Winter coats & Car seats

::er!ca:: · Oct 19, 2008

Can someone please link me (or just give me the info) on why it is not safe for a child to wear a bulky coat while in the car seat?

I belong to a parenting forum, and I'm explaining to them how to wear a winter coat properly (found a thread here about it), and some parents don't understand why they can't just wear the winter coat under the harness. I'm explaining that if they put the child in the car seat with regular clothes on, tighten the harness, take the child out of the harness without loosening it, then put the coat on the child and put them back in the car seat they will see how tight the harness NEEDS to be, but are unable to use the harness that tight because of a bulky coat in the way.

They are not getting why it's not safe... and I want to help them understand better.

So, can you help me?!

armywife12 · Oct 19, 2008

How I have had it explained to me by techs is that the bulky clothing can compress in an accident which causes the harness to become loose and the child can be ejected from the seat. If the harness has to be loosened because of the clothing, the clothing is too bulky. I am sure others will be able to explain it a bit better.

MomToEliEm · Oct 19, 2008

Here is a good post from last December talking about winter coats and carseats.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30249

cookie123 · Oct 19, 2008

Here's a you tube video someone here made that's great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34

CarSeatPoncho · Oct 19, 2008

The parents might be thinking of their own seat belts, which have inertial mechanisms underneath the seat which will snap the seat belt taut in case there is any sudden change in speed. They might be thinking, "Oh, my belt isn't that tight, so the harness doesn't need to be, either."

Well, most car seats don't have those mechanisms, so the way the harness holds a child when you START the car is the way it will hold (or not hold) the child in a crash. If the harness is so loose you can practically lift the child out without unbuckling, what hope does that child have at even a "low" speed like 35 mph? I believe most crash test video is done at speeds of between 35 and 40 mph, and believe me, it's not a pretty sight.

Hth!

cryswilkins · Oct 19, 2008

Here are some pictures that I took to illustrate for my Birth Club.

Harness with coat on pulled as tight as I could:

With coat off and not readjusted:

Hope that helps!

hopster67 · Oct 20, 2008

OK, I get it, I understand, my question is more of a procedural one. DH is convinced DD will freeze to death in the ensuing moments of coat-less-ness. Here's how it would work, I guess: Walk out of condo, lock & shut door, go down stairs, open car, take off coat, put DD in car seat, buckle her in, wrap blankets/backwards coat on her, get into car, start car, turn on heat. At destination, turn off car, open door to cold, unbuckle DD, redress in coat, go about our business.

We were overseas last winter and did not have to deal with this issue. Now we are back in the US and in an area that does get cold in winter and I don't know how to deal with the winter coat issue. I've thought about doing all the undress/redress with me in the back seat with her, but that won't work in the event of two kids and two carseats.

Practically speaking, how do y'all do this without getting the kids cold and possibly sick? I should add that DH is from a country that panics if children are not bundled up to their noses at ALL times, and all are convinced that the slightest exposure to the elements is sure to be a ticket to dire illness. Even in stifling hot summers I was chided for not having socks & shoes on her on the "cold" stone floors and knit vests on her in the evenings (when she was finally NOT sweating from the heat!) You can imagine his horror at the very idea of not keeping a heavy winter coat on her in the car!

cryswilkins · Oct 20, 2008

In the car we use a thin fleece coat. She is plenty warm with that and a hat and gloves. On the days that I don't park in the garage or have time to warm up the car I have a double thick fleece blanket in the car for over her fleece coat.

This is the coat that we have:
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...arentCategory=500223&feat=500223-tn&cat4=3160
Or this was what we had lat year:
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...&cat4=3160&shop_method=pp&feat=3160-sub2&np=Y

Both of those are think enough to safely use in her seat with out taking her coat off.

armywife12 · Oct 20, 2008

They sell car seat ponchos for convertible car seats.
http://www.carseatponcho.com/

hopster67 said:
OK, I get it, I understand, my question is more of a procedural one. DH is convinced DD will freeze to death in the ensuing moments of coat-less-ness. Here's how it would work, I guess: Walk out of condo, lock & shut door, go down stairs, open car, take off coat, put DD in car seat, buckle her in, wrap blankets/backwards coat on her, get into car, start car, turn on heat. At destination, turn off car, open door to cold, unbuckle DD, redress in coat, go about our business.

We were overseas last winter and did not have to deal with this issue. Now we are back in the US and in an area that does get cold in winter and I don't know how to deal with the winter coat issue. I've thought about doing all the undress/redress with me in the back seat with her, but that won't work in the event of two kids and two carseats.

Practically speaking, how do y'all do this without getting the kids cold and possibly sick? I should add that DH is from a country that panics if children are not bundled up to their noses at ALL times, and all are convinced that the slightest exposure to the elements is sure to be a ticket to dire illness. Even in stifling hot summers I was chided for not having socks & shoes on her on the "cold" stone floors and knit vests on her in the evenings (when she was finally NOT sweating from the heat!) You can imagine his horror at the very idea of not keeping a heavy winter coat on her in the car!

hopster67 · Oct 20, 2008

Thank you for the advice and comments. ANy ideas are appreciated! I have a fleece jacket that might work, at least for the first part of the winter (this child is growing before my eyes!).

Again, thank you!

TechnoGranola · Oct 20, 2008

Here's an article about bulky winter clothing, with a warning from Transport Canada http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/12/19/car-seat.html

Before buckling babies and toddlers into car seats, parents should be sure to remove puffy winter jackets that may slacken seatbelts, warns Transport Canada.

Barbara Baines, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said winter coats and snowsuits may pose a serious safety hazard in the event of a crash.

"Unfortunately during a collision because there is compressing material, the weight of the child and the force of the collision is going to push that suit down — which is going to make the harness loose," Baines said Tuesday. "[This] is going to make it possible for ejection."

Nennib · Oct 20, 2008

hopster67 said:
I've thought about doing all the undress/redress with me in the back seat with her, but that won't work in the event of two kids and two carseats.

You might be surprised how quickly kids pick up on these things. I live in Canada and both my girls have rode winter coatless in the car for the past 5 winters (ODD was 2 when I learned about this safety issue). When YDD was little, I would get her undressed in the back of the car and buckle her in while her older sister got her own coat off herself. Then I would go around and buckle her in. It only took that first winter for ODD to get in the routine that coats are not worn in the car. When it came to redressing, I would unbuckle ODD, she would put her coat back on while I unbuckled and redressed YDD. Now that they are bigger, they do most of the undressing and redressing themselves.

Nenni

An Aurora · Oct 20, 2008

I always put their winter coats on and walk to the car, start the car first, then get their coats off and get them into the seat. After they are in the harness I put their coats on over their arms, or if I think of it bring warm blankets from the house to put on over their labs. We have had a few weeks' practice already this 'winter' and usually it's getting 4 kids in and out of coats and seats. I haven't heard a peep of complaint from any of them, and my 3 yo is definitley the type to let me know if she's the tiniest bit uncomfortable

Mommypooh · Oct 20, 2008

I have 3 kids and no garage so the car is really cold but my kids have no complaints. We keep blankets in teh car plus they have their coats to put on over their harness once they are in. I have to say the hardest one is my youngest since he is RF. the other two sit in their seat pull their coat off get the harness on wait for me to buckle and then we put coat on over them and then a blanket. I then get in take my coat off and put my gloves on so I can drive.

I figure I am not dying from the cold and they have an extra layer of clothes due to undershirts that I don't wear and they have their coat over their harness so they are much better off than I am with no coat.

Holly · Oct 20, 2008

I always use the Walmart 4 in 1 coats and my girls wear the inner coat in their carseat. It's no thicker than a sweatshirt, and its perfectly safe to use in the carseat. There is a fleece side and then a nylon side, it's reversible but they always wear the fleece part on the inside.
They are warm enough for the winter, my girls have never complained.
If we are going to be out in the snow, or taking a walk, anything where we are outside for a long time, they wear both the inner coat and the outer coat together for an even warmer coat. But just for walking out to the car, being in their seat then walking into the store, or grandma's house etc, the inner coat is definetly warm enough on it's own.

Here is a link to one of them: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9875359

The 3rd review down on that page is by me.
The coats come in 12 months to 5T, and boy and girl coats.
They also make coats like these in the boy and girl sections, and adults too.

scatterbunny · Oct 20, 2008

The Car Seat Poncho really is an awesome, well-made product. :thumbsup: I got to see them in person at the Lifesavers Conference last April. It would eliminate the need to undress and then re-dress.

SafeDad · Oct 20, 2008

scatterbunny said:
The Car Seat Poncho really is an awesome, well-made product. :thumbsup: I got to see them in person at the Lifesavers Conference last April. It would eliminate the need to undress and then re-dress.

:thumbsup:

Heather has a review of the Car Seat Poncho on our blog, too!

http://carseatblog.com/?p=334

CDNTech · Oct 20, 2008

We use the coat trick... but then we also live in Canada where a poncho just won't cut it. If I lived further south, I'd use a poncho.

featherhead · Oct 20, 2008

Yeah, I was going to say, the poncho wouldn't work here

But fleece jackets are great. I got my dd a nice warm vest to go over top (to be removed when in the car seat). That way I'm not totally undressing her. She should still be quite warm with the fleece jacket.

beebear23 · Oct 20, 2008

Does anyone have a good printable handout for parents about this issue? I'm in desperate need of one..
Thanks! Oh, something from the US would be best..

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