How to keep my son in his carseat?

[CalvertNewbie]

My son turns 18 months tomorrow and he's had an interesting few days. He climbed out of his crib for the first time. Luckily he wasn't hurt.

Now he's figured out how to unlock the carseat latch that goes across his chest. Nothing is wrong with the latch, he's just trying to get into & out of everything. I heard that there's some sort of guard that goes over it so he can't unlock it anymore. I wasted 2 hrs going to Babies R Us in Waldorf because they said they had something but actually they had nothing except a carseat lock alarm. What have you done to stop your curious kids from escaping from their seats? Duct tape, lol?

 

[Baja28]

My son turns 18 months tomorrow and he's had an interesting few days. He climbed out of his crib for the first time. Luckily he wasn't hurt.

Now he's figured out how to unlock the carseat latch that goes across his chest. Nothing is wrong with the latch, he's just trying to get into & out of everything. I heard that there's some sort of guard that goes over it so he can't unlock it anymore. I wasted 2 hrs going to Babies R Us in Waldorf because they said they had something but actually they had nothing except a carseat lock alarm. What have you done to stop your curious kids from escaping from their seats? Duct tape, lol?

You're welcome.

 

[cattitude]

Beat him with a wooden spoon.

Give him benadryl.

Tie his hands down with a rope.

Dog crate in the seat?

 

[Bay_Kat]

Beat him with a wooden spoon.

Give him benadryl.

Tie his hands down with a rope.

Dog crate in the seat?

Nice!

 

[itsbob]

Nice!

Not so far from the truth.

You don't need SOMETHING to stop him, YOU need to stop him.

If you don't enforce the rules, what are you going to do when he's 4 and in a seatbelt and doesn't want to wear it?

Or 16 and driving on his own for the first time.

You make them start obeying the rules at a young age and it will follow with them the rest of their lives. If they don't follow the rules by the time they are 5, they probably never will.

 

[CalvertNewbie]

You're welcome.

Tempting at times, I'll tell ya!

Beat him with a wooden spoon.

Give him benadryl.

Tie his hands down with a rope.

Dog crate in the seat?

Is that what worked for you? How'd ya get the dog crate to fit in the seat?

Not so far from the truth.

You don't need SOMETHING to stop him, YOU need to stop him.

If you don't enforce the rules, what are you going to do when he's 4 and in a seatbelt and doesn't want to wear it?

Or 16 and driving on his own for the first time.

You make them start obeying the rules at a young age and it will follow with them the rest of their lives. If they don't follow the rules by the time they are 5, they probably never will.

I agree with rules and age appropriate discipline. He's got lots of rules to follow at home, we're having a grand old time with the word "NO" that he hears probably hundreds of times a day. He knows of many things that he's not allowed to do here. He's testing us but at 18mos old that's to be expected to a certain extent.

It's difficult for me to discipline him while he's in the backseat and I'm driving. Carseat safety isn't something I'm going to try to make an 18 month old understand. If I'm driving and he's unlatching his carseat, I'll be distracted and that's obviously not safe on the roads. Sure, I can pull over a million times. But who's to say that before I do pull over that we don't get hit and he's basically unrestrained at that point? At 4 yrs old, simple. I pull over until he buckles his butt back up. At 16 yrs old, he loses the car keys.

 

[Bay_Kat]

Not so far from the truth.

You don't need SOMETHING to stop him, YOU need to stop him.

If you don't enforce the rules, what are you going to do when he's 4 and in a seatbelt and doesn't want to wear it?

Or 16 and driving on his own for the first time.

You make them start obeying the rules at a young age and it will follow with them the rest of their lives. If they don't follow the rules by the time they are 5, they probably never will.

Oh believe me I agree with you. It's just that I know some people that have actually used a couple of the things on her list. Glad I never had to.

 

[itsbob]

Tempting at times, I'll tell ya!



Is that what worked for you? How'd ya get the dog crate to fit in the seat?



I agree with rules and age appropriate discipline. He's got lots of rules to follow at home, we're having a grand old time with the word "NO" that he hears probably hundreds of times a day. He knows of many things that he's not allowed to do here. He's testing us but at 18mos old that's to be expected to a certain extent.

It's difficult for me to discipline him while he's in the backseat and I'm driving. Carseat safety isn't something I'm going to try to make an 18 month old understand. If I'm driving and he's unlatching his carseat, I'll be distracted and that's obviously not safe on the roads. Sure, I can pull over a million times. But who's to say that before I do pull over that we don't get hit and he's basically unrestrained at that point? At 4 yrs old, simple. I pull over until he buckles his butt back up. At 16 yrs old, he loses the car keys.

TASER..

 

[CalvertNewbie]

TASER..

Tell your son to hook me up with one!

 

[terbear1225]

Tell your son to hook me up with one!

personally, I hit the breaks hard enough for her to come out of her seat a little but not hard enough for her to bounce off the front seat ( after checking that no one was behind us first) that followed by a thorough scolding convinced my then 3yo tht it wasn't worth it to take off the belt ever again. she's 5 now and still asks permission before removing her seat belt when we park.

 

[CalvertNewbie]

personally, I hit the breaks hard enough for her to come out of her seat a little but not hard enough for her to bounce off the front seat ( after checking that no one was behind us first) that followed by a thorough scolding convinced my then 3yo tht it wasn't worth it to take off the belt ever again. she's 5 now and still asks permission before removing her seat belt when we park.

Hmmmm, think that approach will work with an 18 month old? Fun times, I tell ya!

 

[terbear1225]

Hmmmm, think that approach will work with an 18 month old? Fun times, I tell ya!

don't know. might be worth a try though.

 

[Nickel]

Beat him with a wooden spoon.

Whenever he starts messing with the buckle, reach back and start swinging. You won't even have to take your eyes off the road!

 

[Dymphna]

Not so far from the truth.

You don't need SOMETHING to stop him, YOU need to stop him.

If you don't enforce the rules, what are you going to do when he's 4 and in a seatbelt and doesn't want to wear it?

Or 16 and driving on his own for the first time.

You make them start obeying the rules at a young age and it will follow with them the rest of their lives. If they don't follow the rules by the time they are 5, they probably never will.

It may sound harsh, but Bob's got a point. At 18 months he's old enough to know what "no" means and that if he doesn't obey, there will be consequences. Mommy getting mad and speaking in a mean voice and delivering "the look" is usually enough of a consequence.

Make sure you have a mirror or some means of seeing him in the back seat and whenever he starts fooling with the latch, get mad. When he behaves properly, praise him. If you can have someone sit next to him who can also deliver a tap on the hand when he starts messing with it, then do that too, if need be.

 

[Dymphna]

Carseat safety isn't something I'm going to try to make an 18 month old understand.

I told all my kids early on, long before they could understand that they have to be strapped it to keep safe. Even an 18 mo old can get that.

 

[punjabigyrl]

You're welcome.

Thats funny.

 

[Justme2]

Gloves or mittens

Ok let's try this How about Gloves or Mittens something with no fingers.

 

[lnmarsh]

I personally like the wooden spoon idea. If hollering and giving him "The Mom Look" in the rearview mirror dosnt work, a crack on his chubby little baby knuckles with a woodnen spoon sure will!

As a side note...

My little brother never undid his carseat and/or seatbelt when he was a kid.

As he got older, it was like pulling teeth to try to get him to wear one. He just wouldnt put it on. Got to the point where my parents and I all agreed that we werent going to take him anywhere unless he stopped fighting us. He finally started wearing one when he figured out he couldnt go anywhere I always worried though that he wouldnt wear one once he started driving himself.

Fast forward about 4 years... he is now 17 and got his license about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Three weeks after he got it, he flipped his car with two friends inside (http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p273/rid3emcowgurl/James%20accident/P8150250.jpg). Car was totaled but all three kids walked out without a scratch. Well, technically they had some scratches because they had to climb out the windows and walk thru thorn bushes, but thats besides the point. When I got to the scene of the accident I looked him over and looked at the condition of the car and said "I dont believe you're not hurt!" he just looked at me and smiled and said "No one rides in my car without a seatbelt, including me."

Go figure. Kids really do listen sometimes

 

[my-thyme]

I personally like the wooden spoon idea. If hollering and giving him "The Mom Look" in the rearview mirror dosnt work, a crack on his chubby little baby knuckles with a woodnen spoon sure will!

As a side note...

My little brother never undid his carseat and/or seatbelt when he was a kid.

As he got older, it was like pulling teeth to try to get him to wear one. He just wouldnt put it on. Got to the point where my parents and I all agreed that we werent going to take him anywhere unless he stopped fighting us. He finally started wearing one when he figured out he couldnt go anywhere I always worried though that he wouldnt wear one once he started driving himself.

Fast forward about 4 years... he is now 17 and got his license about 4 or 5 weeks ago. Three weeks after ge got it, he flipped his car with two friends inside (http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p273/rid3emcowgurl/James%20accident/P8150250.jpg). Car was totaled but all three kids walked out without a scratch. Well, technically they had some scratches because they had to climb out the windows and walk thru thorn bushes, but thats besides the point. When I got to the scene of the accident I looked him over and looked at the car condition of the car and said "I dont believe you're not hurt!" he just looked at me and smiled and said "No one rides in my car without a seatbelt, including me."

Go figure. Kids really do listen sometimes

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

Tempting at times, I'll tell ya!



Is that what worked for you? How'd ya get the dog crate to fit in the seat?



I agree with rules and age appropriate discipline. He's got lots of rules to follow at home, we're having a grand old time with the word "NO" that he hears probably hundreds of times a day. He knows of many things that he's not allowed to do here. He's testing us but at 18mos old that's to be expected to a certain extent.

It's difficult for me to discipline him while he's in the backseat and I'm driving. Carseat safety isn't something I'm going to try to make an 18 month old understand. If I'm driving and he's unlatching his carseat, I'll be distracted and that's obviously not safe on the roads. Sure, I can pull over a million times. But who's to say that before I do pull over that we don't get hit and he's basically unrestrained at that point? At 4 yrs old, simple. I pull over until he buckles his butt back up. At 16 yrs old, he loses the car keys.

Wait til he figure out how to fashion the kitchen utensil drawers into steps so he can walk up to and on top of the counter. My Brother did that. 'Look Mommy! I made stairs!', he said; as he walked up on top of the counter.
Scared the S*** outta Mom.