Meanwhile these misuses increase a child s risk of injury during a crash.
Child safety seats and winter coats.
How to keep your child warm.
As a general rule bulky clothing including winter coats and snowsuits should not be worn underneath the harness of a car seat.
To keep your children safe in the car this winter remove their coats and jackets and pull the harness tight enough that you can just get two fingers between your child and the straps.
Here s a solution that could work.
A child can then slip through the straps and be thrown from the seat.
When it comes to winter coats and car seats child safety experts agree that it s not safe for kids to wear their heavy jackets while secured in their car seats.
The convenience is just not worth the risk.
This video will show you how to do the pinch test to make sure the harness is snug enough.
First adjust the harness while your child s coat is off.
Experts weigh in on dangers of winter coats and car seats.
In a car crash fluffy padding immediately flattens out from the force leaving extra space under the harness.
Bulky sweaters coats or fleece garments prevent a snug fit of the car seat harness on your child.
Despite puffy and thick coats being dangerous children will still feel a chill when they first get in the car.
Winter coats and car seats can be a dangerous combination.
Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the webbing with your thumb and forefinger.
In the winter puffy coats are the biggest contributor to loose harness straps.
Bulky winter coats can pose a serious threat when worn under the straps of car seats and even booster seats by creating too much space in between your child s body and the harness itself.
Experts at the american academy of pediatrics and nhtsa recommend no coats or bulky clothing should be worn in car seats.
Car seat technicians also say to put nothing thicker than a sweatshirt on your child under the harness straps of a car seat.
Put the coat on your child sit him or her in the car seat and fasten the harness.
Winter is a tricky time for car seats.
This is scary because another statistic says 96 of parents believe their child safety seats are installed correctly.
Experts at the nhtsa and american academy of pediatrics recommend parents take dangerous traditional coats off in the car seat.