OT-I need carseat help!

[jennilouwho]

Hi!

My 5 month old has figured out how to unlatch the top part of the 5 point harness in his carseat. Anyone have any ideas on how I can prevent this from happening? He pushes and pushes and pushes until he gets that belt part out!

Thanks!

Jen

 

[all4fun]

Are you talking about the chest clip? What brand/model is your carseat?

Maybe call the car seat mfg (or check their website) and see if they can send you a replacement clip that doesn't come apart so easily.

Another place to look for advice is car-safety.org. Lots of helpful people there that are trained/certified in car safety. They might also have some ideas.

This advice is from their FAQ

Q31: My child won't use a carseat/booster. My child escapes his carseat. What can I do?

Some children can twist out of harnesses at an early age. Others can easily undo the buckle mechanism. Children may also be able to put too much slack in a seatbelt, and some children don't want to use a child restraint or seatbelt at all. Driving is a dangerous activity, and like any other, it requires proper supervision at all times.

Parents can try many things. You can try calling the manufacturer of your carseat to see if they have a buckle that requires more force to release, or a 2-piece chest clip instead of a "paperclip style" chest clip. Using a seatbelt yourself sets a good example. Refusing to put the car in motion unless the child stays in their restraint is another. Also, try to keep your child entertained or distracted if possible, and NEVER make an exception and allow them not to use their child restraint. For severe cases, you can try a safety vest by E-Z-On (800-323-6598) that may be more difficult to remove.

hth.

 

[Poohbear77]

So funny(but not really). My daughter had the same problem. I have 3 children and have always used the 5 point harness. Of course, my last little daredevil was the only one to figure out how to do this. We finally resorted to buying a carset that has the bar that comes down over the chest and buckles between the legs. I love this!! No more bucking and unbuckling all those clips. I wish I had used this from the beginning.

Good luck to you. We use to tell my daughter that the buckle was "hot" and not to touch it. This did work for a little while, but soon she figured it out.

 

[jennilouwho]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I do mean the belt clip thing. It's so frustrating because I can't really reason with a 5 month old I will have to look around and see if I can find a bar kind or I'll write the manufacturer. It's a graco, not sure the model. Thanks again!

 

[GatorGal]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I do mean the belt clip thing. It's so frustrating because I can't really reason with a 5 month old I will have to look around and see if I can find a bar kind or I'll write the manufacturer. It's a graco, not sure the model. Thanks again!

Please, please do not purchase a seat with the "bar", called and "overhead sheild, or OHS for short). They aren't nearly as safe as a five point harness and have caused injuries in young children The straps on an OHS generally aren't as snug as those on a five point harness the tightness of the overhead sheild can't be adjusted at all. Stick with the five point harness.

Make sure the chest clip is up high enough, it should be at arm pit level. The straps of the seat should be snug, you should only be able to get on finger between the shoulders and strap. Perhaps with the straps snug enough and the check clip high enough your little one won't have the leverage to get the clip loose.

HTH

 

[Poohbear77]

jennilouwho,

I take back suggesting to use a shield(bar) type carseat. After reading GatorGal's remarks I did some research. Turns out these types of carseats are definitely not as safe as the 5pt.harness style. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recomends not using these types as do numerous other agencies. Here is just a sample of some comments written on the matter:
-------------------------------
Why use a five point harness?

Five-point harnessed car seats offer a much snugger harness fit than a shielded seat. In all five-point harness seats, the straps come down over the shoulders and across the hips to fasten to the buckle that comes up between the legs. The harness sits snugly against the bony parts of the pelvis (the crotch and hip straps) and across the shoulders and rib cage (the shoulder straps). When a child moves forward in the seat, as they would in a crash, the properly tightened harness is already "holding" the child and it immediately restrains them, spreading the crash force out across the strong bones of the body. There is nothing to impact; nothing for the child to suddenly hit. The child does not move before loading the restraint.

Tray-shield and t-shield seats simply cannot restrain a child as snugly as a five-point harness. Current motor vehicle safety standards require a "lap restraint" for all car seats. On tray- and t-shield seats, the shield acts as the lap portion of the restraint. However, these shields do not fasten snugly across a child's pelvis as a five-point harness does, and they do not adjust to the contours of the child's body. This allows more forward and side to side movement than a five-point harness does - both before and during a crash. The tray-shield generally sits at chest level, several inches away from the child. The t-shield is buckled in at a set distance from the child and sits at chest or abdomen level. The straps that go over the child's shoulder and between their legs are either attached to the tray or top of the t-shield, attached to the rigid crotch buckle, or attached to webbing that attaches to the tray. These designs can allow the shoulder straps to be pulled away from the child's body. Any space between the child's body and the shield allow the child to gain a great deal of momentum before s/he is restrained. That restraint is not merely composed of soft harness webbing that stretches to absorb crash force, but a hard, unyielding plastic bar or hard molded rubber. The thin amount of padding material on that bar or the imagined softness of the rubber is not going to make any difference or provide a soft cushion in a 35 mph collision. The design of tray- and t-shield car seats depends on the child impacting those shields - it's part of the restraint. In a crash, the force of the collision will propel the child's body forward. There's no way to determine which part of the child's body will impact the tray or t. Maybe they'll be "close enough" to it that they only end up with bruised ribs or a bumped nose. Maybe they won't be so close and they'll break their jaw, break their ribs, or damage their spleen. ER and trauma nurses can account for the numerous head, chest and abdominal injuries they've seen in children who've "impacted" tray and t-shields at a high rate of speed.

It is known that at least one child has died from a fatal head injury caused when her head struck a tray-shield. There have been other reported injuries and possibly deaths (matters under investigation or litigation).

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So THANK YOU GatorGal for opening my eyes. I will definitely be pulling my 5pt. carseat out of storage and tossing my shield one.

 

[mad hatter fan]

Do call the carseat company. We had to do this once because the piece you are talking about was not tight enough on the straps and my son could push it down where it would not be protecting him properly. They sent a new better fitting one out right away.

 

[lil mermaid]

I agree with those who say to call the company. A child shouldn't be able to undo the chest clip (especially a 5 month old - wow, must be a smart baby!) so it makes me think that there is something wrong with the clip itself.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Is he still in an infant car seat? If so, consider moving him to a convertible seat like the Britax Roundabout, which has a chest buckle instead of a clip that the strap slides into. The buckles are pretty hard to undo!

 

[Livin'4Disney]

I have personally experienced this. The manufacture is happy to send a chest clip that actually latches together. If they cannot replace the paper clip style, BY A NEW CARSEAT
The amount of money it costs for the new carseat compared to the peace of mind and safety, is worth its price in gold.
Also, DITTO on the whole "bar type" of car seat. Very dangerous. That goes for the booster with lap bars, as well definitely not safe.
Have a HAPPY DISNEY DAY!!

 

[Livin'4Disney]

I have personally experienced this. The manufacture is happy to send a chest clip that actually latches together. If they cannot replace the paper clip style, BY A NEW CARSEAT
The amount of money it costs for the new carseat compared to the peace of mind and safety, is worth its price in gold.
Also, DITTO on the whole "bar type" of car seat. Very dangerous. That goes for the booster with lap bars, as well definitely not safe.
Have a HAPPY DISNEY DAY!!

 

[jennilouwho]

This is great information! I am very grateful for it! I tried him in a couple of friend's carseats (just sitting in the livingroom) and he can get out of those too, so it's not just our chest clip! Crazy kid! He's got very good fine motor skills. He picked and picked at a double knot on something the other day (totally supervised) and got it out!

I took him to the doctor today to weigh him and he's 19 pounds (He's our 95th percentile boy! ) , so we will be purchasing a new one in the near future, now I know what to look for! And I definately won't get the bar, thanks! I really appreciate the help! Until then I figured out if I put a blanket on him, after he's buckled, that he can't get to it (until he figures out how to get the blanket off).

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Your baby sounds super-smart! And BIG! We have a 9-month old and there is no way he could undo his carseat. Until today, I thought he was smart too!

 

[jennilouwho]

Your baby sounds super-smart! And BIG! We have a 9-month old and there is no way he could undo his carseat. Until today, I thought he was smart too!

He's just very much like his father. My husband is the same way, always pulling things a part and such! My baby is good at concentrating (he didn't get that from me). He will focus on one thing for quite a long time. I actually baby-sit a baby that is a month older than mine, so it's fun to see how different every baby is. She's much more advanced verbally than mine. He only really makes an "ooh" sound and she's been making a lot of consonant sounds for a long time. He's better at fine motor and they are about equal on gross motor. I'm sure your baby is super smart too!