January 8, 2024

Winter Car Seat Safety Tips

As a rule, winter coats should not be worn underneath in your child’s car seat because they can leave the harness too loose to be effective in a crash. Here’s a simple way to check whether your child’s coat is too big to wear underneath a harness:

1.Put the coat on your child, sit them in the car seat, and fasten the harness. Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the straps between your thumb and index finger.

2.Without loosening the straps, unfasten them and remove your child from the car seat. Take the coat off, put your child back in the car seat, and buckle the straps, without adjusting their tightness.

3.If you can pinch the straps between your thumb and index finger, the coat is too bulky to be worn safely in your car seat.

How to keep your child warm and safe:

1. Consider pre-warming the car before putting your child in it.

2. Wrap them in a blanket to keep them cozy while you drive.

3. Use a Thinsulate or fleece lined but thin jacket as your car seat jacket and leave the snowsuit at daycare during the week.

4. After securing your child in their car seat, if they will keep it on, put their coat on backwards so their coat serves as a blanket resting on top of the straps.