Does anyone use heated car travel blankets?
If so, what is your experience with them? is there a brand that is more reliable? Anything I should look for or be wary of? Are they in any way potentially dangerous? Safe to use with young children? (I'm assuming not safe to use with a child who cannot yet communicate ....)
by
kschouten
asked 5 months ago
Wow, I never even thought of those before, but they make sense.
What is wrong with dressing the child in warm clothing and turning on the heater? That is, of course, presuming that you are driving the car and not living in it.
@klozitshoper: carseat guidelines state that it is unsafe to wear a thick coat under carseat straps. So in very cold climates, what I have done in the past is put my kids (wearing a sweater, hat, mittens) into the carseat, and then cover them with a blanket. Another option is to put the coat on backwards after the straps are tightened, the coat over the straps. I do leave fleece blankets with sleeves in the car, but that is sometimes not enough before the car heater kicks in.
This leads to about 10-15 minutes of shivering and complaining about the temp.
I have let the car run prior to use in the past, but the more I learn about carbon footprints the more wasteful this seems, especially since when it is cold enough to really need a preheat, it takes 15 minutes minimum. I feel guilty using 15 minutes of gas in advance so we can be more comfortable. These blankets seem like a fantastic solution, at least for the kids! I can suffer through some cold. It's the whining that gets me. ;)
I think they're great but, with most electric blankets, they aren't recommended for use with kids. Obviously, this depends on age of the child, but the wires can be felt through the blanket... making it very tempting to pick-at. The ones I've seen also require a cigarette lighter, so you'll need one outlet per kid.
What you may try is a remote car starter (conveniently, there is one listed on the front page right now). This will allow the heaters to kick in and also time warm up your engine. Same for the summer with the air conditioning. Win win.
@bm237:
I have a remote starter. . . I just feel it isn't very eco friendly. But thank you for the info on kids and the blankets. My daughter (6) is always cold. . . My son (4) actually jumped out of a first floor (thank God) window, naked, into a snow bank during a snowstorm when he was three, and ran around the house whooping it up before we managed to catch the little imp. He is very spririted and insists that he never gets cold (and that he never sleeps). We let him make his own choices regarding clothing, shoes and blankets unless there is a risk of frostbite, and he really does almost never get cold (but he does sleep--shocking, I know.) So one blanket is good, and my daughter is the opposite of my son and a rule follower to her core, for no good reason that I can see other than she likes order, so if I tell her not to pick at it, she won't. :)
Are electric blankets safe to have around cats? That question has probably been asked, huh,.... We are thinking of getting a cat.
@kschouten: Keep a close eye and inspect the wires frequently if you decide to do it. Also, look for fabrics in your daughter's clothes that might get hot (the metal seat belt buckle, plastic buckles on her snow pants, etc). Especially if she falls asleep in the car, keep it in mind.
I've never had a bad experience with an electric blanket, but you can never be too safe with kids.
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