Autumn and winter seasons have arrived, and many children have already put on thick clothes. Will the amount of clothes affect children's safety seats?
answer is that it has an impact. Thick winter clothes or down jackets can keep your baby warm, but they will greatly reduce the safety and protection functions of child safety seats . In order for the child safety seat and height-enhancing pad to work properly, the seat belt must be tightly tied to the child's chest. But when the heavy winter clothes and down jacket collide, a gap between the seat belt and the child is created.
If the restraint belt does not restrain the child, then during the accident, the child's head and other parts of the body will hit hard places on the car due to movement (for example, the front seat, window or door frame), thereby increasing the risk of injury to the child.
Danger of coat compression
Car seat belts need to always be kept close to the child's body. All coats and clothing will be compressed when they collide, and heavy winter clothes and down jackets may cause excessive slack in the seat belt under sufficient squeeze, just like not wearing a seat belt. A loose seat belt does not guarantee that the child is secured in the safety seat, or even that the child is kept in the car.
ensures that children are warm and safe
Although in order to ensure the safety of children, there are still ways to keep children warm.
1) Wear a few layers of thin clothes for children . Each layer of clothing can retain heat from the body. The layer of clothing that is close to the skin should be close to the body, such as tights, leggings, long underwear or long-sleeved bodysuits.
2) You can turn on the heating before driving and preheating . If possible, keep the portable part of the child safety seat indoors so that it won't be too cold when placing the child in the safety seat. Remove any coats that are too thick or too big on the child before buckle the seat belt. If you know that a child’s coat is not safe for using a safety seat, take it off.
3) Adjust the tightness after fastening the seat belt. The child's collarbone should leave just one finger between the seat belt or not to pinch the extra seat belt. If you can grab the seat belt, it means the seat belt is too loose.
Finally, make sure nothing is placed behind the child. No part of the blanket or car seat cover can be placed behind the child.
Self-test how many coats a child wears to be suitable for car safety seats
How can I know that the children's clothes are worn too thick? Here is an easy self-test method to help you understand that the jacket or down jacket may be overcompressed in a car accident and why it is safer to wear thin clothes and blankets on a car seat.
When you are ready for the exam, take your child into the car. If you are still using a portable baby seat, you can bring it into the room safely and conveniently for testing.
Step 1: Let your child wear a winter coat or down jacket. Put your child in the safety seat and fasten the seat belt as you normally do before driving, making sure the seat belt is tight enough to suit your child.
Step 2: Use chalk to mark the line at the end of the constraint belt. Then carry the child out of the safety seat.
Step 3. Take off the child’s coat. Sit the child back into the car seat and snap the seat belt again.
Step 4: Adjust the seat belt so that the chalk marking line is in the position when wearing the jacket, and snap the seat belt. At this time, if you can place more than one finger (or pinch the seat belt) on the child’s clavicle (shoulder) at this time, the coat (coat) will be too thick.In this way, the safety seat will not protect your child well in the event of an accident.
Safe seat cushion
In order to keep warm or stabilize the baby, some parents will buy some beautiful cushions through the market and put them in the safety seat. Since these cushions have not been tested in collision with the safety seat itself, it may move during the collision, resulting in loosening of the seat belt. For this reason, it is not recommended to purchase any cushions that are added to the seat, but you can use the cushions purchased with the seat, directly on the seat.
I hope parents can use child safety seats correctly. Every trip gives your baby a safe trip.
