OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Colder weather means pulling out winter jackets, hats and gloves for everyone but especially for kids. Keeping them bundled up in the car, though, might not look like what you would expect to keep them safe.
"I feel like it is just easiest with him to get him in his car seat with his hat on and a blanket," said Emma Hofer an Omaha mother.
Hofer says she uses the coat as a blanket to keep her kids warm, something Amy Borg with Children's Hospital and Medical Center recommends.
"Light jackets are fine, we definitely don't mind light jackets. We want to make sure they don't interfere with the fit of the harnesses though," Borg said.
Taking off the heavy and bulky winter coats ensures the seat belt and the harness are fitted properly.
"Those seat belts and those harnesses are designed to slow us down. Slow our bodies down and we don't have that. Now we are slamming into those harnesses or slamming into this seatbelt," Borg said.
She says leaving the heavy coats on, leaves too big of a space between the child and the seat belt.
"We can't get the harnesses as tight as we need to be and we want to make sure we can't pinch any webbing," Borg said.
And that space can lead to injuries.
"We've had ejections. Kids have actually been ejected from their car seats. Unfortunately from having those winter coats on. Also broken bones and things like that," Borg said.
Borg says it is best to use the coat as a blanket. Keep blankets in your car and use hats and gloves to keep them warm.
"One more layer of clothes than what we would wear. Again, get them in nice and tight and then layer on top of those harnesses," Borg said.
For the mother of soon-to-be three, Hofer says these guidelines give her peace of mind.
"Just simply following car seat policy and rules, helps me feel like my kids are going to be safe in a car when not everything is within our control," Hofer said.
Children's Hospital and Medical Center is hosting a car seat check event in partnership with Boys Town pediatrics on Friday, Oct. 21 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Brookside Church.
They will check the car seat installation and answer any safety questions.
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