ABILENE, TX — This post is circulating social media: it's from a mother claiming her 2-month-old daughter was ejected from a secure car seat due to these sheep skin seat belt covers.
She says all the belts were buckled and straps were on tight, but the soft Sherpa material caused her daughter to slide right out of her seat after being involved in a flip over car accident.
We wanted to verify if a warning like this is true, so we set out to get the facts.
"Under safe practices, or best practices it'll say no add-ons do not use these things," said Traffic Safety Specialist Mona Lisa Didelot. "If it doesn't come with the seat, then don't use it. All the seats are crash tested, so they're not crash tested with the Sherpa covering, they're not crash tested with toys and mirrors and all these other add-ons that people like."
So we can verify that add-ons like these can compromise the safety of your child and void the safety of their car seat.
"Straps need to be tight against that child’s chest and the harness clip needs to be tight and you test that by how much you can grab off that strap," she said.
Didelot adds that putting padding behind your child or under their seat can also be dangerous.
It may seem harsh, but she says manufacturers make sure their car seats meet safety standards. And while you may think your child is uncomfortable, add-ons like these aren’t worth risking their lives.