2 Year Old Who Figured Out Car Seat Clips

Try taking the car seat apart and put the clip on backwards so that the release button is pointed towards her chest. It might make it a little harder for her. Good luck!

B.-
It is a bit more work, but the clips that come with car seats to keeps the car seatbelt tightened, I used that when my child figured it out. I put it above the clasp and it worked well, my daughter learned she wasn't going to win.

Good LUck

I have three children and my oldest did this at around the same age. I bought a clip that cliped differently, and yes it was a different brand than that of the car seat. Some brands are more flexible and some less flexible making it hareder for them. Plus they might just give up with the new challenge. (I've had about three to four different brands of car seats. My kids are 7.5, 4.5, and 3.)

B.,
Try a diaper pin. My son did this too. and I finally pined the straps together along with the clip. He didn't get out at all.

Grace and Peace,
Barbara
deaffmommie

Not only did my daughter figure out how to unhook every imaginable car seat fastener we bought, she also liked to open the car doors going down the highway at 70 mph. Our only option was to have someone sitting in the backseat with her everywhere we went. Wish I could give you better news, but at least it shows your child is intelligent and has good coordination skills. ;) Good Luck! A.

Oh, BTW, I asked her why she kept unbuckling herself and she said Barbie doesn't have to ride in a car seat. And sure enough all the Barbie cars had very flimsy "adult" seat belts. I hunted and hunted until I found a Happy Family van that had a carseat like my daughters. It played music if you pushed one button, asked "Are we there yet?" if you pressed a different button. She absolutely loved that van and we bought her all the accessories. She was going through the terrible three's and the only way I could get a positive result from any kind of punishment I'd dish out was if I took away her favorite van and not let her have it back until her punishment was over. She told my mom I was holding her toys "hossages" (hostage) in my closet where she couldn't reach. LOL

My son and nephew would do that same thing. For my sister, she would use a simple shoe string and tie it together. That would not work with my son, so I went to Just for Baby and got another clip that had more tension so he was unable to undo the clip. I let him sit down in the car seat there and try it out. I know how frustrating it can be to attempt a car ride and worry about if your child is going to climb out of the seat at any second. It did get better with age, and just took a lot of patience.

My niece used to do it all the time, and this sounds awful, but they reinforced her carseat with a rope. She could undo the clasps, but not untie a knot. It looks bad, but it worked for them. Also, she is two...she has no concept of "danger" or "mortality" or "safety", so it's hard to discipline a child for doing something they don't really understand. Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you ASAP.

E.

Please don't try to tell me you are a mother who cannot correct your 2-year old! I've liven in this world 66 years and feel that this is one of our majoy problems in todays world. The kids got their bluff in on Mom! It should be the other way around. I've always thought it was funny how children could be so naughty yet put them in a car seat and they would sit very quietly!!! Shows it can be done! Don't let this child rule you. It won't be long before you will have other problems you can't handle! It shouldn't be a problem for the world either. Time for some disapline for her. You need to understand what you are saying and when you make a stand follow it thru. I sure wouldn't wanna be the car near you when she flies out the window and is seriously hurt! I don't like to see kids hurt! You are the mother, step up to your job! I believe you said you were a working mother? Does she misbehave at the care givers? I bet not! They don't have the time to pet and pamper and explain these things to her. She is trained to listen and do what they ask, no quetions asked and I bet she loves it! Y0u do not have the right to let a 2-year old make this kind of decision as to not wear the seatbelt! Everyday we live by rules. Miss a few stop signs and see what happens. She is a wonderful age. The terrible 2's! I love them they are so interested in leaning and get up each day to a wonderful new world. They are beginning to find themselves and it is fun to observe this. But it is a problem for some because they are a threat to some. A little hard to manage but just wait until she is a teenager! Enjoy every minute of her life. This will pass but you have to be consistant. Did you think this would be an easy job? The payment is great when you raise or help raise a wonderful, well adjusted adult. That is your only pay off. Plealse remember that when you have an unruling child people (be it friends or relative, or strangers) they will dislike the child not the ones who allow a child to be unruley( excuse my spelling) I just feel so strongly about this! Be careful what you say in front of her. Kids are very smart and it won't take long until she finds out she had the control! Take it back. Be firm when the need arises. You both will be glad that you did! Good luck, they aren't easy to raise but so much fun after it is all over. Give her lots of love in constructive ways and all of it will be returned and you would much rather have that kind of love than the little hateful ways she is learning. Wish I was there to give you both a hug. Seems like you need one! Can you imagine one? Here it is!!!!

Try some stick on velcro. The velcro comes with two sides, the soft side and the rough side. Stick the rough side on the button for the clip. It will hurt if she tries to unbuckle, but adult fingers are not generally bothered by it. Kids have to push the button a lot harder than adults do.

My son, he's 3, does this too. He also started around 2 years of age. I had to continue to discipline him and finally he understood that he was not to un-clip that part until the car was stopped and it was time to get out. It took many, many, many times of talking to him, disciplining him before he finally got it. There children and they will try you to the very end, but stay consistent and it will pay off. Good luck!

Try this and see if this is what you are looking for.This could be put above or under your childs chest clip for extra protection so that even if she got the other off she wouldn't be able to get this one off.http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Lock-Tite/dp/B000KN6X... But if all else fails get a different car seat that she would have a hard time figuring out.

My daughter is 17 months and figured that out 3 months ago... I have been fighting that battle myself... I just make sure the bottom part is clipped and make sure the top part is snug on her chest... so when she does unclip the top her arms have a hard time slipping from behind the straps... but if we are on a long trip... I do normally pull over and re-strap her back in... can't take any chances...

B.,

My 2 yr old daughter has not done this yet, but I have a suggestion that is cheap and likely effective. Get a roll of clear packing tape that has the cutting device on the dispenser. Keep it in your car. Wrap the tape around the buckle a couple of times after you strap her in. So it's easy to remove the tape at your destination, fold over the very end of the tape and make a "tab" on the back side of the clip. This should make it easy for you to remove, but not her (hopefully!!). I used clear tape to keep my daughters diaper on when she started taking it off and it worked. Hope this helps! D. H

Ugh, I remember that! Quite a predicament! My daughter hadn't ever done that, and then one day I was driving down the road and looked in my rear view mirror and saw a CLOSE-UP of her! She had gotten all the way out of her seat and was standing in the center of the back seat poking her head through the two front seats! You can imagine the shock! Luckily I was still in my neighborhood, she'd done it immediatly, so it was easy enough to pull right over and clarify that "that was BAD", and I went back home and grabbed one of those rock-climbing hooks from the garage to clasp around it. Then I wound up getting another car seat for her that was more complicated to open, as hers just had one button to push then you pull it apart. Some are much easier than others. I think we as parents tend to like the easier ones, because it's easier for us to get them in/out, but over time, it becomes easy enough for the child, and that is where the problem lies. I found one that has a mechanism that is a bit harder (it was a pain for me too), where you have to push two thingies at once to get it to come open, and there are several other seats that make it a little more complicated. Buying a bunch of different car seats isn't much of an option, but perhaps buy one, and keep the box and receipt handy, and if she figures it out within the month then take it back. But do set rules on that now. Because before long she'll be in a normal seat belt - and we all have to follow the same rules in life. We can't just take our seat belt off when we feel like it. She won't be allowed to do it when she's older either, so go ahead and be setting the ground rules now. Be sure there is a consequence for each time she does it, and be sure she understands the consequence. Rewards programs work great on many kids. We normally eat quite healthy and low sugar, so treats are a big thing in my household. I would keep a bag of marshmallows in the car and after every ride give her a marshmallow if she did great on the car ride. Every time you get in the car and put her in her seat, remind her that if she doesn't un-do her seatbelt, that she'll be getting a treat. Ask her "What happens if you take off your seatbelt?" and be sure she knows she doesn't get a treat. My daughter will do back flips for marshmallows, but you may need to choose a treat that you kid is coo-coo for and doesn't normally get. Those are my suggestions, hope they help. I do think the time-out thing is a good one if you can make the time for it. Perhaps stage short drives around your neighborhood and in places that you know you can easily stop and pull over quickly, of course she may not EVER do it then, just when you're on a major highway or in a big hurry! :o) But pulling over on major roads can be extremely dangreous too. So pulling over all the time to discipline her on something that is dangerous (as you're doign something dangerous), just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Your 5 year old may be able to be of some help. Explain the situation to him and ask his advice. Seriously, sometimes kids can be real smart! If nothing else, he can alert you when she is messing with it so you have a little advance warning... I believe the key is in finding the proper way to discipline her on this, but in the meantime, do whatever you need to do to be sure she's safe. The seat belt tightener thing was a good idea someone gave. So, Mom, fix the problem for now, and then focus on correcting the problem within the child. Some kids are easy to discipline and don't need much of it, some are just relentless. So it's easy for us moms to tell you what you're doing wrong or right, but you're the one dealing with your child, so only you can figure out what works best for you & her.

You are not alone, there are many mothers who go through the same thing.

I went through the same thing. I know it sounds dauntying to pull over every time but after the 3 time I pulled over my daughter figured out it was a bad idea to unbuckle. Make sure you allow extra time the next time you go out so you are not late and try to take a route that has lots of good places to pull over. Maybe even take a trip just around your nieghborhood just for the sake of this lesson.

When my two year old figured out the car seat we were driving down the highway and he was standing up waving to the oncoming cars. Of course I freaked out and tried to pull over but it was impossible due to the amount of traffic. No amount of yelling could get him to buckle it back. The next day I slid the clip as high as I could on his chest where he could not reach it. This worked for a while but soon he figured that out too! Finally I went to the store and purchased the next level. Boster car seat, that is lighter and uses seatbelt in the car to go across the chest and waist. The requirement is 30lbs which he is and a specific height, which adjusts starting at the lowest requirement. It is acutully a full car seat not just the litte chairs. I purchased it at walmart for less than $70. Its been great. Keep in mind, each child is different.

B.,
i hope you find this funny and helpful... But i have twin girls that are 2 1/2 and one started doing this and taking her arms out so i did the stop thing and i told her the po-po (their word for the police) would come and get her if she didn't stop and get back in. She didn't do it for awhile then one day she did it again and i have a very good friend that is a highway patrol and i had him come to she her about it and she to this day does not do it anymore. Also, no it did not scare her for him to come and tell her she couldn't do this anymore.(he was worried it would)! Now if one is even giving me ahard time about getting in the car set the other one says the po-po will get you if you don't get in!! I hope is helps as it did for me!:)

L.

Hi B.,
I want to start by saying sorry you had to deal with the negative comments! I do agree with you. This is for advice and tips and more times than not some people get off of that. You are a wonderful mother! If you weren't you wouldnt be worried about this. I have a 3 year old and here is what worked for me when she was thinking of doing this one... Visit www.cpsafety.com , they have a lot of good information that we used and they also have video of what happens in a crash. Perhaps you could try letting her watch this and explaning a bit of the reality about it. Its not graphic or anything like that, just shows the motion. I talked w/ my daughter about this and just explained that you wouldn't want to 'fly' out of the car if we had an accident. It peaked her couriousity and 2 years later she still makes sure she is snug as a bug in her seat. Best of luck and keep up the good work:)
Jamie