Car seat escape (not bpi related)

[admin]

Maia has recently figured out how to get her seat belt off and now she knows how she wont stop and there doesnt seem to be anything I can do to stop her apart from buying a new car seat with a different kind of seat belt in it. Have any of you got any ideas or know of any gadgets that will prevent my little wigglworm from escaping. Thanks Jane

[Sally]

I had this same problem with my almost 3 yo (non-bpi child). I ended up having to get a new car seat. However, I think that it depends on the seat that you have now. Is it that Maia undoes the chest clip and then wiggles out of the belt around her hips? If so, you may be able to contact the manufacturer of your current seat and see if they have a different kind of chest clip (my 3 yo, William, can undo the kind that are 1 plastic piece permenantly attached to one belt and sort of fit over the other belt. He can't however, undo the 2 piece chest clip).

You can also try asking specific questions (tell them how she gets out, how old she is, how much she weighs and what seat you currently are using) on this board: http://boards2.parentsplace.com/message ... ts433.html. The folks there are very knowledgeble about car seats (many are certified techs) and they may be able to suggest other options for you.

Good luck to you and your houdini!

Sally

[Sally]

I also just thought about the "authority factor" (so to speak). Perhaps you could take her to the police station and ask them to speak to her about the importance of staying in her seat properly buckled up. I'm not sure if that would have worked for William, but I know that it does for some kids.

Just an idea....

Sally

[admin]

There is a little device you can buy that clips to the seat belt clip and joins the seat belt and it runs on 2 AA batteries. It's an alarm that goes off if they get the seat belt undone.Not only does it make it more awkward for the child to undo the seat belt but the first time the alarm went off it scared Michaela enough to never do it again.It's called SAFE FIT Buckle Alarm.

[Glenis]

I had this problem with my daughter when she was about 18 months old. I was so shocked that she could undo the buckle and I went back to the shop where I bought the seat and asked their advice. They weren't much help, just told me it was illegal to cover the button in any way. I rang the manufacturers of the seat to let them know my concerns and they more or less said the same thing - it is illegal to cover the buckle or turn the buckle to face inwards (which I'd tried), they told me they'd started to make a velcro cover for the buckle but this got rejected by safety standards, apparently it's because if we were to be in an accident the emergency services needed to be able to release the buckle quickly!!! I had to laugh at that, the thought of several firemen trying to work out how to undo velcro, anyway they finally said they were making a play tray which snapped onto the sides of the seat and did actually make getting to the buckle harder, I said "thankyou very much I'll have one of those", and they sent one to me. It obviously pays to be cheeky.
I hope you get something sorted for your seat, I know it's no joke and at the time I couldn't understand how these people didn't see that it was dangerous for my child to be totally unrestrained in the back of my car.
Finally, the woman in the shop had a couple of tips for me, first she asked why I couldn't stop the car each time to refasten the buckle, then when I explained this wasn't always convenient, or safe even, she said I should shout at my daughter to make her stop. Are these people even on the same planet???

[admin]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I had to giggle at the idea of taking maia to a police station,she is just coming up to her second birthday so she isnt the easiest person to reason with. I like the sound of the double clip,Im thinking this might out smart her for a while.Would I have to get that from the manufacturers? Jane

[Sally]

Yes. Call (or email) the manufacturers since the 2 piece clips aren't all the same and it is best to have one that it made for your seat. I must say that it is hard for me to undo - much less *my* little houdini!

Sally

[Tessie258]

Duck tape?????

[marymom]

hahahah...had the same p[roblem with all my kids and altho I was secretly pleased that Max was displaying houdini capability, it was comPLETELY distressful!!!
I didnt even think of duct tape-
hahahahahaperfect solution-
but no, I used to stop and we would get back in the seat and try it again, I believe I posted on it a while ago- by the way crawling around in the car is great therapy too because there are seats and stuff to crawl up on, and if they fall they dont fall far so you can let them do it without help- anyways, pateince, persistance and consistancy!
\Im with tereasa!
GOOD LUCK and duct tape-m

[LeeAnne]

Hi, I was the one who posted about the buckle aklarm and I guess I wasn't logged in yesterday.It doesn't cover the button in any way. It fits over the clip like a seat belt extension and has a clip on the other side that is universal to go into the other end of the seat belt.You can find them at Target, K-mart, walmart and more than likely some specialty baby shops.LeeAnne