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Page 8 of 9 Cold Weather Tips Keeping Baby Warm Keeping the baby warm is very important. Unfortunately, products designed to keep the baby warm can also make your baby unsafe in the car. Even winter coats can be dangerous in the car! Here's why: The Parachute Comparison The whole idea of the car seat is to act as your child’s parachute in a crash. 30mph feels the same to the body as if you jumped from a 3rd story window and landed on the pavement. You would be absolutely crazy to jump – but if you had to, you’d rather land with a parachute, since you would land as slowly and gently as possible. If your child’s car seat is secured tightly to the vehicle, and the straps are snug to the child’s body, the child will come to the slowest, gentlest stop possible in a crash. If, however, the car seat is loose to the vehicle and/or the straps are loose to the child’s body, the child still needs to come to a stop – but it becomes a much more jolting stop, like landing on your feet, and that's what hurts and causes injuries. If you were about to jump out of a plane, you wouldn’t wear anything fluffy between your body and your parachute harness. If you did, you'd be afraid that the harness wouldn’t hold you tight. The same thing goes for your child – you don’t want to put anything bulky like coats, snowsuits, buntings, Bundle Mes, body supports, strap covers, etc between the back of the car seat and the harness straps, since any of these things will prevent the straps from being snug to the child’s actual body. Aftermarket Products Many parents purchase sleeping bag type devices to keep their kids warm in the car seat. These products are UNSAFE, since they have a layer between the child and the car seat, a layer that will add too much slack into the harness straps and thus prevent the car seat from allowing the child to come to a gentle stop in a crash. Many of these devices also have a second problem--the strap slots on the product do not line up with the strap slots on the car seat. This causes the car seat straps to fall off the child's shoulders, and could lead to the child coming out of the seat during a crash! Even if the product says it was safety tested, it is still NOT SAFE. In order to sell a child safety seat in the US, the seat has to pass rigorous crash test standards to prove that it is safe. However, in order to sell a product for use with a child safety seat---but one that does not come with the seat---there are NO standards or crash tests required! Despite what such "aftermarket" products may claim, the child safety seat manufacturers feel that using such products may be unsafe and violates the warranty on the child safety seat. We have included a chart below with each car seat manufacturer's recommendation regarding these products.  Winter CoatsHave you ever struggled to just get the harness buckled when your child is wearing a coat? Do you notice the straps sliding off the child’s shoulders when the chlid wears a coat? Do you notice that when you take the coats off the straps seem very, very loose? If this happens to you, TAKE OFF YOUR CHILD'S COAT before putting him in his car seat. Wearing a heavy coat prevents the car seat straps from tightening against the child's body. The straps may seem tight, but that's only because the child is wearing a bulky coat. The girls in this photo are UNSAFE! Their coats prevent the straps from getting tight and buckling properly. How can you tell if your child's coat is safe to use in the car seat? Buckle your child into their car seat with their coat on & get the straps snug. Take the child out of the car seat, remove their coat, and rebuckle the child into the straps. Firmly pull upwards on the shoulder straps – you should notice no slack coming up, and only enough room for one finger to fit between the child’s collar bone and the strap. If the straps are looser than this, then the coat is not safe for the car. How do I keep my child warm if I can't put his coat on or use a sleeping bag in the car seat? Newborns and Babies Dress your baby in thin, tight layers. For example, put on a long sleeved onesie, footie pants, and a thin sweater. Put a hat on the baby's head. Put your baby in the car seat and strap her in properly, making sure you pull up on the shoulder straps to get all the slack out of the legs/stomach area, and then pulling tightly on the adjuster tail. The straps should be so tight that you can fit only one finger between the baby's body and the straps. Once your child is in the car seat, tuck blankets around her to keep her warm. Use as many blankets as you want, being sure to keep them away from her face. Or use a fleece cover designed specifically for the car seat--see our Car Seat Lady Approved product page for a list of covers that will keep the baby warm and toasty. As the car warms up, you can pull off blankets or unzip the fleece cover to prevent your baby from overheating.  Toddlers and Older KidsRemember, kids get uncomfortable when dressed in bulky layers because they feel restricted and soon overheat when the car warms up. Dress your child in thin, tight layers under his coat, as if it was 50 degree weather outside. For example, under his coat, put your son in an undershirt, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater. Keep your child's coat on until you get to the car. At the car, take your child's coat off and quickly buckle him into his car seat. Make sure you pull up firmly on the shoulder straps to get all the slack out of the legs/stomach area and then pull firmly on the tail to tighten the straps. Have your child stick out his arms and put the coat on backwards. The best part about this is not only is he safer, but he also won’t overheat as the car gets warmer--he can pull the coat off when he gets hot. Car Seat Manufacturer's Opinion on Coats and Aftermarket Products Here is what the car seat manufacturers have to say about coats and aftermarket products. These excerpts were taken directly from the child safety seat instruction manuals.
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