# 22 month old getting out of car seat - HELP!



## abbysmomma21906 (Dec 13, 2007)

Hi all, this is my very first post and I've heard nothing but fabulous things about mothering.com, so that's why I'm here! Here is my problem..

My daughter will be two in Feb. and has recently discovered how to get her upper body out of her car seat. She slides the buckle that goes across her chest down to the bottom of the seat, and takes her arms out from the straps, leaving her whole torso free! She doesn't actually unlatch the clips, just pushes the whole thing down to the bottom. (I'm mentioning this because I asked her daycare about it and they thought that's what I meant.) It's driving me insane, I don't know how to stop the behavior and am having absolutely no luck finding any tricks to prohibit her from doing this. Am I the only one with a toddler who does this?? Any of you have any tricks up your sleeves?? Anything will be helpful!! Thanks!!!


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## redpajama (Jan 22, 2007)

My son went through a very brief phase of doing this--actually, he *was* unclipping the top buckle, and then taking his arms out.

When I would notice he had done it, I would pull over right away, get out of the car, go around to his door, and put the straps back on him. And I would explain that he absolutely cannot unbuckle that clip and take his straps off when we are driving.

He was a little older than your daughter--probably about 2.5--so, depending on how verbal your little girl is, this may or may not work for you. I only had to do it twice (maybe thrice; I forget) and he just sort of "got it." Now (he's 34 months) he'll ask me when we get somewhere if he can unbuckle himself, but he hasn't done it on the road for several months.

ETA: I'm not suggesting that you "pull this car over" in the punitive sense of the phrase--just that you let her see that it's very serious to you when she does that, and explain that the straps are there to keep her safe.


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## Neth Naneth (Aug 11, 2006)

I am bumping you up, this is a serious thing and I wish I had advice on the matter. How scary, I agree with the previous poster, that talking your little one about the safety is very important. Good luck.


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## Blue Lotus (Jun 16, 2006)

Welcome mama!

I have a 19 month old who does the exact same thing when I am driving, and it drives me crazy! I too pull over (but I can reach her from the drivers seat), and tell her very sternly that she has to stay in the carseat for her safety. Then I make sure her arms are back in and pull the clip back up. She has only done it a few times, biut I am definitely worried that she will figure out how to get out of it completely before long. I'm glad you posted on this subject!


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## medicmama (May 5, 2006)

If you make sure the straps are tight against their body, then clip the clip. I find it makes it harder to slide down. I did this when my now 6 y/o was 2. and he could not get his arms out. It is very nerve racking I know. also my ds was in awe of police men I took him to the police station and had an officer talk to him about staying in his seat. It worked!


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## dawncayden (Jan 24, 2006)

Can u make it tighter? I think you should only be able to fit 2 fingers under the straps.


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## NYCVeg (Jan 31, 2005)

We are having the same problem with dd. This is only a short-term fix, but I find that putting her in her winter coat helps--she has less arm movement. I know that coats are not the safest thing in a car, but I think it's better than her getting out of the straps! I'm considering getting some sort of clip to attach to the top of the straps so that she can't wiggle her way out of them.


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## abbysmomma21906 (Dec 13, 2007)

Thank you all for your replies! I have tried just about everything you guys have suggested. I pull the straps really tight, so tight that I wonder if it's hurting her and that's why she gets out? I pull over every single time and tell her she can't do that and it's very dangerous. I think the only thing I can do is to really make her understand why she can't do that because nothing else is working. I'm going to move the straps up a slot higher so it's not so tight on her shoulders and see if that helps. Thanks again!


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## abbysmomma21906 (Dec 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *NYCVeg* 
We are having the same problem with dd. This is only a short-term fix, but I find that putting her in her winter coat helps--she has less arm movement. I know that coats are not the safest thing in a car, but I think it's better than her getting out of the straps! I'm considering getting some sort of clip to attach to the top of the straps so that she can't wiggle her way out of them.

thank you for suggesting this! I'm going to try putting her coat on today and see if it helps, i think it will. I'm hoping she'll forget about the whole thing eventually.


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## Erinz (Mar 1, 2006)

What about sewing a bead onto the middle of each strap right under the buckle so they CAN'T slide down at all? OH OH or tie pins???


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

I wouldn't use tie pins, as those can be serious choking hazards, and it sounds like the OP's little one is quite dextrous.










What kind of carseat are you using? Is she straining against it when you're tightening the straps (so maybe they're not as tight on her as you think)?

I would contact the manufacturer and ask their input, honestly, before I attempted to alter or add anything to the straps.

Sorry you're dealing with this and hope you find a solution very soon!


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## bri276 (Mar 24, 2005)

I'd try putting her in the carseat, clipping it, and then putting her jacket on backwards, as in, zipping/snapping it up her back. It's safer that way than having it under the straps. Or, mittens, if she'll wear them, or snacks to distract her? something needs to happen so that she physically cannot undo the clip, because at this point, it seems that listening to mommy isn't happening- totally age appropriate!







but yeah, that's scary. I remember my friend's son doing this on the highway when we were going about 70 mph, he was standing up in his carseat like "woohoo!" ugh


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## medicmama (May 5, 2006)

Check All Winter Coats for Car Seat Safety.
It's easy to check and see whether a baby's winter coat or infant snowsuit is too thick to be safe in a car seat.

This test will show you how thick the coat is and how much the coat will compress during the crash.

1. Take the car seat into the house.
2. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
3. Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
4. Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
5. Take the coat off your child.
6. Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.
If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child's shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat.


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## medicmama (May 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bri276* 
I'd try putting her in the carseat, clipping it, and then putting her jacket on backwards, as in, zipping/snapping it up her back. It's safer that way than having it under the straps. Or, mittens, if she'll wear them, or snacks to distract her? something needs to happen so that she physically cannot undo the clip, because at this point, it seems that listening to mommy isn't happening- totally age appropriate!







but yeah, that's scary. I remember my friend's son doing this on the highway when we were going about 70 mph, he was standing up in his carseat like "woohoo!" ugh

Yes the sweater/jacket backwards works great. Also the one peice fleece jobba's that have the hands that flip onto mittens. This did drive ds crazy, and he'd "bitch" himself to sleep. better than having him hangin out the seat.


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## AlbertaJes (May 11, 2006)

I would sew a button under the lowest possible place you need that clip to be. Then she shouldn't be able to slide it.


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## Erinz (Mar 1, 2006)

I like the button idea better than my bead or tie pins









THat way you KNOW it is in place.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Nope, do not put anything on the straps. The chest clip is meant to break or move down in a crash, and anything you do to modify it can have serious ramifications. If the straps are tight enough that you cannot pinch any slack, I'd try distraction, bribery, anything really to rectify the situation.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Try this.









http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=29772


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## lemurmommies (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thepeach80* 
Try this.









http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=29772

Awesome idea! Thank you so much for linking to this thread. With the cold here and no way to safely warm up the car before we go out to it. This will be a lifesaver. (Sorry about my reply being a tad off topic...)


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lemurmommies* 
Awesome idea! Thank you so much for linking to this thread. With the cold here and no way to safely warm up the car before we go out to it. This will be a lifesaver. (Sorry about my reply being a tad off topic...)

It's o.k. What I posted was about keeping his warm safely, but it also seemed like it might help w/ keeping kids from moving their chest clip. I guess though it would only work if they can't get the zipper.


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## soygurl (Jan 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dawncayden* 
Can u make it tighter? I think you should only be able to fit 2 fingers under the straps.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *medicmama* 
If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child's shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat.

Because everyone's fingers are difference sizes, the "finger test" is no longer recommended. To check the tightness of harness straps, try to pinch the harness between your fingers. If you can pinch the harness (Like this), the straps need to be tightened.








If you DO use the "finger test" it should be no more than *one* finger (index for women, pinkie for men) under the harness where it hits the shoulder.


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## show (Dec 18, 2007)

When my toddler started getting out of his upper buckle, I bought a cheap plastic cabinet safety lock that is a sort of gadget that holds two cabinet doors together. I would pull over, tell him he couldn't undo the clip, and then put one of these cabinet locks above the clip for the rest of the drive. He learned after only a couple times that he shouldn't unbuckle his car seat, because the lock was even worse. I keep it in the car just in case, but he mostly stopped doing it, unless he's really upset about going somewhere.


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## MommytoTwo (Jun 20, 2004)

I would pull over and refuse to drive till she stayed in, and if that didnt work I would bribe w/ whatever necessary.

Quote:

The chest clip is meant to break or move down in a crash
Just curious - the clip is designed to _break_ in the case of a crash? How does that help anyone?


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## thepracticalmom (Nov 20, 2007)

It helped with my daughter when I showed her pictures of babies in carseats. I just did it over the internet. She's 20 months.


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## thepeach80 (Mar 16, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MommytoTwo* 

Just curious - the clip is designed to _break_ in the case of a crash? How does that help anyone?

The chest clip doesn't do anything but keep the straps on the shoulders, it's called a precrash positioner. The straps are what keeps a child in the seat, that's why they need to be tight. If they're loose out flies the child when that that clip breaks.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thepeach80* 
The chest clip doesn't do anything but keep the straps on the shoulders, it's called a precrash positioner. The straps are what keeps a child in the seat, that's why they need to be tight. If they're loose out flies the child when that that clip breaks.

Yep, this exactly.


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## MommytoTwo (Jun 20, 2004)

ok i was just curious...someone said the clip was designed to break.


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## mamapixie (May 30, 2002)

You could try the Evenflo Chase. Because the harness adjuster is on the harness itself, the chest clip can only be pushed down so far.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2743346


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MommytoTwo* 
ok i was just curious...someone said the clip was designed to break.

I said that--like Jennifer said, the chest clip is a precrash positioner, and is meant to move down or break in a crash. It is not one of the 5 points in the 5-pt harness.


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