Gransnet forums

Grandparenting

Wearing coats in cars

(14 Posts)
Humbertbear Mon 15-Dec-14 01:18:14

We have just received the latest missive from our DiL telling us that we have to remove the 3 year old's coat before we strap her into her seat. Apparently she has seen a video on You Tube showing that little ones in fixed strap seats are liable to be injured in an accident because a padded coat prevents the straps being right enough.
DiL also suggested I might like to take my coat off in the car too!

kittylester Mon 15-Dec-14 07:07:21

I've been given that instruction too! Which makes putting them in and out of the car really time consuming. I hate wearing my coat in the car!

Nelliemoser Mon 15-Dec-14 07:57:02

I expect that will come my way. It does make it hard work to have to remove a wriggly toddler from the car seat and try and put a coat on as well.

DD moans that DGS has started pulling his shoes off in the car and throwing them onto the floor. As she gets more pregnant this is really going to be a nuisance.

Brendawymms Mon 15-Dec-14 08:07:33

Front facing car seats for little people are, I'm sure, more of a risk than coats. Small children are safer in rear facing seats. I would have thought that a coat would give some padding to stop injury from the straps themselves.

Nelliemoser Mon 15-Dec-14 08:41:05

BrendaW A thick coat does stop the harness from fitting as close to the body as it should for safety.

I do wonder how much difference these ever increasing safety measures really make. Are the the manufactures getting more financial benefits that the consumers do with safety.

We start to reach the point where we might start to think we would be better not putting our children into cars at all. Nothing in life is without risk and we cannot make it so.

loopylou Mon 15-Dec-14 12:39:02

Makes me wonder just how my children survived childhood! Yes they had (forward facing) car seats, rear-facing didn't exist, followed by a booster seat when bit bigger.
My 16 month old GS hated the rear faceing seat from the start, and it was supposed to fit him until he was 5 (goodness knows how as he is tall for his age) so is now in a forward facing seat.
I really don't want to contemplate the likely palaver when struggling to get his coat off and on as well ...[tchmm], getting him in to a car seat at all is often a battle!

FlicketyB Mon 15-Dec-14 13:14:13

Are there any statistics for children injured in car accidents? For how many of those wearing coats can it be reliably shown to would not have suffered injury if they hadn't been wearing coats.

If there are they would probably show that the number of children injured because they were wearing coats was infinitismal. What about the health effects on a child not wearing a coat?

Who made the Youtube video? What is their expertise in this subject? How well set up was their research project?

It is not that I do not believe this research may be accurate, it is just we know too little about it to make a judgement.

Ana Mon 15-Dec-14 13:21:18

Well, it seems there are some good reasons for the advice.
No statistics, but at least this article explains the theory.

www.education.com/magazine/article/coats-car-seats/

Anya Mon 15-Dec-14 13:51:03

At last some common sense. Thanks Ana

Eloethan Mon 15-Dec-14 14:11:25

Our son said exactly the same thing to us the other day. We hadn't realised it can increase risk of injury and are happy to follow the guidance.

FlicketyB Mon 15-Dec-14 15:21:04

Good to realise that in this case there is a good reason, but so many of these scares are based on inadequate research and misunderstanding of the facts, or over blow a risk that is absolutely minute.

glammanana Mon 15-Dec-14 15:50:45

Thank goodness my DGCs mostly drive their own cars,I don't know how I survived all those years ferrying them about with no problems.

Anya Mon 15-Dec-14 15:56:15

Lucky there were no crashes I suppose.

rosesarered Mon 15-Dec-14 16:25:16

Getting my grandson in and out of the car seat is an exhausting battle sometimes [in fact getting him into the CAR at all often takes ages.]He refuses to wear a coat anyway [in the car] for his own unfathomable reasons, so that's ok then. I cover him with a fleece blanket which he likes. I usually find his shoes are off when we reach our destination, but that's another story.