Bulky sweaters coats or fleece garments prevent a snug fit of the car seat harness on your child.
Child safety seats and winter coats.
This is scary because another statistic says 96 of parents believe their child safety seats are installed correctly.
Winter is a tricky time for car seats.
Buckle me baby car seat coats are the easiest safest car seat friendly coats that end car seat struggles for parents.
Experts at the american academy of pediatrics and nhtsa recommend no coats or bulky clothing should be worn in car seats.
As a general rule bulky clothing including winter coats and snowsuits should not be worn underneath the harness of a car seat.
First adjust the harness while your child s coat is off.
In the winter puffy coats are the biggest contributor to loose harness straps.
Car seat technicians also say to put nothing thicker than a sweatshirt on your child under the harness straps of a car seat.
In a car crash fluffy padding immediately flattens out from the force leaving extra space under the harness.
Experts at the nhtsa and american academy of pediatrics recommend parents take dangerous traditional coats off in the car seat.
A child can then slip through the straps and be thrown from the seat.
Put the coat on your child sit him or her in the car seat and fasten the harness.
You might think your child is securely snug in the car seat when in fact the harness is not tight enough because there is so much air in the coat or clothing.
Despite puffy and thick coats being dangerous children will still feel a chill when they first get in the car.
This video will show you how to do the pinch test to make sure the harness is snug enough.
In his excellent report for today on this issue reporter jeff rossen stated.
The convenience is just not worth the risk.
Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the webbing with your thumb and forefinger.
How to keep your child warm.
Here s a solution that could work.
Bulky winter coats can pose a serious threat when worn under the straps of car seats and even booster seats by creating too much space in between your child s body and the harness itself.
Meanwhile these misuses increase a child s risk of injury during a crash.
Winter coats and car seats can be a dangerous combination.