I have a business relationship with the company however, I paid full price for this product. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own. When my 8 1/2 year old was an infant, I did not know that it wasn’t safe to buckle kiddos up with a coat on. Coats can compress in the event of an accident, leaving slack in the harness and causing injury or ejection. Don’t believe me? Go buckle your child with their winter coat, take them out, remove the coat, and re-buckle without it. You probably have about two arms worth of slack in the harness. Yikes!
Luckily, I quickly learned, thanks to car seat safety forums. She continued to ride (without a coat!) rear facing until the month before her 4th birthday, was harnessed until 7 and is in a booster at 8 1/2. My sons are equally safe, and no one wears a coat in their car seat. This has meant lots of blankets in the car, and lots of added time to our travels to take 3 coats on and off at each end of every trip. I’ve also gotten a lot of nasty looks when we decided it was easier to just run the 10 feet into a store (or wherever) than to spend 5 minutes getting coats on and off everyone!
The inventor of Cozywoggle has come up with a fantastic product to keep kids both warm and safe. When I first heard of it, I was leery (until I understood what it really was), since I know that nothing between the child and the harness, or the child and the seat is a safe alternative. Fortunately, Cozywoggle knows this too, and has come up with a totally different product. The Cozywoggle is apparel, not a car seat accessory, yet it has been crash tested in both rear and forward facing seats, and has been shown to be as safe as not wearing a coat at all.
Here’s the “Cliffs Notes:” Cozywoggle zips up each side (from the hem to the wrist) allowing your child to slip their wrist out of the coat. You flip the back of the coat over the rear of the seat, and buckle the harness under the Cozywoggle. As you ride, the coat serves as a blanket/poncho. When you reach your destination, unbuckle the harness, put your child’s hands back in the wrist openings, and zip the sides closed.
Check out Cozywoggle’s video for more info:
So you may be thinking okay, how is this better/easier than putting a coat on, taking it off, buckling, putting on a blanket, taking off the blanket, unbuckling, then putting the coat back on. I thought the same thing. Well first off, for us that always meant that I had to put coats on/take them off outside of the car, in the freezing cold. I just wasn’t able to do it while they were still in their seats, especially when rear facing. This also meant that I had to try to wrangle all 3 kids in a parking lot as I got coats on each one. I actually had to devise a method of who was unbuckled first so I could manage everyone. With Cozywoggle, your child is fully covered, and all you have to do is zip the sides when they get out of the car. You don’t have to drag blankets around (which always ended up getting kicked off mid trip for us!) or worry about not having them, having “the wrong one” or not tucking your child in fully.
This is truly a high quality coat with lots of nice features, like the flap covering the zipper at the top. No complaining about the zipper scratching their little neck!
The hood zips on and off as needed, and has velcro to fully secure it in place. We’ve had coats for my daughter (that cost the same) that didn’t have these bells & whistles (I have accidentally yanked a snap/velcro hood part way off when trying to put in on my kids before!) The body and hood are lined with super soft fleece, and the coat is really well insulated without being hugely fluffy.
What actually makes the Cozywoggle a Cozywoggle rather than just a really nice coat is the zippers up the side. It was 85 degrees (in Maryland. In October.) when I received my Cozywoggle, so I demo’ed this on my chair. 😉
Once you unzip the sides and have your childs hands out, flip the back over the rear of their seat, buckle the harness underneath, and you essentially have a car seat poncho.
I bought a 2T for my petite 22 month old, and he will likely be able to wear this next year as well.
The Cozywoggle retails for $74.99, (2014 update: The price is now $49.99 in the U.S. and $64.99 in Canada!), and after getting one in my hot little hands, I can tell you it is well worth it. Shop for your Cozywoggle in sizes 12 Months-6, and choose from navy blue, pink, purple or red. Check out the Cozywoggle FAQs, and email or call if you have more questions. The owner, Cherlyn Jenkins is wonderful!
Discount: Enter coupon code “CHANGEDIAPERS” at checkout to save $15 on your Cozywoggle!
Be sure to “like” Cozywoggle on Facebook and follow @Cozywoggle on Twitter for great product info and car seat safety tips!
Did you know it wasn’t safe to buckle kids up with winter coats? What do you currently do in cold weather?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
[…] use bulky clothing, coats or blankets. (Try a Cozywoggle […]
The discount code at cozywoggle did not work. Any other suggestion?
Meg they were running some Black Friday specials, so I wonder if that discount trumps this one? Visit their Facebook page and ask!
i found CSFTL that works…shipping for me is $12.22 though so i’ll have to think about it
It is a little steep I know. :-/ Mine came packaged in a box either UPS or Fed Ex (can’t remember) and if I’m not mistaken, the fees charged are the actual costs to ship.
I asked them to check it for me & the code “CHANGEDIAPERS” is still active so maybe it was a fluke!
Good day Maria,
Was very inspired after reading about Cherlyn Jenkins(OWNER/ PRESIDENT – CJ’S KIDS, LLC), and her Cozywoggle coat journey.
I’ve an idae for an invention as well, and am interested in knowing if perhaps, you’d be able to refer me to a reputable patent attorney to possibly beging my journey as well. Your time and any assistance, would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Bob, I suggest searching for a local business owners group in your area to find support and patent attorney suggestions. Best wishes!
I’m in MD too and the weather has been completely insane (two >90 days in Oct!). I don’t blame you at all for not demoing it on an actual child.
The idea is neat but the price is way too high for me to justify. Maybe if we lived in a colder climate but not here.
The key to being safe and warm on a budget is fleece. When they’re little you can make an easy, no-sew polar fleece poncho by cutting a hole in the middle of a rectangle of fleece (if you want more warmth you can sew 2 pieces together or to keep it no-sew just fringe and tie them together like making a blanket) Then you do the same thing as with the coat; flip the backside up over the carseat and buckle the straps under the front. When they’re a little older and want a coat just use a polar fleece one. It’s thin enough to fit safely under the straps and plenty warm for those quick trips to and from the car.
Great idea! I’ll try that out! Like you, I can’t justify the $60 price tag (with the discount code), especially when we have very few cold days (TX).