How to SAFELY wear a winter coat in carseats...

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
We are constantly asked about winter coats in our climate. Here is a safe way to wear a winter coat in the carseat. It's important to always test to make sure the harness is snug enough.

Put your child in the seat without a coat on and adjust the harness correctly. Now take your child out of the seat and do *not* loosen the harness. Put the coat on and put the child back in the seat. If you do not have to loosen the harness to make it fit, the coat is fine. If it is too bulky, read on to learn the coat trick. The coat trick allows you to keep your jacket on without compromising the tightness of the harness.

Okay, confession time...

The coat is an "on the thinner side" one from Walmart... I think it cost me $30. It is his winter coat that he wears outside to play in the snow with.

It is slightly too big for him, but I didn't want him to outgrow it half way through winter.

He is also wearing both inner and outer layers in that photo.

Did I mention this was confession time?

This is why the coat trick works... even with all those no-no's the harness is still the exact same snugness as it is with him just wearing a t-shirt.

You can see one side of the coat pulled through the harness...
2058283888_ccfdf145b9.jpg


Both sides pulled through the harness with the buckle done up...
2058283900_5cc5992131.jpg


Coat zipped up over the harness...
2058283914_271c8ec7d7.jpg
 
ADS

canadianmom2three

Active member
Ok Ok...I guess I can confess too...for short trips around town it is IMPOSSIBLE to get the car warm...we do the same, well very close anyway. Straps are right up against the shirt at the shoulders, and against the pants at the hip. The coat is behind him, and on the arms, and can even be zipped back up over the whole lot. There is no adjusting needed, the harness fits tighter than it would if he were wearing a polar fleece pullover!
IMGP1800.jpg


Longer trips though, we are always coats off - and they put it like this if they are cold.
IMGP1858.jpg
[URL="http://http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t120/canadianmom2three/Car%20Seat%20Pics/IMGP1858.jpg?t=1195866242"[/IMG]
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
Your link isn't working... you need to take one of the http:// out of the link. ;)

Nevermind, I see the pictures now. :)

We never wear the coats on longer trips either, too hot.
 

andbabiesmake4

New member
What a BRILLIANT idea zipping the coat up over the straps!! It gets SO SO cold here in the winter and I hate taking their jackets off.. but we all know that with the cold comes crappy road conditions which = more accidents.
THANK YOU for that idea! :D
 

Stacey

New member
Ahh that's a great idea!! One of those "why didn't i think of that?? DUH!" LOL. We live in the land of sideways snow. It gets soooo windy here so a perfect solution!
 

K's Mama

New member
Hmmm! I'll have to try that. We're in SK and it gets COLD here. DD (22 months/22 lbs) has been wearing her spring jacket in -20 weather and I've been feeling like a bad mom about that. So, are ski pants ok to wear in a car seat?
 

Mom2twins

New member
OK so you get in a car accident and now you have to undo a jacket and unclip the harness of the carseat? I had a discussion with my husband about this and we think that's just asking for trouble if you end up in an accident and need to get out fast! I guess we'll just be in your bad books and have the boys in their coats done up properly. We'll hope that there aren't any crazy drivers out on the roads when we're out and that nothing happens to whomever is driving.
 

K's Mama

New member
We tried that jacket trick this morning, but I still couldn't get the straps as tight as I'd have liked - I think it's because her jacket has a big hood and she's still RF'ing, so the straps are coming from below her shoulders rather than above. I think I'll try ski pants when it's really cold and leave the jacket off...

I've seriously considered buying a SafeSeat and sticking her in that for the winter - but I don't think DH would agree to buying an infant seat for a two year old...
 

Jewels

Senior Community Member
OK so you get in a car accident and now you have to undo a jacket and unclip the harness of the carseat? I had a discussion with my husband about this and we think that's just asking for trouble if you end up in an accident and need to get out fast! I guess we'll just be in your bad books and have the boys in their coats done up properly. We'll hope that there aren't any crazy drivers out on the roads when we're out and that nothing happens to whomever is driving.

Well, if you don't tighten your straps tight enough your child could get ejected from the carseat. So, I guess it depends on the lesser of two evils. I really don't think it would take that much "extra" time to unzip the zipper and then undo the rest of the carseat for you to get your child out.

If the harness' aren't tight over top of the coat as they would be without wearing the coat then the seat is not considered to be used correctly. Even Transport Canada says that winter jackets are a form of aftermarket products.


Transport Canada
Winter Clothing: Bulky snowsuits can affect the harness with respect to additional compressibility. In addition, many snowsuits are made of very slippery material. This can affect the harness system should the chest clip of the restraint not be used properly. When using bulky winter clothing ensure that the harness system is tight, compressing the material to ensure a snug fit. Check with the car seat manufacturer for alternative methods of clothing during the winter.
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
OK so you get in a car accident and now you have to undo a jacket and unclip the harness of the carseat? I had a discussion with my husband about this and we think that's just asking for trouble if you end up in an accident and need to get out fast! I guess we'll just be in your bad books and have the boys in their coats done up properly. We'll hope that there aren't any crazy drivers out on the roads when we're out and that nothing happens to whomever is driving.

You do *not* have to zip up the coat after you are done buckling the harness. It's just something my DS likes me to do. The coat folds over on itself quite easily without an actual need to zip it up.

Just so you know, if you are in an accident where they need to get your children out of the child restraint quickly... there will be NO unbuckling the harness. Children are either transported still strapped into the carseat OR the harness straps are *cut*. This is a needless worry on your part. ;) :)

I also think your last two sentences were a little uncalled for. As long as your coats are thin enough to pass the carseat test, there is no need to use this trick. If they don't pass it, then your children are NOT done up properly no matter how many times you say it. ;)
 

CDNTech

Senior Community Member
We tried that jacket trick this morning, but I still couldn't get the straps as tight as I'd have liked - I think it's because her jacket has a big hood and she's still RF'ing, so the straps are coming from below her shoulders rather than above. I think I'll try ski pants when it's really cold and leave the jacket off...

I've seriously considered buying a SafeSeat and sticking her in that for the winter - but I don't think DH would agree to buying an infant seat for a two year old...

If her jacket has a hood, it's important to make sure that the hood is not behind her body but rather on her head so that it stays out of the way of straps.

This trick is easier to do when Foward Facing. For rearfacing children I still advocate finding a thin fleece jacket and using extra blankets on top to secure the harness properly.

If this trick is not working for you, then you may need to consider another jacket. The jacket itself may be much too thick to be in a carseat period. :)

As a side note... at your daughter's size she most likely wouldn't make it through the winter in the SS1, so not really worth buying it. :eek:
 

canadianmom2three

Active member
OK so you get in a car accident and now you have to undo a jacket and unclip the harness of the carseat? I had a discussion with my husband about this and we think that's just asking for trouble if you end up in an accident and need to get out fast! I guess we'll just be in your bad books and have the boys in their coats done up properly. We'll hope that there aren't any crazy drivers out on the roads when we're out and that nothing happens to whomever is driving.

Interesting perspective....I guess we all hope that there aren't any crazy drivers out, and that nothing happens to whomever is driving, but somehow crashes keep happening despite all our hopes;) Ultimately I guess as parents we have to keep our children safe the way we best see fit...:twocents: jmo but if I am ever in an accident I'd gladly take spending the extra time unzipping my child's coat from over the harness if it meant that I didn't have to see them laying on the road cause they had been ejected from the harness...:twocents:
 

QuassEE

Moderator - CPST Instructor
OK so you get in a car accident and now you have to undo a jacket and unclip the harness of the carseat?

In a serious crash you should not remove your child from their seat at all. You're supposed to take the seat out of the car, with the child still IN the seat until the ambulance arrives. This limits movement that could potentially cause additional (generally head/neck) damage to your child.

-N.
 

Jewels

Senior Community Member
I really don't think it would take that much "extra" time to unzip the zipper and then undo the rest of the carseat for you to get your child out.

In a serious crash you should not remove your child from their seat at all. You're supposed to take the seat out of the car, with the child still IN the seat until the ambulance arrives. This limits movement that could potentially cause additional (generally head/neck) damage to your child.

-N.

I guess what I was thinking would be a burning vehicle or going under water or something where there is an emergency exit needed. I still don't think that it would take that much longer to unzip a zipper though, I think it would take more time to unbuckle and un tether a MA with a lapbelt that has to go under the bar then the zipper :twocents:
 

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