The Many Adventures Of Mom: My kids don't wear jackets

Ok - pick your jaw up off the floor.

Yes, I know that I live in MN and it gets FREEZING cold here (below freezing, at that). Let's not get me started on that after the winter we've just had (time to be realistic ... still having - boo)!

My sweet girls don't wear jackets in the CAR because car seats are not safe with bulky jackets between child and harness straps (or seatbelts for that matter)! They have fleece, hooded, ponchos that they wear all winter long. They keep them nice and cozy warm both outside and in the car. Bonus - they stay safe in their seats!!!

You see, I can't knowingly put my babies in harm's way. Studies and research have shown that children can be ejected from their car seats when there is too much bulk between them and the straps of their seat (because the jackets will compress). Now, I am not one to just take information at face-value, so I brought their seats in the house and tried them in their seats with jackets on, without jackets on and with their ponchos on ... wow - the difference was amazing! BUT, don't take my word for it ... I took photos! (you could also try it for yourself, I don't blame you!)

These photos are from last year, but the results are the same:

Here is my sweet girl, all buckled up - normal. She was still rear-facing at this point; so the harness straps belong AT OR BELOW her shoulders, chest clip ALWAYS goes at armpit level. You don't want to be able to pinch the straps - I stuck my fingers in it so show how tight they are (that was easier than trying to pinch it AND get the angle on the photo).

Here she is with her silly face and her jacket on (note that it's not even one of the really thick ones). I tightened the straps to the same tension as they were when she didn't have a jacket on.

This is AFTER I took her jacket off! I did NOT loosen the straps when she got out, and I just pulled her jacket off ----- I am hoping that NONE of you would EVER leave a child in the car with straps that loose!

IF you are going to leave your child in their jacket in the car, there are a couple options ... you can do this (and we did this for a while). Simply unzip the jacket and allow the straps to rest on the shoulders - it does require some shifting and a learning curve, but it works pretty well. You can then zip the jacket over the straps. The other thing you can do is to put their jacket on backward OVER the straps.

We ended up switching from doing her jacket as you see in the previous picture to using a poncho. I made their ponchos and they are SO WARM AND SAFE! You simply lift up the poncho (or reach in), buckle them in, and you're on your way! They can even get them off if they get too warm!

Here's my "big girl" .. she is forward facing - so her straps belong AT OR ABOVE shoulder height. Again, chest clip at armpit level. (for the record, she is now 5.5 years old and STILL in the harness, will not put her in a seatbelt until she outgrows the 5 point harness)

Here she is with her jacket on ... she thought this process was WAY more fun than sister did!

Again, all I did was remove her jacket -- seriously, try it!

Yes, she was able to sit, buckled with her teddy bear AND still have room to lean forward ... or take her arms out of the straps all together .... This is how much space she'd have if we were to get into an accident, after her jacket compresses from the impact.