22 Month Old Hates His Carseat

yes,sounds familiar.My son who is now three went through this for about six months----but it seems to have started earlier for him....Some people had suggested car sickness/motion issue. I did the same things as you---I also found the portable DVD player helped.....I tried headphones with music and that helped too...Sometimes it worked and sometimes not. My son was the only one in my famiy that had this issue. I have three kids.. It was weird, He is ok now! I know how you feel though.

I had a very similar experience around the same age but what I was able to figure out was that it wasn't the car seat, it was the window or her reflection in it or something that freaked her out. She would actually put her blanket over her head. I never really did get to the bottom of what exactly it was that cause it but the way we got past it was I did not play into it when she would start crying. I would start pointing out funny things for her to look at or act silly and sing songs. Eventually just as quicky as it started it stopped so if it makes you feel any better I'm sure it's a short phase that he's going through and if you ignore it a bit it will soon go away.

My oldest (now 8 yrs) went through that too. He probably just doesn't want to be tied down. Distraction is great, as others suggested. A bit of warning... make sure that he can't get out of the car seat by checking that his straps are not too loose and that his car seat buckles are the type that he can't unbuckle. I say this because my son figured out how to unbuckle the chest part of his car seat restraints at around that age and walked up behind me while I was driving on the interstate. My mother was with me and you can imagine our suprise. I went the next day and bought a more child proof buckle, and he never got out again, but the once was scary enough!

My son was doing the same thing and I come to figure out it was becasue he wanted to move around more than he could. He would see something that he wanted and once he tried to move to get it and realized wait I can't more around back here he would cry and scream at the top of his lungs. This may sound weird but I had to explain to him that I understand he is mad but we are in the car and that we have to be safe, we are strapped in with our seat belt to keep us safe in the car and I showed him that I put mine on as well. I try to put the things I think he may want while we are driving close to him where he can reach them if he wanted too and if he says he can't get it, I explain to him that ma ma's driving and I can't get it right now but will as soon as we stop. He is at an age where he is understanding things you say to him, you may have to say it over a couple times but now my little one climbs in his safe and says "be safe, gotta be safe" and them he looks to see if I put mine on as well.

Good luck, Kim

He could be hot. The material in the carseats is often stifling. That said, we are all about distraction. A portable DVD player is a wonderful investment. :)

Hi T.-

I have a 22 month old son as well and we are experiencing something similar, but maybe not to the extreme as your situation. Our son is in a phase of hating the car seat too -- he screams, cries and begs over and over "Out Mommy, out out out!"

We got a DVD player and strapped it to the headrest. That seemed to help a good bit. Although the "newness" of that is starting to wear off, I've noticed.

I don't really have any good suggestions for you, I'm sorry! I'm just calling it a "phase" right now (maybe that's my way of getting through this!) -- he's so darn active, I think he'd rather not waste time sitting still and strapped down!

Hope you get relief soon! It definitely is NO fun!
K.

I went through a similar situation, but determined that it wasn't actually the car seat - it was the car. I went out and bought a DVD player for the car and that literally changed my life! If you don't have one and know someone that does, see if you can borrow it for a few days to see what happens.

Good luck and drive careful - it isn't easy with a baby screaming in the background!!!