By now, probably most of us know that it can be pretty hazardous to dress our children in winter coats while sitting in a car seat. This is very important for car seat safety and if don’t have a clue what we are talking about let us give you an explanation. Alisa Baer, MD, explained that snowsuits and puffy winter coats add a significant bulk to the seat harness straps.
However, sleeping bags like “Bundle Me” can be also pretty problematic because of their thick layer which adds additional slack to the seat harness straps. The physics behind dressing your child in puffy coats can be a significant car seat issue indeed.
In a high impact car crash scenario, the snowsuit or puffy coat will be forced to push all that air out of it. This will leave your kid too loosely harnessed. Therefore, it’s vital that the seat harness fit securely and properly.
If not, kids whose straps are around four inches loose can have major problems being propelled way farther out of the seat during a crash.
That said, dressing them in puffy clothes will leave them more vulnerable in a car crash scenario.
So, now that you are on board with this car seat safety idea, let us talk about what you can do to keep your children warm. It is all about dressing the children in form-fitting, tight clothing in order to not add additional bulk to the seat, making the harness too lose. For example, you should dress your child in leggings and an onesie. You can top that with tight fitting sweater and long sleeve shirt. You can then add a warm fleece pants and jacket. Dr. Alisa Baer highly recommends this because it is usually thick enough while keeping your children warm.
At last, here are some official facts and statistics for child passenger safety. Continue reading
