Do you do coats in car seats?

[countdowntobaby2020]

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?!

Mine too, and yes, I wear a coat in the car. I’ve never heard of this rule before, it seems extreme to me but then my DCs have survived to their 40’s, very happy and healthy, despite apparently risking many of these so-called dangers en route 🤷🏼‍♀️

I recently had a baby and this is the first time I've heard about this! I was told no snowsuit or hats in the car as this can cause over heating. I wasn't told about no coats at all. Her coat isn't a puffer jacket though.

No wonder we all get colds in the winter. Sitting in just a jumper in a freezing car.

@JenniferJupiterVenusandMars I was a child in the 70s where seatbelts weren’t compulsory or even existed in the back of the car, cramming as many people in the car was quite common and drink driving wasn’t frowned upon. I survived, but I wouldn’t recommend any of those practices.

Winter temperature where I live is between -10 and -20. The lowest I've experienced is -35. My kids went in their carseats in their very puffy coats.

This is maybe just me - I generally don't really like wearing a coat - but I can't/won't drive wearing a coat anyway, and wouldn't if I were alone. I find the arms too restrictive. So I always warm the car up enough that, after an initial chilly few minutes, it's as warm as the house. If I did put my kids in coats either they'd be boiling or I'd be freezing!

Being cold doesn't cause colds.

Colds are caused by viruses and are more prevalent in winter due to breathing in cold air which is the same whether you are wearing a coat or not!

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-myths-about-catching-a-cold/

If it's cold she has a thin fleece and I have a smart fairly thin winter coat. If it's wet we both have a thin tops and a rain Mac on. She takes the opposite layer looped through the handle of her bag so she has both went outside and sometimes a thicker cardigan too. So the layers can be varied
I do need to put the blanket back in the car now winter is here again though!

I used to put a hot water bottle into the car seat to warm up before taking it out (obvs) and putting baby in with their coat over the straps. Carried on doing that for years. My friends all thought I was far too soft!

Well, then it's lucky you didn't crash.

Car rolled into a ditch once. Nobody was hurt. Our road/carseat safety is streets ahead of the UK's. Fact is that hypothermia is a greater risk here. Only a fool would prioritise the tiny risk of wearing a puffy coat in a carseat over exposing a baby to arctic conditions without a coat.

To be fair I think if you live in an extremely cold place then the balance of risks is very different to the UK. But somebody above mentioned that in Canada they were advised not to wear coats in the car and I have also seen car safety advice from Sweden saying no coats in the car - Sweden is very big on car seat safety.

Here's the video showing adults and children in high backed boosters. It's unfortunately only in German and the auto translate captions don't work. He's saying that the crash test is a rear shunt simulated at 16km/h (about 10mph)

They show a comparison crash test with child/adult dummy in close fitting clothing where the lap belt stays on the pelvis and because the pelvis is hard, doesn't move very much. Compared to with the coat, where it sits further up and cuts into the soft abdomen when the crash is simulated.

As said before, this is not as serious as a child being potentially/partially ejected because of a winter coat. But it is worth being aware of. Seatbelts are designed to run over your pelvis, if they sit higher up for any reason at all then you're at higher risk of abdominal injuries in an accident. This is actually the exact reason that older children use a booster seat. Because without it, the belt cuts into their tummy and causes potential injury. Booster seats were much later in legislation than car seats for younger children in most countries. Mostly 1980s/early 90s for child seats up to about age 3/4 and then early 2000s/late 90s for most booster seat laws.

Exactly this!

Depends on the kind of coat. mine only wear fleece type coats (like a jumper) . not cold enough fir puffy costs in tbe douth of the uk!

And some lines from selected manuals - you can usually access your car manual if you don't have a physical copy by going to the manufacturer's UK website (be careful not US/Australian) and searching for the model and year.

Car seat manuals lifewise - on the manufacturer's website under support and downloads, or search the model name - retired models should still have downloads available.

Peugeot 3008: (In section: "Seatbelts: Installing the belt") The lower part of the strap must be positioned as low as possible over the pelvis. The upper part must be positioned in the hollow of the shoulder.

Britax: • The more snugly the belt fits over your child's body, the safer your child will be. Therefore, avoid having your child wear thick clothes under the belt.

Cybex: NOTE! In order to gain optimum protection from the
Cybex Aton 5, the shoulder belts c should lie as close as
possible to the body.

Joie: ! DO NOT have your child in large/oversized clothes because this may prevent your child from being properly and securely fastened by the shoulder harness straps and the crotch strap between the legs.

Maxi Cosi (no info)

Cuggl (Argos): In winter, make sure that the child is not wearing over-bulky clothes.

Cosatto: •It is important that the lap harness is worn low down, so that the pelvis of the child is firmly engaged.

Cosatto: In group 2 & 3 modes, the lap vehicle seat belt must be worn in such a way as to properly
secure the pelvis of the child.

Silver Cross: (No info)

It's not always that clear unfortunately. Most of these warnings are also separate from the section about how to put the child in the seat, they are instead situated near the start of the book in a list of generic "warnings". I always wonder how often they get read - it seems like car seat manuals are written more for engineers than parents.

I always take coats off in child seats but I hadn't realised the need was the same with a normal seatbelt. I thought it was specifically little children who were at risk from that.

Wow never expected this level of response. Will carry on doing as I am with confidence not to worry about what others think and hopefully this thread might help others understand the risks, thanks to those who shared links and videos.

No. Never. Used a blanket.

Funny how I've survived over 50 years driving wearing a coat, as did my kids!

Until the time you don't or have more serious injuries..........

Just because you are OK, doesn't mean others have been so lucky. Some idiot drives into you, a drunk driver or just a freak accident, you can't control others on the road, but you can try and lessen the impact on you and your loved ones.

How many serious car accidents are we talking?

That’s called survivor bias. Being lucky does not make it safe.

As Someone wrote earlier, if wearing a coat in the car is so dangerous, why has there not been a campaign.

I think you're all being too precious.

You don't have to agree, we all have our own opinions.

What a weird attitude. There can’t be a campaign for everything dangerous

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yA7r92TFMY8&pp=ygUSY29hdHMgaW4gY2FyIHNlYXRz

Are you talking about adults or children?

My guess is for both, it's not statistically that much of an issue in the UK.

Because for adults, it's not a life threatening issue but it does put you at higher risk of injuries in a crash.

For little children, it can be life threatening but the amount of time young children wear that type of coat (maybe 2-3 months of the year in the UK?) and use that type of car seat (about 3 years or so) means that the amount of children in that situation who happen to be involved in a serious crash is extremely low and so it doesn't register on the list of "issues we want the public to address".

None of that changes what would happen if (god forbid) you were involved in a serious crash. (As in, over about 20mph).

Safety campaigns generally focus on the largest issues. Luckily in general car seat, seatbelt use and car safety is very good in the UK*, so passenger safety isn't as high of a priority. Children are more likely to be killed as a pedestrian than a passenger, so more focus is on reminding people to wear light/reflective clothing and towards driver awareness of vulnerable road users. The main car safety campaigns tend to centre around speed and drink driving, which are the two biggest issues in the UK. Drink driving particularly around Christmas time.

• Disclaimer here before I get lynched, I don't mean everyone is adhering to the highest standard of possible car seat safety, but in general, most people buy car seats for their DC and use them, which is good in comparison to previous decades when this was less prevalent.