With winter at our doorstep, parents and caregivers need to take extra measures to ensure the health and safety of infants and children. Car rides during the winter months can pose health hazards too young children if extra precautions are not taken.

With winter here, your child’s safety can be compromised during car rides if the child is wearing a heavy bunting, coat or blanket under the harness restraints of the car seat. For a child to ride safely in a car seat, the harness restraints should fit snugly across the child’s chest. If the child is wearing a bulky coat or bunting and there is a car crash, the coat could compress too much allowing for the child to eject out of the car seat. Below are some good guidelines to check if your child’s coat or bunting is too thick for the car seat.

1. Put the child in the car seat with the questioned coat or bunting on.

2. Tighten the straps and adjust them as you would normally.

3. Take the child out of the seat.

4. Take the coat off the child and place her back into the car seat.

5. Do not tighten the straps, but strap the child in and adjust the straps too where they should be on the child’s body.

If you can fit more than 2 fingers under the straps at the child’s shoulders, then the coat is too bulky too use inside the child restraint.


Tips to keep children warm in the car:
1. When possible, warm the car up prior to putting the child inside.

2. Dress the child normally in warm clothing such as a long sleeve top, pants, sweatshirt and hat.

3. Place the child in the car seat and place a warm blanket on top of the child, tucking the blanket into the sides of the car seat.

4. Car seat covers can be used that fit over the top of infant car seat with a hole for the baby’s head to peek out.

5. Polar fleece is a thin material but very warm. It can be found in jackets, hats, pants and car seat covers.

Use these tips to ensure your child will be safe during the winter driving season. They will remain warm and comfortable, and you will have the peace of mind knowing that they are as safe as they can be in their car seats.