As the cold winter approaches, we start to look for out child s next winter coat, be it that duffle from Boden or the snow suit from Petit Bateau. Never a thought did I give to the thickness of the coat or how that could affect my child’s safety in the car. Did you know that thick winter coats or snowsuits can compromise your child's car seat safety.
In order for a baby car seat or toddler booster seat to function properly, the straps need to remain tight against the child's chest. Winter coats and snowsuits make car seat safety difficult because they change the way a child fits into the car seat. When the car seat straps don't fit the child properly, there is a chance the child could be ejected from the car seat.
The car seat harness needs to stay close to the child's body at all times. All coats and clothing will compress in a crash, but thicker winter coats and snowsuits could compress enough to create a lot of slack in the harness, allowing the child to be ejected from the car seat.
Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety
It's easy to check and see whether a baby's winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat. This test will show you how thick the coat is and how much the coat will compress during a crash.
Take the car seat into the house.
Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
Take the coat off your child.
If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child's shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat.
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