some wind/wet protection. I have to loosen the harness a touch, but it still passes the pinch test when I take it all off.

I think I'll still watch the thrift stores for a single jacket that will meet our need, but for now, this will work.

It is kind of like the "The kids must wear socks" debate. I let them run around all day without socks and make them put them on when he is due home. He knows I do this, but it makes him feel better to see their feet covered. If their cold feet don't bother them, they don't bother me as long as they keep them off me.

Suzibeck · Nov 11, 2007

heyruthie,

I did have the same thought, although we don't have an Ikea here. I need to check out fleece prices at the local fabric store. I could even attach little pockets on the inside to keep her hands warm when we lose all of the mittens.

Are there any links that prove bulky coats are dangerous?

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