Coats and Car Seats?

CarSeatPoncho · Nov 15, 2006

Hi Everybody,

My name is Donna and I have a 3yo son. He currently rides in an Evenflo Triumph, which I love (I had a Graco ComfortSport which I hated bc I could never tighten the harness strap). I'm also a safety worry-wart who is always thinking of ways to decrease the risk of harm to my family.

Darren has given me permission to post about my invention, the Car Seat Poncho.

As a concerned mother, I this product to keep my son safe in his car seat, without a bulky winter coat. I was tired of hassling to get my then 9-month old son into his coat and then try to secure him into his car seat. I knew that that was discouraged by safety experts (including yourself!), but I could not find any feasible alternatives, so I created something myself.

It's called the Car Seat Poncho, at http://www.carseatponcho.com

It is a hooded, double-zipper poncho that drapes over the top of the car seat, and over the harness. The double zipper allows the parent access to the buckles and straps without having to remove the coat, and to tighten them as snugly as recommended. As the car warms up, the zipper can be opened so that the child does not overheat. And since it is a product for the CHILD, and not for the CARSEAT, it goes in and out of the car WITH the child (it does not stay with the car seat), there is no need for the parent to bring a coat, too.

It makes the parent's life easier, is more comfortable for the child, and most importantly, keeps the child safe.

Available in 11 colors, for boys and girls. One size fits 6 -36 months.

Feel free to ask me any questions or offer any comments/suggestions.
Thanks for reading!

stayinhomewithmy6 · Nov 15, 2006

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the looks of these! I can't seem to find prices or add any to my 'cart' on the website - is it not functioning fully yet? Also, do you think you'll have a bigger size available any time soon (say, like, for a 4-6 yr old)? Thanks for posting your invention!

CarSeatPoncho · Nov 15, 2006

Prices and Cart

Hi Stayinhome,
Prices are $48 or $49, depending on the fabric type or reversability, and should be visible when you click on the product NAME (not the picture) on the store page (clicking on the icons on the front page only shows a bigger product view).

Here is the link to the shopping page:

http://www.hbarryboollc.com/shopnow.html

It was working as of last night. I'll check it right now just to make sure.

Feel free to post any other questions or comments. I'm glad you like them

Thanks,
Donna

Jewels · Nov 15, 2006

My only concern is where we live it gets COLD; I mean really COLD! Come Jan/Feb there are times when the school is closed because the buses don't run because of the possibility of the bus getting stuck or breaking down, it is just too cold out for anyone to be stranded in the middle of no where (and I do mean no where). Last year I remember it getting below -47'C plus a wind chill (sorry I don't know what that is in F). We live in a small town, have command start and do start our car to warm it up, but it doesn't warm very quickly. I don't like coats in cars because the harness isn't tight enough, although last year my graco comfortsport wouldn't even tighten properly because it was soooo cold. For long drives we never wear our winter coats, but in town I don't think it is safe not to wear them. Although I like this poncho, I just don't think they would be warm enough!

Anybody else live where it gets this cold? What do you do?

Jewels · Nov 15, 2006

I did a quick check and -40'C is -40'F. So it gets colder then that here

skaterbabs · Nov 15, 2006

Keep wool & fleece blankets in the car (fleece-backed wool is VERY warm, and waterproof to boot!) and just cover up with those.

Coats in the car are NEVER safe, and winter weather is often a factor in serious crashes. (Ice caused my rollover four years ago.)

Victorious4 · Nov 15, 2006

I just have a ditto to Rebekah's reply

I keep a few $10-15 fleece throw blankets in the car to cuddle up around Leila after she's buckled in the carseat (without coat) ... I keep those crak-n-shake heat packs in the car for her (not safe for infants/toddlers) & when possible I warm up the car in advance, usually with her carseat installed outboard so I can climb in with her so I close the door against the cold while I help her.

becca011906 · Nov 15, 2006

my dh is starting to agrue with me over the coats... this is the first year i was aware that they needed to be removed, i'm always just adjusted the seats... now i now better,but about every other time that we have to wait for the kids to get their coats on he says, i'm going to changed thoes it's to cold to have to deal with waiting while we are standing outside... it doesn't even take that long, i mean maybe 1.5min... arrrggg anyone have some links...

Victorious4 · Nov 15, 2006

What vehicle do you have?

Is there any chance of arranging the kids & seats so that there's space for you to climb in to help them with the door closed against the cold? He can keep his frustrated behind up front for 1.5 minutes where it's warm, LOL...!

CarSeatPoncho · Nov 15, 2006

I feel for you all

in the upper reaches! That is waaaaaaaaay cold!

Definitely, the Car Seat Poncho is recommended for temps between 30 and 60 degrees F. In my part of NJ, that covers anywhere from Sept to Dec, and then late Feb - early April. In during cold snaps (Jan or Feb) where the temp would dip into the 20s or teens, I would dress my son in one extra layer over his regular shirt/sweater (something like a fleece or lined windbreaker) and then use the poncho.

I have never had the experience of dressing a child for -40C, but it sounds like you all who do have it down -- those are great ideas.

FYI, when I was developing different versions of the Car Seat Poncho, one of my prototypes used an old down jacket of mine. I cut off the arms and sewed the armholes closed, and replaced the zip with one of my double-pull reversible zips. My then 15-month old son looked a little odd but he was warm as toast -- AND SAFE!

Windproof and quilted (down or poly) versions are definitely in the works, as is a 3T/4T version.

Thanks for all your posts and definitely feel free to send any more questions. You can also reach me at donna@hbarryboollc.com

Victorious4 · Nov 16, 2006

I just know my Leila would fawn all over 'em

mamato2 · Nov 16, 2006

Becky, my dh is the same way! Our kids are 8 and 5 and can take their coats off and on just fine on their own and are happy to do it (it's automatic for the 5yr old, the 8 yr old remembers the 'old days' when we didn't

). Kids rarely ride with him but he drops our 8yr old off at school each morning...well he walks her in. He doesn't like to wait for her to put her coat back on or have her do it in the 'cold'...

None of her coats are terribly 'poofy' so I just swallow hard and tell her to pull the harness as tight as possible and if possible keep the coat unzipped and out of the harness all together. I have to admit she is pretty slow and everything must be 'just right' so the whole coat, backpack etc. 'thing' could make her late for school on a regular basis.
C.

skaterbabs · Nov 16, 2006

Honestly, your daughter is not going to freeze to death in the time it takes her to walk into the school building. Take the coat off.

thepeach80 · Nov 16, 2006

Jewels said:
I did a quick check and -40'C is -40'F. So it gets colder then that here

It got colder than that regularly in Alaska and we still had to go to school, lol, I'm jealous.

We never had school called off, sometimes we got to leave early b/c of ice fog, but that was it.

Jewels · Nov 16, 2006

thepeach80 said:
It got colder than that regularly in Alaska and we still had to go to school, lol, I'm jealous. We never had school called off, sometimes we got to leave early b/c of ice fog, but that was it.

I believe the rule here is -43'C before school gets cancelled, but that isn't in the city that is in rurual areas (middle of now where in farm country!). It often gets colder then this during the cold spells.

So what do you do about coats in weather this cold?

skaterbabs · Nov 16, 2006

You use blankets in the car, thin layers, and fleece. That coat isn't going to help your child if he or she is ejected from the car seat. Put the coat on backwards after buckling.

thepeach80 · Nov 16, 2006

I don't live there now, but we always started the car ahead of time and we usually took our coats off in the car just b/c we as teens often got too hot. I'd hate to have my kids stuck in their seats and be too hot. I think we can get through this winter in their old coats from last year, but next year we're getting one of those coats that has the zip out fleece inner that they can wear in their seat and then a thicker one they can wear over it. I'm not sure how Canada is, but we often left our cars running (locked of course) while we went to the store. lol So they were nice and warm when we came back out. Here I tend to take the blankets for the kids in if I can (this of course depends on # of children and size of blanket, lol) so they are warm to use in their seats. We have a new van though so it doesn't take long to warm up. The putting the coats on backwards in the seat though, is about the best idea.

Jewels · Nov 16, 2006

thepeach80 said:
I don't live there now, but we always started the car ahead of time and we usually took our coats off in the car just b/c we as teens often got too hot. I'd hate to have my kids stuck in their seats and be too hot. I think we can get through this winter in their old coats from last year, but next year we're getting one of those coats that has the zip out fleece inner that they can wear in their seat and then a thicker one they can wear over it. I'm not sure how Canada is, but we often left our cars running (locked of course) while we went to the store. lol So they were nice and warm when we came back out. Here I tend to take the blankets for the kids in if I can (this of course depends on # of children and size of blanket, lol) so they are warm to use in their seats. We have a new van though so it doesn't take long to warm up. The putting the coats on backwards in the seat though, is about the best idea.

Yes if I am just running quickly into a store I do leave the car running and if I am longer and turn the car off I always start it to warm up before I come out to the car.

Right now I am using a light jacket and a blanket around him

Thanks for your imput

Lea_Ontario · Nov 16, 2006

thepeach80 said:
I don't live there now, but we always started the car ahead of time and we usually took our coats off in the car just b/c we as teens often got too hot. I'd hate to have my kids stuck in their seats and be too hot. I think we can get through this winter in their old coats from last year, but next year we're getting one of those coats that has the zip out fleece inner that they can wear in their seat and then a thicker one they can wear over it. I'm not sure how Canada is, but we often left our cars running (locked of course) while we went to the store. lol So they were nice and warm when we came back out. Here I tend to take the blankets for the kids in if I can (this of course depends on # of children and size of blanket, lol) so they are warm to use in their seats. We have a new van though so it doesn't take long to warm up. The putting the coats on backwards in the seat though, is about the best idea.

Go 8 floors up in a high-rise apartment, using underground parking (so 10 floors above our car), and a car without a remote starter - starting up early is NOT an option for us.

And most places I know of have anti-idling laws, so you cannot legally leave your car running while you run inside the store, etc.

I keep a pile of towels in the back of the car - in part for warmth - in part because DD still gets carsick occasionally and it's easy clean-up.

CarSeatPoncho · Nov 16, 2006

Convenience

With the Car Seat Poncho, there is no need to take coats on and off. The poncho goes on the child when he/she is in the house, stays on while in the car, and comes out of the car seat and car when the child does.

And because the Car Seat Poncho surrounds the child and the car seat during the ride, there are no cold air leaks or gaps in coverage during the ride. Also, the Car Seat Poncho cannot slip off the child while you are driving (and cannot turn around to help).

In the works, based on feedback: larger sizes and windproof/insulated versions! Thanks ladies!

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