HOUSTON – As temperatures drop, many parents are bundling up their children with new winter coats. But what many may not realize is that a warm, puffy jacket could actually put a baby’s life at risk, especially in Texas, where cold snaps are brief but unpredictable.
Puffy coats are designed to keep children warm, but public safety experts warn they can work against them in the event of a car crash, increasing the risk of serious injury.
Recommended Videos
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cautions that bulky clothing can interfere with proper car seat use.
“Cold months require heavier coats, but too much bulk can create extra room in the harness, causing a loose fit and putting the child at risk for injury in the event of a crash,” NHTSA states. “Choose lightweight fleece layers instead of puffy materials to ensure a snug-fitting harness.”
The science behind the danger
Young children’s bodies are still developing, which makes proper restraint especially critical. Babies and toddlers have proportionally heavier heads, weaker neck muscles, and spines made of soft, flexible cartilage that hardens with age.
In a crash, a child’s spine can stretch up to about 5 centimeters, roughly the length of two quarters, while the spinal cord itself can suffer severe injury with as little as 5 millimeters of stretch, about one-fifth of a quarter.
Dahlia Rizk, a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, says the problem isn’t usually the car seat itself, it’s how it’s used.
“Parents tend to focus on which car seat to buy, but mastering proper use is what really saves lives,” Rizk said.
According to NHTSA, nearly 90% of parents use car seats incorrectly, and bulky winter coats are a major reason why.
“It looks like the harness is tight. It looks like the chest clip is in the right place,” Rizk explained. “But all that fluffy fabric creates extra space underneath the harness. I hear parents say, ‘I thought the coat acts like a bubble and protects them,’ when in reality, that coat can be the difference between going home and going to the hospital after a crash.”
To address the issue, Rizk helped create the Buckle Me Baby Coat, which allows the front panel to be opened while a child is secured in their car seat, eliminating dangerous bulk between the harness and the child.
Parents who don’t have specialized coats still have safe alternatives. Experts recommend dressing children in thin, warm layers, then placing a blanket over the harness once the child is buckled in. Another option is putting a coat on backward over the properly tightened straps for added warmth.
Safety advocates stress that when it comes to car seats, snug, not bulky, is what truly protects children on the road.