My poor dad was watching my nephews this week by himself. Some may know my sister is divorced and my parents are helping her. That is a whole other ball of wax. But this week my mom went on vacation for a couple of days. My sister was working and my dad was taking the boys to there speech appointments about an hour away. My nephew who is three got out of his car seat by unbuckling it. My nephew who is 5 is autistic, and I would say cognitively delayed, he just followed right along. My dad said they did this 5 times while he was driving. They have a van and one would climb in the back and one in the front. What in the world can you do to stop this??? There has to be a way. My sister tried tightening the straps and that didn't work. Please no controversy here but yes they tried spanking. My dad said it didn't phase them one little bit. I think he was really trying to get it through to the three year old so he would stop. The five year old only did it after he saw his brother do it. The three year old is being looked at for ADHD. My sister really has her hands full but this definately can't keep happening there going to kill someone or themselves. My dad is ready to buckle them in with an extra belt but I don't think that will work not to mention my sister had a fit. Any ideas??

By Heaventree on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 04:03 pm:

Sounds like this is a case for TRINA!

I have a similar problem with my 2 year old. He undoes (is that a word?) the chest clip.

I have thought of just taking some duct tape and taping it so he can't open it. It would still slide up and down and I could just slide the buckel all the way down and slip the belt over his head much like an infant seat. He has not actually gotten out of his seat yet and only done it 3 times so I haven't got out the tape yet, but might still have to.

Hopefully Trina will have a better suggestion for you.

Good luck!

By Trina~moderator on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 04:05 pm:

I'm on my way out the door but will post back later.

What type of car seats are they in? 5 pt. harnesses or ones with the pull down shield?

By Kaye on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 06:32 pm:

My middle kid did this. Ultimately it took making him walk home one time..LOL. Basically we always said, if you want to ride you have to be buckled. So if he unbuckled we would pull over the car. One day, he didn't buckle back and I asked if he would rather walk home, he said yes. We were only a few blocks from home, so with hubby, he got out and walked, and we made him walk the cul de sac until he was tired. He realized it was much more fun to be in the car buckled than to walk.

By Trina~moderator on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 06:58 pm:

Kaye, what a great idea! I'll have to remember that one. Not always practical, considering weather and/or distance, but very effective when it can be done.

Beth, if they are in over head shield seats, they are easier to get out of, first because they only have a 3 pt. harness and second, because of the shield they don't fit as snugly as a 5 pt. harnessed car seat does.

5 pt. harness - Many times the harness is simply too loose and/or the chest clip is too low. The chest clip needs to be at arm pit level and the harness needs to be snug, meaning you shouldn't be able to fit more than 1 finger under the shoulder strap by the child's collar bone.

If the harness is snug and buckled properly and the child is still performing Houdini acts - Kaye's method is definitely worth trying! With my kids, I simply stressed how unsafe and illegal unbuckling is. We discussed what would happen if they were unbuckled during a crash. We also talked about how a police officer could give Mom/Dad a ticket if he/she saw anyone in the vehicle unbuckled. I even showed them crash test video clips demonstrating what happens to unrestrained passengers versus properly buckled passengers. We also have a rule. EVERYONE buckles, not just kids. Adults need to set a good example.

Another idea is to start an incentive chart. Houdini could earn a sticker for every trip he/she stay buckled. A predetermined number of stickers earns something small but special.

Yet another approach - Give that child the special job of making sure every passenger is buckled, including him/herself.

DO NOT use tape, pins, rope, clips or whatever to prevent the child from unbuckling the harness. These items could interfere with the proper functioning of the car seat and even injure the child during a crash.

By Trina~moderator on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 07:03 pm:

Just thought of something else! Perhaps a visit to a car seat inspection station and a chat with a CPS Tech/Police Officer might get the message across. Sometimes if kids hear things from authority figures other than family it seems to sink in more effectively. LOL!

SeatCheck.org

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 07:29 am:

I wouldn't use tape. You might have a hard time taking the child out after a crash.

Walking home sounds dangerous, if you're not already in your neighborhood.

I would find out where all the police stations are and leave to go on an errand near one of them. Once they unbuckled, I would pull over and stop the car and explain that people get in trouble with the police for not having their seat belt on and tell them you're sad about having to do this but that's where you're going. Just make it a matter-of-fact thing and I'm sure any police officer will take 2 minutes out of their time to "reprimand" the boys. Or, if he knows any police officers, I'm sure they'd talk with them in uniform. We have one up the street and I know he would do it in a heartbeat.

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 07:29 am:

I also like the crash test dummies idea...there might be a DVD at the library just for that.

By Kaye on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 08:07 am:

Heidi, my husband did walk with him, just for the record, I couldn't and wouldn't of done the same thing if I had been alone.

Another thought, if you have the 5 pt harness, sometimes they just have chest clips that slide and don't actually buckle. Most companies offer one that buckles, if you call the company you can usually order one. With my youngest I was able to do that, those are much harder to unbuckle.