Winter coats, toddlers and car seats

[etoiles]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for winter coats for toddlers and if there are any suggestions for how to deal with winter coats and car seats. I know the recommendation is not to wear coats in the car seat but I know I have heard about coats that compress enough to wear or are thin enough to wear in a car seat. Are there any of these type of coat suggestions?

Last year this was not an issue since DS was in his infant seat and so we just carried the seat in and out, putting him in it with blankets on top of him before he got in the car.


This year he will be walking to and from the car and since I park outside the car will get mighty cold and I wouldn't always feel comfortable having him remove his coat as soon as he gets in since sometimes, like after groceries, the car won't be warm for a while. We do live in the cold Chicago area.

If you have your child wear a thinner coat in the car do you just then help them put a thicker coat on before going outside or do you deal with it in another way?

I wanted to start shopping around or looking for used coats since they can be expensive now before the high season hits!

thanks!

 

[firecracker725]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for winter coats for toddlers and if there are any suggestions for how to deal with winter coats and car seats. I know the recommendation is not to wear coats in the car seat but I know I have heard about coats that compress enough to wear or are thin enough to wear in a car seat. Are there any of these type of coat suggestions?

Last year this was not an issue since DS was in his infant seat and so we just carried the seat in and out, putting him in it with blankets on top of him before he got in the car.


This year he will be walking to and from the car and since I park outside the car will get mighty cold and I wouldn't always feel comfortable having him remove his coat as soon as he gets in since sometimes, like after groceries, the car won't be warm for a while. We do live in the cold Chicago area.

If you have your child wear a thinner coat in the car do you just then help them put a thicker coat on before going outside or do you deal with it in another way?

I wanted to start shopping around or looking for used coats since they can be expensive now before the high season hits!

thanks!

I have three kids, and we don't wear coats in car seats. I keep blankets in the car that we use to keep warm until the heat ramps up, and it takes just a few seconds to slip the coat on and off. Totally worth the hassle to save my child from a potentially dangerous situation.

 

[Happy Snowman]

I've never heard this before. Our kids wore their coats in their car seats. I would think a down coat would compress like you are talking about.

 

[htmom]

We keep blankets in the car. If it is super cold I have been known to put their coats on backwards after they are all snapped in. My middle one was the one who loved that the most and it would make her giggle.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We had a pretty cold winter year by winter standards.

We don't wear winter coats in car seats. I do layer them with warm clothes, but the coat comes off. Car seats aren't designed for the kid to be wearing that amount of material that will compress on impact.

We also use blankets.

Depending on the temps--coats go quickly on before a we to into buildings. But event though I hate winter, I got to the point of figuring out how much cold I will tolerate to avoid putting on a bulky winter coat. And my kids are the same. So we bring the coats with us, but would often avoid using them. They do have otheress bulky things that will keep the. Warm enough to get into a building.

My toddler was ALWAYS wanting her coat off. I don't know what we would have done if we lived further north.

 

[HelenePA]

My kids only wore hoodies with their car seats. They never wore coats. I had to take a car seat class to get my youngest out of the NICU and this one was stressed that kids should never wear coats in car seats. I dont wear a coat in the car either.

 

[zoemurr]

I've never heard this before. Our kids wore their coats in their car seats. I would think a down coat would compress like you are talking about.

When you put the harness on you think it is tight with a poofy coat. In an accident though, that is really just air between the strap and your kid and it is 1" or more too loose.

I believe fleece is the best option.

We just threw the coat on top of them after they were buckled.

Teenagers now and still hardly ever wear coats in the car.

 

[2binak]

We always put DD in a fleece coat and we kept super warm blankets in our cars. On really, really cold days (near to below zero), we would wrap her in the blanket and carry her to/from where ever we were going.

Here's a good article on the subject:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ts-keeping-your-child-safe-and-warm/index.htm

 

[RachaelA]

We do a very thin fleece jacket. Basically the inner layer of the 3 in 1 jackets. No coats. We live where it's often negative temps and just throw blankets over them if needed.

There are also car seat ponchos that I know people make

 

[scrapquitler]

I have three kids, and we don't wear coats in car seats. I keep blankets in the car that we use to keep warm until the heat ramps up, and it takes just a few seconds to slip the coat on and off. Totally worth the hassle to save my child from a potentially dangerous situation.

This is what we did, too. Most of the time, I let the car heat up for a few minutes at home before we left home. My kids were almost always in a sweatshirt in the winter anyway.

 

[JanaDee]

Not wearing a jacket here in the winter was not an option. I loosened the straps a couple inches so the kids could sit in their seats comfortably in their jackets with the straps still being snug. They never wore poofy coats, so it wasn't a concern for me.

On longer car trips, where we would be getting into a warm car and staying in a warm car, the straps were re-tightened so they would be comfortable for the long trip.

 

[etoiles]

I have three kids, and we don't wear coats in car seats. I keep blankets in the car that we use to keep warm until the heat ramps up, and it takes just a few seconds to slip the coat on and off. Totally worth the hassle to save my child from a potentially dangerous situation.

We keep blankets in the car. If it is super cold I have been known to put their coats on backwards after they are all snapped in. My middle one was the one who loved that the most and it would make her giggle.

Don't the blankets feel very cold them when you put them on the kids initially? I guess I could bring them back and forth to the house but that wouldn't work if we were shopping or parked somewhere else. How did that work for you?

I believe fleece is the best option.

We just threw the coat on top of them after they were buckled.

Teenagers now and still hardly ever wear coats in the car.

We always put DD in a fleece coat and we kept super warm blankets in our cars. On really, really cold days (near to below zero), we would wrap her in the blanket and carry her to/from where ever we were going.

We do a very thin fleece jacket. Basically the inner layer of the 3 in 1 jackets. No coats. We live where it's often negative temps and just throw blankets over them if needed.

There are also car seat ponchos that I know people make

We did use fleece and blankets last year and I guess it sounds like this is the best option for this year again. I know I did read about some coats that were made to be thin and compress for car seats but I can't remember what those were. Did you all have a thicker coat then for when they were outside for longer?

This is what we did, too. Most of the time, I let the car heat up for a few minutes at home before we left home. My kids were almost always in a sweatshirt in the winter anyway.

I did heat up my car when we leave from home but if we come out of a store or something where we can't start it in advance is what I am more concerned with, plus he might want to walk to the car now that he is more mobile.

 

[sam_gordon]

We always put DD in a fleece coat and we kept super warm blankets in our cars. On really, really cold days (near to below zero), we would wrap her in the blanket and carry her to/from where ever we were going.

Here's a good article on the subject:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ts-keeping-your-child-safe-and-warm/index.htm

Here's the instructions from the article:

Put the coat on your child, sit them in the child seat and fasten the harness. Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the harness webbing with your thumb and forefinger.

Without loosening the harness, remove your child from the child seat,

Take the coat off, and put your child back in the child seat and buckle the harness straps, which are still adjusted as they were when he was wearing the coat.

If you can now pinch the webbing between your thumb and forefinger, then the coat is too bulky to be worn under the harness.

Fortunately my kids have outgrown this stage, but from what I remember, if I tightened down the straps correctly, I can't get them out of the seat WITHOUT loosening the harness.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I invested in an automatic car starter, so worth it! Hit the button as soon as you can see the car, warms it up in the winter, cools it down in the summer

 

[wishesuponastar]

I never heard if not wearing a coat. We always just fit the straps tight enough for our children to wear their coat.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I never heard if not wearing a coat. We always just fit the straps tight enough for our children to wear their coat.

Like others have said, it may be visibly tight enough, but in reality it isn't. In the event of an accident, it could compress further, running the risk of the child getting ejected from the seat. Somebody offered very good advice about how to test it. The other way, is to keep the straps how you normally do -if you can put the child in with the jacket and NOT adjust the straps, the jacket is fine. If you have to loosen the straps, the jacket is too bulky.

The truth is, most people don't tighten the straps enough to start with, nor do they put the chest clip in the right place (armpit level), so the whole thing is moot anyway.

And FWIW, my oldest is almost 11 and it was a "rule" then.

 

[snoopy5386]

I'm a big fan of the 3 in 1 coats. We use the inner fleece liner for day to day and car rides and add the top layer for outdoor play.

 

[MmmSuite]

Strap them in and then put their arms through the coat backwards. Keep fleece blankets in the car draped over their seat....it keeps the seat a little warmer.

Keep their hats and gloves on...that will help them stay warm.

Maybe a Cuddlebabe would work for you.

Do not listen to anyone who tells you "it's alright" or "mine were fine". I'm a carseat nut and I'm going to be a carseat tech soon enough, it's not safe. It's never ever safe to wear one in the carseat.

Happy winter! Good planning ahead.

 

[firecracker725]

Don't the blankets feel very cold them when you put them on the kids initially? I guess I could bring them back and forth to the house but that wouldn't work if we were shopping or parked somewhere else. How did that work for you?

Blankets are insulators, not conductors. They may feel cold to the touch, but once you put them around a kid, they warm up instantly. Trust me. I lived in Champaign, so I know the kind of cold you're dealing with in Chicago.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We are going to do a combo of sweatshirts or fleece, blankets, and a remote starter. We will just put her thick coat on before she get out of the car.