At What Age

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AtTheSouthDam

New member
DD1 was unable to buckle herself in until she went into a booster at 6 years. Now she does it with no problems and even makes sure the belt is tight across her thighs. DD2 can only do the chest clip.
 

Maedze

New member
4.75, Nautilus. He can also let himself out.

My current four year old can buckle herself into the Nautilus, but can't tighten it correctly yet, and also can't unbuckle yet.
 

christineka

New member
Dd1 age 4 in graco treasured cargo. The straps tended to be loose so that she'd fit with a coat. The adjuster was in the back of the seat.

dd2 was 3.5 years and in a cosco hbb w/harness and puzzle buckle.

Ds1 was the same, then moved to a radian at 5 years, nautilus at 5.5, and radian again at 6.

Dd3 is 5 years, 4 months and can now do her chest clip (the new sk clip), and one buckle tongue. She can't unbuckle the crotch at all. She's in a radian.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
She could get herself out first, around 4, from the Wizard. Around 4.5 she could get into the Wizard, then with a bit of practice the Radian and the Nautilus. She couldn't do a booster consistently until right before she moved into one full time, so at seven years old.

Wendy
 

ginny4

New member
my DD figured out how to buckle her regent at about 4.5yo she wanted to be in the 3rd row. tho it has to be loose not tightened so i always have to tighten it. she can unbuckle too. HOWEVER she decided that she didn't like buckling herself anymore (she wnated back in the 2nd row) from about 5.5yo. that's when she just HAD to be moved to the 2nd row capt chair so i can help her. otherwise we'd still be sitting in the driveway today waiting for her. LOL she LOVES buckling herself in a booster. turbo or monterey she does just fine.

DS likes to buckle the chest clip but can't figure out the buckle part on the FPSVD at 3.75yo
 

NVMBR02

New member
DD was able to buckle herself into her Radian at 3 years 10 months. It took another 6 months before she could unbuckle herself. She has been able to buckle or unbuckle any seat she has used since then.

Ds is 4 years 5 months and he can buckle himself into a Radian sometimes but needs help most of the time. He can not unbuckle.
 

jjordan

Moderator
My dd turns 4 next week and just recently started doing her chest clip (Britax). Ds is 21 months and, when he saw dd doing her chest clip, he started doing his too (old style Radian clip). Neither is doing the crotch buckle yet.
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
DD got her nauti at just 3.5 yo and within a few weeks, could completely buckle herself in and out. She got a turbo at 4.5, and it took her a few weeks to get bucklingthe seatbelt down. She also has a frontier that I know she can buckle and unbuckle now at 5, but I'm not certain when exactly that ability started. AT this point, 5.5 , I honestly expect she would be able to buckle or unbuckle just about anything.
 

scatterbunny

New member
In a harnessed seat, dd was about 3.5 when she could buckle and unbuckle herself (both buckles) in the Britax Husky (older version of Regent). When we started booster-training at 4ish, though, buckling a booster was new territory, and required skills she just didn't have yet. Even though there is only one buckle to deal with (with a booster), she couldn't figure out how to get it buckled while the retractor pulled at the belt, and she definitely couldn't get it all done without the belt twisting and her dissolving into a mess of tears and frustration. We switched to a booster full-time right after her 6th birthday, and she had pretty well mastered seatbelt buckling by that point.
 

Angela

New member
4.5 he learned to buckle his Signo (when we got it), but can't unbuckle it yet at 4 years 9 months. I have a hard time unbuckling it sometimes though, so I'm not expecting much. We always have to loosen the straps in order for him to get in and he was even able to tighten them a few days ago (I still check it though). He's still mama's boy though and would rather have me buckle him in. I'm curious what he'll be able to do with the FR85 we're getting on Friday.
 

melniemi

New member
Ds1 & 2 were around 4, in Graco Cargos.
Dd1 was around 3.5-4 in a marathon.
Dd2 was 3y1 mon in a marathon. Switched her to a radian a month later and w/i a week she could buckle herself. She can unbuckle the chest clip but not the crotch buckle.
 

rochelle

New member
3+ for the scenara
around 4yrs old for the frontier

both seats they could not unbuckle, undo the chest clip.
 

Murphy's Law

New member
By the time she was 4 years old, my dd pretty much had all of the seats figured out. Ds is 2y7m and hasn't figured anything out yet.
 

twinsmom

New member
My kids can both get themselves out of their Multi Techs, but cannot buckle themselves in (heck, even DH has trouble with this...:whistle:) The 2 pieces of the buckle need to be puzzled together before inserting. I doubt they'll ever be able to do it.
 

aeormsby

New member
My DD was between 3-3.5 when she could fully buckle her Marathon. She can tighten to an acceptable level now too (she's 4y3m) but I always check of course. She has only recently started buckling her Frontier, the crotch buckle is harder on the Frontier. She can get it reasonably tight too, I usually can only get a little more with an extra tug on the adjuster. She doesn't unbuckle out of either (and it's not something I push, but I think she's old enough to know when it's safe to unbuckle).
 

MANDY1234

New member
ODD at 4.5 in her RN both buckle and unbuckle and now at 5.5 she has a frontier and can do both also.

MDD..for about a yr (so at 3) in and out of her RN

YDD is 15 months and can do her chest clip in her MyRide lol
 

pastrygirl

New member
My son will be 4 in June and can buckle himself into the Nautilus, but can't tighten the harness. He can't unbuckle himself.
 

cmm7

New member
Z was almost 6 and in a Nautilus. The straps had to be loose and she could occasionally tighten it herself but usually it needed a little more of a pull to be tight enough.

C could do it when the harness had been left the appropriate tightness at 4 years and 11 months. He could do it when it was loose when I started watching him at 4 years 6 months
 

scoutingbear

New member
I guess mine isn't too far off then based on the wide range of ages of the other kids here. A could buckle himself in/out of his radian at a little over 4 years. I don't think he even mastered the Chase (but he was young when he outgrew it by weight). He is fully proficient in buckling his Turbo now at 6 years 3 months.
He started being able to unbuckle at about 4 1/2.

C (3 years, 10 months) has buckled the GN exactly once. He can do his chest clip (old style) on the radian well and sometimes will do the GN chest clip. He cannot get out of any of them.
 

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