Here’s Why You May See Young Kids Without A Coat This Winter (VIDEO)

As the weather gets colder and we all begin to change into our winter wardrobes many people may see parents loading and unloading their small children into their vehicles without a coat.  Before anyone panics, we found out why and want to give everyone some insight.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, bulky coats and snowsuits can compress in a car crash, leaving the straps too loose to keep a child safely in their seat.

This post out from a mom on Reddit is going viral;

Here is a simple way to check from saferide4kids.com if your child’s coat is too big to wear under their harness:

• Put the coat on your child, sit them in the child seat and fasten the harness.
• Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the harness webbings with your thumb and forefinger without loosening the harness, remove your child from the child seat
• Take the coat off and put your child back in the car seat and buckle the harness straps, which are still adjusted as they were when he was wearing the coat.
• If you can now pinch the webbing between your thumb and forefinger then the coat is too bulky to be worn under the harness.

As a parent to five kids, I didn't even hear about these guidelines until Charlotte was born.  It is so awful to think because of a coat which is meant to protect you from the weather could be the cause of your child's injury or the unthinkable death.

We keep blankets in the car to keep them warm and I put coats on them as they get out or put a lighter, thinner coat and try to pull up close to where ever we are going.

Let's keep our children safe this winter.