Car seat safe winter gear for babies and toddlers.

Did you know that most regular winter coats can add anywhere from 2-4 inches of slack?

The 2-4 inches of slack can be a serious safety hazard in the event of an accident. With most winter coats it would be very difficult to compress the jacket down enough to remove all the extra slack. It’s best to dress your child in thin layers to keep them warm. After hours of research and 2 years of dressing my own child, these are some recommendations to help kick start your hunt for a warm & safe jacket.

Note that when sized appropriately, these options can provide your child some safe options. To ensure that your jacket is safe, there are a few tests that you can do to check for proper fit.

Base Layers

Mid Layer

Available in infant and toddler sizing. We purchased a few of these when J was an infant and currently looking to buying a larger size now for the cooler months. I like that this in a thin & warm fleece that also looks very stylish. We purchase ours directly from the North Face website as it’s usually free shipping.

Jackets

When J was still in his infant seat this was great. We dressed him in thin layers and usually had the car seat inside with us. So we can layer on a few blankets and cover him up with one of those shower cap style covers. This way I felt confident he was warm and it was easy to remove layers. Also purchased directly online from The North Face.

Note that if you’re using the shower cap cover, you’ll need to remove it in the car.

We had this jacket from OneKid last winter. This is perfect for older babies who are more mobile and no longer fits in their bucket seat. I feel confident that he is warm in it and it has so many thought out features. To be honest, I wish they made it in larger toddler sizes too. Purchased directly from the OneKid website, ships from USA.

This year we decided to opt for the Patagonia Hi-Loft jacket. From my research, it is possible to compress this enough to be safe in the car seat. I’m thinking I can unzip it, buckle, and zip it back up to be extra safe. The only reason we didn’t opt for another One-Kid jacket is because it’s unlikely that we’re driving around as much this winter with Covid-19 still going on. I wanted a jacket that is bright while he’s playing outside and we needed a pair of snow pants as well. Figured we’ll try something new this year that ships within Canada. So far we’re really enjoying the jacket and it’s nice and toasty.

What are your jacket recommendations?

-v

Resources:

https://www.curiousmamas.com/2019/02/05/dressing-babes-for-winter-weather/

chalk test: https://thecarseatlady.com/warmandsafe/

For more winter dressing ideas, see our guide to dressing babes for winter weather.