According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research study seven out of ten children are improperly restrained in their child safety seats. Proper installation is of the utmost importance as child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers according to the NHTSA. Have your car seat inspected to make sure it is properly installed.
In the cold Winter months, there is another risk to children in car seats that many parents are not aware of. It is not safe for your child to wear their winter coat in the car seat. When you think about your toddler waddling around in their puffy snow clothes you can easily see why. The coat adds a lot of bulk and, if worn in the car seat, your child cannot be properly & safely restrained.
I shared the following link on Facebook a while back and a mom posted it on my mom's group discussion board last week. Please check it out.
How to safely wear a Winter coat in a car seat
Thanks for the reminder. What's funny is that Alex has been not wanting to wear his coat in the car. My initial instinct is to make him keep it on, because it's kind of a pain getting it on and off when he gets in and out of the car, but then I remembered about the links I read on this last year and realized I shouldn't resist!
ReplyDeleteThis is very good advice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting the word out! Elsa's fleece suit just came in yesterday and I'm so glad to have something toasty she can wear but still be safe.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this! I was not aware of this! My daughter does not have a that big of a coat since it doesn't get really super cold where we live but I'm sure it still applies. Thanks!
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