Car Seat Escape Artist

TRUST ME. My almost 2 year old was doing this. You just have to make it really really tight. As long as you can put 2 fingers under the strap on her chest it is not too tight. If she still does it just pull the car right over and scold her. Trust me, the kids know if I say, "Stop now or I'm gonna pull over" they know I'm not kidding. I only had to actually pull over 3 times to make them realize I'm serious.

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This looks late in coming, and there are too many posts for me to read them all to make sure this isn't old info. So, here goes:

At Toys R Us there is an attachment you can buy that is VERY childproof and locks across the child's chest-right where they usually wiggle out. Our kids could NEVER escape out of this. It made driving sane again.

Here is something like it: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2301539

Good luck!

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Hi, When my kids wee little, car seats were much easier to escape from, so I had to get creative. Since every time they started to get out of their straps, I pulled the car over to the side of the road (and when possible tapped the breaks a little to make it seems like there was engine trouble) they thought the car wouldn't run unless the straps/seat belts were on. At first I made a big deal out of explaining why the car wouldn't go and helped them back into their restraints. After a few times, all I had to say was "Uh-oh...car won't go," and they'd get buckled up. Sounds pretty time consuming, but it really wasn't. Plus it gives them a "natural" consequence for their behavior instead of my begging or yelling, which is a much better and quicker learning experience! Good Luck! Grams

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My little girl Sarah used to do the same thing until I used a safety pin (the "safe" kind that used to be used for cloth diapers). I would pin the straps together ABOVE the clip and there was no way she could get out of the car seat then! Prepare for screams though, when she finds out she's stuck! I highly recommend an IPod! Good luck! J.

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Good, I am not the only one with an escape artist. My 2 1/2 year old has been getting out of her carseat since before she turned two. I like the other mom, tried the pulling over (which doesn't really work on the freeway, and when you do long commutes like me, most of your drive is on the freeway), I did the threatening, the ignoring, and even a little hand swatting, have asked other parents and pediatricians what to do, and I have yet to find anything that works. Fortunately, she is a little older and doesn't get out of her carseat as much but when she does for the most part I just need to tell her to put her straps back on and she does, usually. By the way, between my car, my husband's car, and grandma & grandpa's car, there are 3 different car seats and she manages to get out of all 3 of them. Hang in there, I know it is scary. Good luck! Maybe you will have better luck.

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