The holidays are a fun and exciting time of year, but for many of us, they also bring cold weather, snow, and some dangerous driving conditions. And, unfortunately, many parents still aren’t following wintertime car seat safety recommendations.
According to USA Today, the number of winter-weather-related car accidents “dwarfs” the number of deaths resulting from tornadoes, hurricanes or flood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also lists motor vehicle injuries as a leading cause of death among children in the United States, with nearly HALF of all car seats being installed incorrectly (reports USA TODAY).
It’s pretty clear why this is an important issue.
When it comes to winter car seat safety, the biggest things to remember is that you should never be dressing your kids in big, puffy winter jackets before buckling them in.
Although it may seem safe, over the course of time, the fluff in these jackets compress, leaving an average of FOUR INCHES of harness slack. Although it doesn’t seem like much, Miriam Manary from the University of Michigan Transport Research Institute has indeed demonstrated that 4 inches significantly increases the risk of injury for children, particularly injuries to the head. Turns out four inches make it more likely that your child’s head will hit the back of the front seat during a collision; the worst part is the child is also more likely to lean lower and hit the part of the seat that is not required to be padded for safety. Here’s a video demonstrating the effect:
To see if your child’s winter coat is too bulky to be used with their car seat, just do the following little test:
- Buckle them into the seat while wearing the coat, making sure the straps are well adjusted.
- Remove them from the car seat
- Re-buckle them into the car seat without wearing the coat. If the straps are now too loose and require adjustment, your child’s coat is too bulky.
So what? Are we just supposed to let them freeze?
Yes.
Ha! Just kidding. Of course not. Alisa Baer, pediatrician and car seat safety expert, says you need to layer your child’s clothing, making sure each item is tight and form-fitting. “So, for example, dress your baby in a onesie and leggings. Top that with a long sleeve shirt and a tight getting sweater. Then add a thin warm fleece jacket and pants,” Scary Mommy suggests.
Baer also suggests taking the length of the ride into consideration. A shorter ride will likely not give the car very much time to heat up, so you should dress your child a bit warmer. For a longer ride, they won’t need as many layers because you don’t want to overheat them either!
Regardless of whether you choose to layer or purchase a thin snowsuit, you should always have the child’s big winter coat on hand in case of a collision or emergency breadown.
As mentioned, winter driving can be dangerous. With the number of children already sustaining injuries due to improper car seat safety, it’s important that we keep them safe in any we that we can.
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