As winters are approaching I wanted to keep my baby warm but at the same time had to check if she is safe and comfortable with the jackets ON in the carseat. I had to check on this because whenever babyA is in carseat with her jackets ON she used to cry her lungs out and will be in peace if she is out from the jacket. But I had no option to keep her warm. So ended up researching and was shocked to learn that kids shouldn’t be with the Jackets in a carseat. Even the adults shouldn’t be with their jackets within the seat belt.
Now lets see why is it unsafe?
In a crash, the maximum protection for a child can be given only when the harness or seat belt is near the child. So its like the more close it is the more safe the baby is! The loose harness can fit the heavy coat but during a crash it won’t serve the purpose and the baby may even eject from the carseat. The principle is same for everyone so please donot use puffed jackets in your vehicle with the seatbelt mode ON.
How to check why is it unsafe?
1. Put the coat on and make your baby sit in the carseat and buckle the seat.
2.Tighten the harness to remove the slack.
3.Unbuckle the seat without loosing the harness.
4. Remove the coat and make the baby sit again.
Image and knowledge sharing @thecarseatlady
Now you can check yourself the gap between the child and harness. This empty air will harm the kid and it doesn’t allow us to fulfill the purpose of using a baby carseat.
So our next question lies to what will be the scenario if we are using layering technique. Will that not harm then?
It will require a little harness adjustment unlike the puffy winter jackets. The layering technique will compress the air whereas the puffy jackets have uncompressed air. So there lays an issue. The slack can checked with the help of Pinch test.
The baby doesn’t feel cold actually. This is what i have learnt from babyA and that too within a car i don’t think so they would need the puffy jackets. If at all if you feel you need an option to cover them you can cover them with a baby blanket and a hat. This has helped us till now. You can even get the Cozywoggle and Poncho which are suitable for the carseat where it doesn’t affect the harness. I started to research on this when a mommy friend of mine suggested to get a cozzgwoggle.
In fact there are many ways to use the car seat during winter. As a person who has moved recently from India, i felt spending dollars just for a cozzywoggle which she might outgrow soon wasn’t my take so i ended up using a blanket. There is no best option we will have to choose which is best for us. And I understood one point my baby is safe if i don’t introduce extra slack under the harness with almighty’s grace. Parenting is a never-ending learning process. I have learnt this part only through my daughter. Just because she cried I had to learn about the various options for warm and safe travel. She is my teacher, my guide right now. She has done her part to make me understand the safety measures and i have done my part to share with you guys! So what’s your take on this?
AlizehmySoul 