Transport

For many of us it goes without saying that strapping your little ones into a properly fitted car seat is the safest way to travel with them. Not only that – it’s also the law.

Now that the weather is colder, many families will be swapping their spring/summer strolls in the park for trips in the car, wrapping their children up warm in their winter coats and scarves, leading to lots of people asking, “just how safe it is to strap children into car seats while they are wearing their winter coats?”

The answer is that clothing can affect how snugly the seat’s harness fits the child, so it’s important to check it is snug on every journey. If your child is wearing a thick jacket or body suit the harness will not be close enough to his/her body, which means it will be too loose. In a collision, this would allow the child’s body to move too much before the harness starts to restrain the child, which reduces the safety of the seat considerably. We do not recommend that thick jackets or bodysuits are worn. If a child was wearing a thick coat on a previous journey, and is wearing something less bulky on the next journey, it is doubly important to check the harness fits snugly.  So, if more than two fingers can fit between the child’s chest and the harness, it is too loose. (more…)