Winter Coats and Car Seats

It's that time of year again. The flip flops are getting buried deeper and deeper in the closet and big, warm, bulky coats are creeping closer to the front. Which is why I'm bringing up the whole "car seat safety" point all over again.

I've been over the importance of having your car seat(s) properly secured into your vehicles, how tight is actually tight enough when strapping your kids into your properly secured seat and now I want to demonstrate the importance of removing bulky winter wear BEFORE putting your child into their car seat.

This is Rylan. Rylan is strapped into her seat wearing her winter coat.

I can only fit one finger between the middle buckle and her chest. It's tight. Which is why she's pouting... and yelling, "It's too tight!" :)

Now see what happens when I take her coat off and do not adjust her straps.

There is way too much give in these straps. No matter how tight you try, they will never be tight enough with a coat under them. During a collision, the coat/snow suit becomes compressed. There have been cases of children having been ejected from their car seat during a collision while their coats remain in the car seat. I don't mean to frighten anyone, I just want to make sure that all of the babies I know, and know of, are safely strapped in this winter.

What is recommended is putting your child in the car in what they would normally be wearing indoors. Strap them in (tightly!) and cover them with a blanket, or I just put their coats back on them backwards and tuck it around their legs. I have been working on plans for a car seat safe coat, hopefully I'll get one finished soon so I can show you.

I know my kids complain that they are strapped in too tightly every time I put them in their seats. It's tempting to loosen it off for the sake of a quiet car ride, but not a risk I'm willing to take. I usually give the straps a little jiggle, and let them think that it's been loosened. Works like a charm! So far!

Please, spread the word about this. Let's keep our kids safe this winter!

To extend rear facing... or not?

It's official... Tatum is 1! Since she has turned one, she can now face forward in her car seat in the car. Facing forward is SO convenient. It takes up way less space in the car, she can ride in the direction we're going for the first time ever, and she can peek over at her sister, who is also facing forward.

Lately I've been on a big car seat safety kick. I have done so much research and time after time I've read that 80-90% of children aren't restrained in the car properly. Is it really possible that only 10% of kids 80lbs and under are in their seats properly? What's the point of using a car seat if that many of us aren't installing them correctly?

We just bought 2 more Safety 1st Alpha Omega 3-in-1 car seats this week. PS: They're on sale at Walmart for $127! Anyway, it had been a while since I had last taken a brand new car seat out of the box to install. We used to move the 2 seats we did have from car to car, but I figured with that much seat moving, we're just asking for trouble. I thought it would increase our chances of installing them incorrectly. I pulled out the directions to the new seats, removed all of the plastic rapping and began the install. I read the entire booklet, and the sections that pertained to me, multiple times. I'm still not sure if I understand 100%. This is my 2nd year and 8th month using a car seat, I read the directions thoroughly, I'm extremely concerned about the safety of my children, and I'm still not sure if they're in right! Now I get why the majority of us can't get a seat/child in right.

I have signed up to take a car seat technician course. It's absolutely ridiculous that this many people aren't getting their seats in properly... I don't blame them, the instructions might as well be in another language! I figure that if we can get this stat reduced drastically then perhaps I won't ever come across a kid injured in an accident because his/her seat wasn't in right.

Today was Tatum's 1 year check up and I asked her pediatrician about extended rear facing. He told me that he believes that if a child's seat is in properly, forward or backwards, it won't make a difference. The key being that the seat is in as it should be. He said that if there's an accident bad enough to injure a child, that child will be injured whether they're facing forward or backward.

Now, I'm not sure if I agree with him completely. I have read so much information on extended rear facing and I was a determined to keep Tatum rear facing until she was 2.
In Sweden, they recommend keeping their children rear facing until age 4 or 5. From 1992 through June of 1997, only 9 properly restrained rear-facing children died in Sweden. The car seats approved for Canada won't accommodate a rear facing 4 or 5 year old, but will accommodate a child who is less than 30 or 35 lbs depending on the manufacturer.

Rear facing is said to be safer than forward facing in front or side impact collisions. 96% of accidents in the USA are either front or side impact. Seems like an easy decision.
When it comes to the installation of a 3-in-1 seat as a rear facing seat, the seat doesn't seem as secure in the car as it does forward facing. The tether at the back of the seat makes a big difference when it's forward facing. I feel completely torn!

I think I have over thought this whole thing a bit too much... what are your thoughts?