This post was originally published on November 24, 2016
The latest update to this post was made 2 years ago.

This Common Wintertime Mistake Could Cost Your Child Their Life

Every parent wants to keep their child warm in the winter time. The most common way we do this is by having our children wear puffy winter coats. Did you know that puffy winter coats and snowsuits are NOT safe for your child to wear in their car seat? See the reason why this common wintertime mistake is made is demonstrated in the video below.

In the event of a crash, the forces exerted on the car seat and your child compress the air in their puffy coat which means that your child is not buckled in as snugly as you thought. The extra space created by the layers of the coat compressing leaves enough room for your child to be thrown forward an unsafe distance in their seat, they could even be ejected from their seat.

So how are you supposed to keep your child safe AND warm in their car seat? There are many different alternatives to puffy winter coats to keep your child warm in the car. You can use blankets (over the buckled harness), wear snug fleece coats, or unzip and pull the coat out of the harness before buckling your child up so the harness clip sits snugly against your child; just to name a few.

You are probably wondering how to figure out if your child’s coat is safe to wear in the car seat. Watch this mom demonstrate how to do a car seat test on your child’s winter coat.

Though there are many different alternatives to puffy winter coats to keep your children warm while riding in their car seats, if you live somewhere that experiences harsh winters with low temperatures and frequent snow storms, some of these options might not be the best. For instances such as this there are special winter coats that are specifically designed with your child’s safety in the car seat in mind.

The CozyWoggle was invented by a mom who learned that winter coats were not safe for use in the car seat. The coat unzips on both sides making a unique solution that keeps your child warm, while also keeping them safe. See the video here!

Another car seat safe winter coat is The Road Coat by One Kid. This coat has a unique 2 layer design that consists of an outer puffy layer and an inner thin layer. The outer layer unzips to allow your child to be buckled snugly into their car seat, once buckled and tightened the outer layer can be zipped up for maximum warmth.

Be sure to like and share this with your friends, you could save a life!
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Tags: #carseat #carseatsafety #winter #wintersafety #wintercarseatsafety #cozywoggle #onekidroadcoat