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Home / Winter Coats and Car Seats Don’t Mix – #CarSeatSafety

Winter Coats and Car Seats Don’t Mix – #CarSeatSafety

Disclosure:  If you have any questions about your child and their car seat please consult with a Licensed Car Seat Technician, you can find one here: http://cert.safekids.org/

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about Car Seat Safety on The Car Seat Lady’s site. Also, you can check out our posts from our own CPST, Dana Lange at Buckle Up Detroit.

So it’s wintertime and it’s cold, you bundle your kids in to get in the car and now you have to adjust the straps on your child’s car seat to accommodate their bulky coat.  Did you know that that adjustment can put your child at risk?

According to the American Association of Pediatrics bulky clothing, including winter coats and snowsuits, can compress in a crash and lead to increased risk of injury. Ideally, dress your child in thinner layers and tuck a coat or a blanket around your child over the buckled harness straps if needed.

So basically, the extra bulk can compress in a car accident and leave enough room for your child to be ejected from their car seat and can cause serious injury.    We demonstrate how to test a coat in the video below:

There are a few solutions for this situation.    

1.  Take off the coat and wear it backward OVER the straps.  
This option allows for the child to take off their coat once the car warms up.  Basically, take off the child’s coat, buckle them in (without the coat) then place the coat on over the straps backward.    

2.  Cover the child with a blanket over the straps.  
Similar to option one.  The child can remove the blanket once the car warms up.    

3. Layer
Dress your child in tight thin layers.  See The Car Seat Lady’s recommendations here.  

4.  Use a car seat Poncho.  
The Poncho allows for the child to wear a coat while outside.  The back lifts up over the back of the car seat and the straps are buckled under the front.  So there is no outer material between the seat buckles and child.     You can purchase a Car Seat Poncho from the locally owned (amazon affiliate link) Birdy Boutique.

Check out this uber cute unicorn poncho!!!

5.  Use a car seat safe coat.  How do you know if a coat is safe?  We show you in this video below. One Kid Road Coat is one coat that is designed to keep kids warm and safe in the car. Check out our One Kid Road Coat review. Alternatively, you can purchase the Buckle Me Baby from Modern Natural Baby in Ferndale.

Amber Louchart
Author: Amber Louchart

Amber is the proud mother to four beautiful children, Damian (27), Rosaleigh (14), Carlyn (11), and Naomi (8). Her family also includes four cats. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and feels blessed to be able to care for her children full-time and provide them with so many opportunities through Metro Detroit Mommy. In addition to Metro Detroit Mommy, Amber has a passion for hosting karaoke with Malibu Entertainment.  She enjoys the metro Detroit nightlife especially, singing, dancing and meeting new people.