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Original poster

Do you do coats in car seats?

143 replies

countdowntobaby2020 · 30/11/2023 21:32

I always thought coats in car seats were a big safety no so when doing the nursery run both my kids (3 and 1) travel in normal clothes with a blanket over the car seat. Then when we arrive at nursery it's literally straight in (I'm talking seconds) so I don't put the coats on, same on the return journey. I've stuck to this the last 3 years but on these last few days where it's been really cold I've just felt really guilty when literally every other child is getting out their car with winter coats on and I feel like they must think i'm crazy!
So just wanting a wider view, is this just a thing at my nursery or does everyone do big coats in car seats and I'm the odd one out?!

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ItsBaltic · 01/12/2023 07:49

Thin coats, yes. Bulky coats/snowsuits, etc., no.

A blanket over a newborn is fine. A blanket over a 3 year old isn't going to stay on long enough to close the car door.

DietrichandDiMaggio · 01/12/2023 07:56

PuttingDownRoots · 01/12/2023 06:13

The no coat in car seat advice was around when my 12yo was a baby. It isn't that new.

As the previous poster and I said, our children are much older, mine late 20s, so we would not have been aware of more recent guidance for children, but have also not heard that adults shouldn't wear coats either.

DietrichandDiMaggio · 01/12/2023 07:57

RichardMarxisinnocent · 01/12/2023 07:37

I don't have children so have never needed to look up car seat safety, but if not wearing a coat is advised for adults too, how come there's never been a safety campaign about it? How am I supposed to have found out? Should I be googling every couple of years for something like "updated adult car safety advice"? Though without having read on this thread about coats I would have had no idea that it was something I ought to check regularly.

This is what I am questioning too.

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StillWantingADog · 01/12/2023 07:59

Nope. Coats were sometimes chucked on as blankets

I have never understood why people wrap up with scarves/hats/big coats to go outside for 2 seconds then sit in the car (which warms very quickly before you ask). We tend to throw coats in the boot and just get in, sort ourselves out the other end.

Girlontherailreplacementbusservice · 01/12/2023 08:00

Nope. Mostly because of compression but also because if its cold I have the car heater on, it warms up after about 2 minutes and there is then the over heating risk (when babies). Unsquashy layers and a fleece blanket over the top which could be removed as soon as the heater kick in.

kneehightoacat · 01/12/2023 08:02

For a ten min local trip where we can't go more than 20 mph . Coat is fine

Long journeys, no

ohtowinthelottery · 01/12/2023 08:13

My youngest has just turned 27. There was no such coat advice back then - but then again they travelled forward facing and into booster seats at a much earlier age! I've only ever read about this on Mumsnet.
I always wear my coat in the car - as do the rest of the family. If it's such a risk why is it not publicised more?

IVbumble · 01/12/2023 08:21

Put coats on back to front in kids car seats once they are strapped in. So their arms are in the sleeves and the coat is like a blanket over them but the coat isn't beneath the restraining harness.

StillWantingADog · 01/12/2023 08:22

RichardMarxisinnocent · 01/12/2023 07:37

I don't have children so have never needed to look up car seat safety, but if not wearing a coat is advised for adults too, how come there's never been a safety campaign about it? How am I supposed to have found out? Should I be googling every couple of years for something like "updated adult car safety advice"? Though without having read on this thread about coats I would have had no idea that it was something I ought to check regularly.

children are far more vulnerable in an accident generally, I think. Smaller bones and that.

StillWantingADog · 01/12/2023 08:24

StillWantingADog · 01/12/2023 08:22

children are far more vulnerable in an accident generally, I think. Smaller bones and that.

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actually more to the point kids are more vulnerable to overheating, especially in a cosy car seat

TruthThatsHardAsSteel · 01/12/2023 08:24

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 30/11/2023 21:36

Not a chance and even as adults we don't wear our coats with a seat belt. Very dangerous.

Can you tell me more? I've never heard this as adult

TruthThatsHardAsSteel · 01/12/2023 08:25

TruthThatsHardAsSteel · 01/12/2023 08:24

Can you tell me more? I've never heard this as adult

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Oh I think it's been explained sorry

Nightmarerels · 01/12/2023 08:26

Never, used to use the coat as a cover for short car journeys and have a fleece blanket for anything longer. Also kept a bag with a heavy blanket and waterproof cover in the car for long winter journeys in case of breakdowns in bad weather.

BertieBotts · 01/12/2023 08:35

The problem for adults is about the belt being pushed too high so it's on the stomach not the hips. There are lots of ways this can happen, not just by wearing a coat. For example having your seat in a reclined position, certain sitting postures. Carrying extra weight can also cause the belt to run too high. You might have been advised in pregnancy to tuck the belt under your bump, this continues to apply when not pregnant.

This Think! booklet refers to the need for the seatbelt to be snug across the pelvis without explaining why/what the mechanism is.

https://www.think.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DfT_SeatBeltBooklet.pdf

The information might also be in the safety or seatbelts section of your car manual. Along with advice about how to adjust your headrest (worth looking at if you have never done this).

Children's car seats often have a line in the manual stating that bulky clothing should not be worn. However the very cheap/basic car seats often don't have this warning.

https://www.think.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DfT_SeatBeltBooklet.pdf

2chocolateoranges · 01/12/2023 08:36

This no coats in the car is very recent,my children are 20 and 22 and hadn’t heard about this until the last few years.

mine usually wore a coat or thinner snow suit in the car(shorter journeys only) and I pulled the straps as tight as I could. Dh used to tell me I was pulling them far too tight.

I wear a coat in the car.

SunshineIndoors123 · 01/12/2023 08:42

Nope, never in a million years. I do feel bad about DC being cold in the car (won't keep a blanket or coat over him, just throws it off) but it is a 7min drive to nursery and I have the heaters on as I'm driving so it is only getting warmer. Plus, once he gets there the heating at nursery is set to roughly what I imagine the surface of the sun to be, so he soon warms up there. Plus I'd rather him be cold and safe than the alternative...

Cheepcheepcheep · 01/12/2023 08:48

We don’t do coats in the car for all the reasons posted up thread. My mum thinks I’m mad but that’s what a 30 year parenting gap will do - it’s far from being the only issue she thinks I’m OTT about 😄

bandmdrama · 01/12/2023 08:57

There is a video on YouTube showing the effects of wearing a coat in the car.

Do you do coats in car seats?
TurkeyTrotToXmas · 01/12/2023 08:59

DietrichandDiMaggio · 30/11/2023 23:23

I have been driving for close to 40 years -when was it decided that nobody should wear coats in cars and if it's that dangerous why have there not been safety campaigns relating to it?
Can anybody link any evidence-based research showing deaths/serious injury linked to coat wearing in the past and how that has reduced?

Here you go:

Take Off Puffy Coats Before Using Child Safety Seat

The bulky coats put safety at risk.

https://youtu.be/8A-fMWDyA2g?si=7J7PAqaa5uUjaYc8

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 01/12/2023 09:00

TruthThatsHardAsSteel · 01/12/2023 08:24

Can you tell me more? I've never heard this as adult

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As an adult if you wear a thick coat you can get more seat belt injuries as it doesn't hold you securely in the event of a crash due to the extra padding. The injuries may not be as severe as with a child and car seat but I value my health and don't want to be injured in a crash.

Ohthatsfabulousdarling · 01/12/2023 09:04

Nope, I out a blanket on top of him, and the heating goes on in the car so he gets warm quickly.
I do get what you're saying, I feel like a bit of a bad parent when he hasn't got his coat on but if we're just nipping from the car into someone's house its fine but if we're going further than that we quickly put his coat on.

DappledThings · 01/12/2023 09:04

Aside from the safety issues it just isn't comfortable wearing a coat in the car even as an adult. Especially driving. It feels really restrictive. I left at 5.45 yesterday. Coat and gloves on while scraping the windscreen then chucked on the passenger seat when I was setting off.

gotomomo · 01/12/2023 09:06

Mine always wore coats if cold, I also wear my coat. Only exception is really long journeys (well over an hour) had old cars when dc were tiny with ineffective heating

gotomomo · 01/12/2023 09:08

I think you are thinking about puffy coats when you talk about air in them. ... woollen coats here

TruthThatsHardAsSteel · 01/12/2023 09:09

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · 01/12/2023 09:00

As an adult if you wear a thick coat you can get more seat belt injuries as it doesn't hold you securely in the event of a crash due to the extra padding. The injuries may not be as severe as with a child and car seat but I value my health and don't want to be injured in a crash.

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Appreciate it. My winter coat is extremely thick, I'm just shocked I didn't know this. I'm gonna tell as many people as I can

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