My daughter unbuckled her carseat...while I was driving

[Honeymooner04]

I deleted my message because I was hoping for helpful advice on what to do and had my parenting questioned instead. I took my carseat to the fire department to ensure it was installed properly and was informed by a firefiger who is also a carseat technician that it is not unusual for kids to do this. I'm sorry I took this issue to the DIS boards.

 

[Honeymooner04]

x

 

[LaurinG]

I'm a nanny of a 2 year old whom I have recently switched from an older Britax (that he could easily unbuckle) into a Graco that even the 4 year old has trouble with for just that reason. He knew he wasn't suppose to unbuckle while the car was moving, but a 2 year old mind is an interesting thing when it comes to justifying bad choices.

 

[rcraw45425]

I had the five point ones from Graco with my girls, they got to where they would slip them off their shoulders after unhooking the little plastic thingy. I then found another brand, Kolcraft maybe, that had a snap clip, and got those type clips to keep them in. This may sould horrible but I also had to use the loop type cabinet locks to keep them in. As much as I hate that they are getting older (now 10 & 12) I really don't miss those days!

 

[Texasmomof3]

Thank God she wasn't hurt. My 5 year old did that one night and went flying and she hasn't done it again because it scared her so much. My 2 year old just learned to click herself in so I am wondering how long it will be before she learns how to get out. There was a little boy I think 3 years old last week that fell out of his mom's minivan as she turned a corner, he was hit by a car traveling behind them. Last I saw in the paper he was in serious condition - his mom of course is devastated. I guess the door had been broken prior to this incident and somehow opened I know my van's doors will not open unless the vehicle is in park. Keep them in your prayers.

 

[brymolmom]

I had a small issue with this when dd was younger. I would say use your most STRINGENT discipline on this. Really - what else is discipline best for - keeping them safe! So if she has a treat she likes or a blankie she loves or whatever - pull the car over and take it away. Or if you're going to a favorite place - tell her that you cannot go if she plays with her carseat belt.

In my case it did not last long - dd just wanted to see if she could do it. Hopefully this will be the case with you too. Good luck.

 

[grlpwrd]

I frequent car-seat.org and someone posted this link for Tips from SafetyBeltSafe USA dealing with kids unbuckling themselves:

http://www.carseat.org/Resources/635.pdf

GL!

 

[MSSANDRA]

While you certainly want to reinforce to your child that she is not to unbuckle her seat, 19 mo is just on the boarder of her being able to understand and respond to your request. You have to make sure that she can not unbuclke the seat. I had my DS do this ONCE, and he was like 2 or 2 1/2. He stood up on the seat and yelled, TA DA.. it was one of the few times in his life (he is 15 now)that i yelled at him.It scared him to death,wasthe first time I had ever done that but it worked. He got a long talk and he never did it again. HOWEVER... it could have just as easy had the reverse effect and he do it again to see if I would yell!!

i did a seach for a lock for the seat but did not find anything. i am sure that did hear that there was such a thing. it might have been in a special needs catalog as most children that young can not unfasten the buckle. The cabinet lock might be a cheap and safe solution. Good luck and know this is just the first of many gray hairs!!!

 

[thepeach80]

Not that it's not possible, but I have a hard time believing a 19mos old could unbuckle the Britax seat. Was it just the top part she unbuckled or the bottom? I guess I could possibly her undoing the top part, some kids are good like that. A lot of techs reccomend some rough velcro on the back of the clip in that case, even on the buckle too. Did she loosen her harness at all?

 

[Honeymooner04]

x

 

[brergnat]

Oh man, my 3 1/2 year old did the SAME thing around 18 months on a Britax Roundabout. He is surprisingly strong, so pushing the red button to release the actual buckle was not that hard for him. So, I concur that it CAN be done...repeatedly!

I really wish that Britax would sell something that prevents the kids from sliding the chest clip up and down, though, because it seems like if that were locked, it would be harder to maneuver to unbuckle the buckle.

You really just have to drill into your child's head that the buckle is only to be done and undone by a grownup. I go so far as to tell my child that he is not allowed to TOUCH the red button on the buckle, and if he does, he gets a punishment during the car ride. For him, that is NOT getting to listen to his favorite songs or taking away one of his backseat toys for the duration of the ride. I periodically glance back there in my rearview and when I see him playing with it I tell him "No touching the buckle". You have to be proactive, but it will work eventually. My 18 month old hears me scolding my 3 year old so often that he has not even dared touch the buckles. He is a good passenger.

And, from now on, make it a habit to glance back there whenever you can, just to make sure she's strapped in. There is nothing like going 75 on the freeway and feeling some little hands raising your headrest. I've had to pull over on the shoulder of the freeway a few times now, and to be honest with you, when he does that on the freeway, he gets a spanking, and I am not ashamed to admit that.

 

[PEANUT1]

I wouldn't put anything past a 19 month old...kids can do amazing things. I am sure it was a fluke. My daughter did this once when she was 3 and I disciplined her for it and she never did it again....I know how you feel though, when this happened to me, I was really shook up.

 

[PEANUT1]

i'm sorry if you felt some people were being critical....i find most people try to be helpful...good luck to you

 

[dawnball]

Maybe I missed everyone picking on the OP... However, my DD did that too. I think almost all kids do at some point or another. I'd suggest trying both to stop the behavior (whatever parenting method you feel is appropriate) and to make it more difficult.

To make it more difficult you could try making a cardboard cover for the latch that fastens (a cloth sleeve and velcro maybe?) behind the buckle. Depending on the particular buckle you may be able to twist the strap for the bottom buckle a half turn so the button faces downward and still fasten the buckle. Even a hand towel wrapped a few times around the buckle and tied off would make it more difficult to unfasten.

I did find with the britax that there were times it didn't fasten *quite* all the way. I heard the click, but if you pulled hard on the upper straps it would release. Removing the buckle and rinsing it throughly seemed to solve that, but I also started paying more attention and giving a yank on the straps each time too.

 

[grlpwrd]

It really is a common problem. My son was about 2 yo when he could unbuckle himself.

Here is one of my favorite forums and website for carseats: www.car-seat.org . They are very supportive there. I did read that some people ended up getting another type of carseat to make it harder for the child to unbuckle him/herself.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

A lot of kids do this. Fortunately, it has never occurred to my son to try. I'm pretty sure he could unbuckle his Marathon if he wanted to! I have read some tricks on the car seat safety board I check once in a while, but wouldn't trust my memory to repeat them here. It's similar to the DIS (format) and it's at www.car-seat.org if you'd like to check it out! Those ladies (mostly women) are extremely helpful and many of them are certified car seat safety technicians (just like the police who inspected your seat). Good luck!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Your post caught my eye because I've had two of my 5 children do the same thing. With my first born I would have to pull over and buckle her constantly for probably 3 trips before she finally understood that no matter what I was going to put her back in the seat and she had to stay in it.

With my 3yo something that has helped tremendously is Dora, every time we would buckle him we'd say "Seatbelts: So we can be safe." Just like Dora does and if he messes with the seatbelts we remind him and he says "oh, yeah" and he repeats it. It also helps that I have siblings back there to help me remind him, but if your child likes Dora you could try that. I also point out to him "look, Mommy wears a seatbelt in the van and sister wears a seatbelt in the van, etc."

I really wish I'd thought of the cabinet lock years ago, I may get one now.

 

[nessz79]

Been there! I usually scare the bejeebers out of them when they attempt to do this. It usually works. I also give them the long lecture about what could happen to them.

 

[tinkandpan]

I saw you had a britax- now since you deleted your posts, I am not sure which one you had. I had with my older son, the roundabout and he was able to push down that red button at a very early age and could get the seatbelt to unpop. Now, i did discipline but at that early age, I wasn't going to be happy unless I knew I could do something about it. I called Britax customer service and they actually had a button cover just for this reason and sent it to me free of charge. Now this was one of the older models so I on't know if you have the same one, or if this would even apply. But give them a shot.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My dd3.5 cannot get herself out of her crotch buckle on her Apex 65. Look for a carseat that is hard to unfasten. She can undo the chest clip but has learned that all that gets is trouble. When my ds was young (maybe 2), he constantly pulled his chest clip down and pulled his arms out. The solution was a safety pin inside the strap just below the chest clip -- he could no longer slide it and soon lost interest.

The one thing that still works is pulling over to the side of the road as soon as it opens and stay there until they are buckled back in. My ds6's friend (he's 7) unbuckled his seatbelt while I was driving last week - my ds promptly told me he didn't have a seatbelt on. I pulled over and announced to him to let me know when he was buckled in. About a minute passed and he saw I was serious -- I heard the click.