Cold weather means thicker coats and lots of layers – especially for babies. However, thick winter coats or snowsuits can compromise the safety of your child’s car seat. For car seats or booster seats to function properly, the straps need to remain tight against the child’s chest. Winter coats and snowsuits make car seat safety difficult because they change the way a child fits into the car seat. Though it may appear that your child is properly secured in his or her seat, he or she is not. The filling in a thick coat or snowsuit will compress in a crash. When the car seat straps don’t fit securely against the child, there is a chance the child may be ejected from the car seat or that there will give just enough space between the child and the straps to cause serious neck and head injuries. REMSA is sharing the following information to keep your children safe this winter:
Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety
It’s easy to check and see whether a baby’s winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat.
1. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
2. Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
3. Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
4. Take the coat off your child.
5. Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.
6. If you can fit more than one finger under the harness at the child’s collar bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat.
7. Do not use thick blankets, such as lambskin inserts, that fit into the interior of the car seat. These have not been crash-tested. They may create the same strap-space risks as thick coats and suits.
Keep Baby Warm and Safe
Even if you can’t safely use your child’s winter coat in the car seat, there are ways to keep baby warm when temperatures drop.
• For babies in an infant seat, dress them warmly in thin layers. Start at the bottom with close fitting layers like leggings or a long sleeve bodysuit. Then add a warmer top such as a sweatshirt or thermal shirt, then long pants.
• Buckle the child into the infant seat securely, and then cover the baby with a blanket tucked around the sides. Make sure nothing is behind baby’s back.
• Also for infant seats, there are car seat covers available that fit over the entire exterior of the infant seat once the baby is buckled in. These covers have a peep-hole so that baby’s face remains uncovered. Parents should be sure the child is buckled up under the cover, though, as it’s easy to forget when the buckle is out of sight.
• For older babies and toddlers, take the child’s coat off before buckling them into the car seat. Once the harnesses are secure, put the child’s coat on backwards over their arms to this will keep them warm without compromising safety.
• Whenever possible, warm up your car (outside of the garage) before putting the baby in the vehicle.
• When buying winter coats, keep thickness and car seat safety in mind. Polar fleece jackets and snowsuits are warm but thin, making them a smart choice for winter baby wear.
• Pack an emergency bag with extra blankets, clothes including hats and gloves, nonperishable foods just in case of a road emergency or if your child gets wet on a winter excursion.
To set up a media interview with a REMSA representative, please call Alexia Bratiotis at 775.750-7890.
About REMSA: REMSA is a private, locally governed, non-profit emergency medical services provider serving northern Nevada since 1986. REMSA also comprises Care Flight, a regional, non-profit, air and ground critical care transport service, a Nevada-licensed, post-secondary educational institution, a state-of-the-art, fully accredited 9-1-1 dispatch communications center, a Tactical Emergency Medical Support team and community and special events EMS teams. REMSA provides quality patient care with no taxpayer support or other subsidies. For more information, visit remsahealth.com.
About Care Flight: Care Flight is a non-profit, non-subsidized, self-supporting organization and is a service of REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority). Care Flight is a pioneer in the helicopter air ambulance business. What began as a shared program between area hospitals to provide reliable, critical care services across rural Nevada has grown into a comprehensive, 24/7 transport services with skilled pilots, experienced medical professionals and state-of-the-art technology. From a single helicopter in the 1980s to a fleet of four AStar 350 B3 helicopters, Care Fight aviation and medical professionals now respond to more than 1,500 transport calls per year. Care Flight has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Air Medical Services (CAMTS) since 2002 and is an active member of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS).