Winter jackets and car seats don't mix

An update on our post last week about car seats and winter jackets :

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Yes, it is true -- wearing a winter jacket while in a car seat could be unsafe.



 * 
CBC Ottawa picked up on the story:
[
 Bulky winter clothing may create car seat safety hazard
   

](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/12/19/car-seat.html)

Like most parents, this safety issue caught us by surprise. It was the first we’d heard of any “official” guidelines about the potential hazards of winter jackets in car seats.

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We can't find anything specific on winter jackets on the Transport Canada web site.

 (If you can find any mention on their site, let us know!)

We also have a pamphlet from Transport Canada on car seat safety (dated 2005) that has no mention of winter jackets.

 * 
We have another pamphlet from the City of Ottawa, and it doesn't mention anything either.  (Ironically, it does have a photo of a toddler in a car seat,

 wearing a winter jacket!)


 * 

 Nor can we find any winter jacket warnings in the car seat instruction booklets.

There are a few web sites that do mention the issue:

 * 
[
 Rotary Safety Village
](http://www.rotarysafetyvillage.com/carseat.php)
: "If       your child doesn't fit as well in the car seat with his / her winter coat       on, take the coat off. A fluffy winter coat will introduce slack into the       harness, which could lead to ejection for the child in a crash. The fluff       in the coat will compress greatly, creating "dead space". There       are many polar fleece coats on the market now that are thin enough to use       under a harness, yet can keep a child very warm."





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[
 About.com
](http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/a/carseatcoat.htm)
:

 
  
  
 

"The car seat harness needs to stay close to the child’s body at all times. If a coat is in between the harness and the child's body it could cause the child to be ejected from the seat. All coats and clothing will compress in a crash, but thicker winter coats and snowsuits could compress enough to allow the child to be ejected from the car seat.

So winter jackets and car seats don’t mix … but we don’t think you will find too many Canadian parents who are willing to take their kids in and out of a jacket in the dead of winter to get them into a car seat!

One last note:

Sears and Safety 1st responded to our original complaint, and have offered to replace our car seat with a different model that’s slightly bigger and has a different type of harness. But still not suitable for a winter jacket.

** Related: ** Ottawa Kids Guide