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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Aaron Curran

Common mistake that may be putting your child's life at risk

As the temperature drops, it is important to make sure your children are wrapped up.

However, making your kids wear thick winter coats in the car can be 'seriously dangerous' according to The Mirror.

The extra padded layers mean there is a sizable gap between the child's body and the actual seat belt.

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In a crash this could mean the seat belt is not close enough to the child's body to restrain them during an impact, increasing the risk of injury.

Parents should do the harness tightly enough so that you can only just get two fingers between your child and the straps.

This probably means ditching the coat in the car.

And if you are still worried about them being cold, there's plenty of ways to keep them warm.

For babies, dress them in thin layers or fold a thin blanket in half and tuck it tightly around your baby over the harness.

The blanket should not come up any higher than arm pit level.

For children, remove their coats and jackets, and strap them into their car seat properly.

Then tuck a blanket around them - your child will be able to remove the blanket if they get too hot which they cannot do when they have their coat on.

You can find out more about child safety on the Good Egg Car Safety blog.

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