As the colder months are quickly approaching, we want to talk about how to keep our kids safe and warm in the car.
Snowsuits, Bulky Coats, and Bunting Bags
In the event of a crash, the harness of a car seat is designed to keep your child safely inside the seat. How does extra padding from a snowsuit, bulking coat, or bunting bag affect your child’s safety?
- The extra padding can compress or squish down in a crash, making the straps suddenly too loose to properly protect your child.
- The extra bulk can change how the harness is placed on your child’s body; in a crash this could cause injury to your child.
How to Safely Keep Your Child Warm in the Car
Infant Seat
- Dress your child in thin, snug fitting layers.
- Dress your child in hats, mittens, and boots.
- Add a blanket over your child once they are safely buckled in and/or
- Add a cover that goes over top of an infant car seat like a shower cap (some car seat companies still recommend you remove a shower cap style cover when the seat is in use in the car, please check both the cover and car seat manuals).
Convertible Seat (Rear Facing and Forward Facing)
- Dress your child in thin, snug fitting layers.
- Dress your child in hats, mittens, and boots.
- Add a blanket over your child once they are safely buckled in.
Booster Seat
- Dress your child in thin, snug fitting layers.
- Dress your child in hats, mittens, and boots.
- Add a blanket over your child once they are safely buckled in OR
- Unzip your child’s coat so that the lap belt stays low and snug across the hips.
Tips
- Fleece is a great top layer that keeps heat in without being too bulky.
- Kids can wear puffy winter gear on top of their light layers on the way to and from the car.
- Once buckled, older kids can wear their coat backwards over their arms to stay warm.
- Once the car heats up, kids can kick the blankets and coats off, so they don’t get too hot. Caregivers should remove the blankets for younger babies who can overheat.
- Remember light layers under the straps and warm layers over the straps.