Cold Weather, Safe Kids!
Here in the Lehigh Valley, we are fortunate to enjoy the best of all four seasons. Right now, we are in the midst of what can optimistically be called the "best" part of winter: icicles hanging from our porches, snow blanketing the ground, and the ever-exciting pastime of watching the weather report for news of the next winter storm. It's also COLD...very cold.
As we muddle through these frigid temps trying to stay as warm as we can, it is a good time to brush up on an important topic: keeping kids warm and safe in their car seats or booster seats.
Many parents and caregivers aren't aware that bulky coats and snowsuits aren't supposed to be worn in car seats or booster seats. While there are several practical reasons for this (risk of overheating and discomfort, to name a few), there is also a crucial safety reason. Bulky coats can prevent the car seat's harness from being able to be properly tightened. Even though the harness may seem tight over the coat, in the event of a crash the coat's bulk will compress, causing too much extra slack in the harness and putting the child at risk for significant injury or even ejection from their seat.
This video from a local Philadelphia news station explains it more. (Don't worry, it is a fairly "low trigger" video and does not show graphic or upsetting footage of car crashes.)
So what can you do to keep your kids warm in the car if they can't keep their coats on?
Layers are your best friend! While keeping 1-2 thin layers on your child's body, you can add additional layers on top of the harness in the form of blankets. You can even put their coat back on backwards overtop of their harness. Personally, my kids love using fluffy sherpa blankets (we got ours at Costco for around $10) that we keep in the car for this purpose. I am able to tuck them in snugly around their shoulders and they are warm and toasty by the time I hit the gas. Here is my 6 year old feeling cozy on a recent single digit temp day.
The other great thing about blankets is that they can easily be removed once the car warms up, which leads me to another important safety point: be careful with small infants as they can quickly become overheated if they are over-bundled. Using a "shower cap" type of car seat cover that stretches around the top of an infant seat is permitted, but it is recommended to remove it or at least fully open it in the car so that the baby doesn't get overheated. Remember that the type of car seat liners that go under the baby are NOT safe or recommended.
Many parents and caregivers naturally wonder what constitutes a "thin" layer. For example, what about a sweatshirt? A fleece? A hoodie? A windbreaker? There are even some specific (and pricey) products on the market that are touted as car seat safe. How do you know if these are safe or not?
There is a simple way to make this determination - but it requires a little bit of scientific experimentation. Just think of it as a little bit of extra effort in exchange for a lot of extra safety and peace of mind. What you want to do is put your child in the clothing item you are wanting to test. Buckle them into their car seat and tighten it to pass the pinch test (making sure you can't pinch any slack in the webbing at their shoulders). Then, unbuckle the harness WITHOUT loosening it, and take the child out of the seat. Remove the article of clothing and buckle them back into the seat, again without loosening or tightening the harness strap at all. Then check for tightness again. If you can pinch webbing together at the shoulders, the harness is not properly tightened and the clothing item is not safe to be worn in the seat. If the harness is tight enough to pass the pinch test, then that item of clothing is ok to be worn in the seat.
I will share a personal story about this. One freezing evening, my kids and I were coming out of the movie theater at the Promenade Shops. We wanted to stop at Old Navy (same mall, about 3 parking lots over). It was the kind of cold that hurts your face, and, not wanting to stand outside for even one second longer buckling my daughter into her car seat, I reasoned, I'm a CPST. I'm really good at adjusting car seats. I'm just going to put her in with her winter coat *just this once* and I'll MAKE it work for the one minute drive! Long story short, after standing there for far too long trying to muscle her little arms into the pre-tightened harness, she finally looked at me and said, "Mommy, I just need to take my coat off." Yep, she's a CPST's child all right! At 6, almost 7, my twins now instinctively take off their coats as we are approaching the car. Even though they're riding in booster seats with the vehicle seatbelt now, I know they are much safer without their bulky coats - in fact, even adults are safer without bulky coats in the car.
For those of you in the trenches of daycare drop off with multiple kids having to take coats on and off multiple times - I see you. I was you. Hang in there. I promise your children's safety is worth it! And one day you will experience the joy of bundling your kids all up in the morning and walking them to the bus stop, where you can send them on their merry way without a single wardrobe adjustment. Until then - hang in there!
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