Question How to teach a child to buckle??

Mommy2Marcus · Aug 4, 2010

So, Marcus will be 4 at the begining of October. He fully capable of buckling his chest clip all by himself. However he seems to have some trouble buckling his crotch strap. (that sounds bad to say, but I did not know how else to say it) I was wondering how I could teach him to do this. Is it possible for me to teach him how to do this or is it just something he has to learn on his own? He has really good fine motor skills, so I know that is not the problem here.

Ideas please! I would greatly appreciate it!

TXAggieTech · Aug 4, 2010

I stuck our seat in the middle of the living room and put a large jar of lolly pops on the counter. Then I told DS he could have one every time he buckled and unbuckled by his self. Before that he had zero desire to do it, he still glared at the suckers for a few days before finally sitting down and buckling up.

He was 4 also, my niece had been doing her own since she was 2.

P1ally · Aug 4, 2010

My ds still can't do it in his RN... I find it kind of hard to buckle, so idk

He can do the chest clip though (when the harness isn't twisted 500 times

)

BookMama · Aug 5, 2010

TXAggieTech said:
I stuck our seat in the middle of the living room and put a large jar of lolly pops on the counter. Then I told DS he could have one every time he buckled and unbuckled by his self. Before that he had zero desire to do it, he still glared at the suckers for a few days before finally sitting down and buckling up.

I agree on letting them practice in the house. I'd like DD1 to be able to buckle/unbuckle before school (and the drop-off/pick-up lane) starts in September. I'm planning to bring her seat into the living room, put in a movie of her choice, and have her practice while she watches.

crunchierthanthou · Aug 5, 2010

Ds couldn't buckle his GN unless I loosened the harness. After awhile of doing it with the loose harness, he could do it most times without adjusting it. You might need to start with it that way.

DahliaRW · Aug 5, 2010

I agree with loosening the harness. My ds2 can buckle his CA, but I have to loosen the harness, let him buckle, and then tighten it.

emtb79 · Aug 5, 2010

I have 5 year old boy I keep and he just finally got it on all the car seats I have. And that is just buckling, I dont let the kids learn how to un-buckle for the reason I dont want them to going down the road. However he is a little behind and operating on a 3.5 yr old level. My 5 year old girl has been able to buckle herself for a while but is in a backless ( yes backless but she sits right) and super beefy.

Jacob couldnt get the buckling up till I put him in the GN because that was the easiest for him to do. I dont loosen it a whole lot because he needs to use straps a little to push the male piece into the buckle. He still cant do the Radian himself he will start crying while he tries. WHen school starts he will undo the chest clip and my mom can lean from the front seat and undo the crotch buckle.

singingpond · Aug 5, 2010

Mommy2Marcus said:
So, Marcus will be 4 at the begining of October. He fully capable of buckling his chest clip all by himself. However he seems to have some trouble buckling his crotch strap. (that sounds bad to say, but I did not know how else to say it) I was wondering how I could teach him to do this. Is it possible for me to teach him how to do this or is it just something he has to learn on his own? He has really good fine motor skills, so I know that is not the problem here.

Ideas please! I would greatly appreciate it!

My 3 y.o. and 5 y.o. (actually 5 y. 8 mo.) both put on their harness straps, and buckle their chest clips. Neither one does the crotch buckle, although the 3 y.o. sometimes tries for a while (she's in the 'do it myself!' state). I haven't asked them to do the buckling themselves, so I'm not sure if the older one could, or not, if he really tried.

I don't loosen the harnesses, so I find that I have to use some strength, combined with getting the angle just right, to get the crotch buckle closed, especially on the second side. And I'm stronger than the kids are. Maybe I should ask DS to do it himself, just out of curiosity to see if he could.

But, then I'd have to go back and double-check what he did before feeling safe to drive off anyway...

flipper68 · Aug 5, 2010

crunchierthanthou said:
Ds couldn't buckle his GN unless I loosened the harness. After awhile of doing it with the loose harness, he could do it most times without adjusting it. You might need to start with it that way.

I have twin cousins that learned to loosen their own harnesses when getting out of their seats by the time they were 3 1/2. (Mom has arthritis and has difficulty gripping/pushing.) They would reach forward, push the button and then lean forward. [They had MAs and Nautis.]

When they got back in, they would reverse the process and pull the harness adjuster. IMO, they needed another tug by an adult, but they did an "acceptable" job of getting the harness snug. No belly clips. While you might be able to pinch a bit of slack, they were tighter than a large % of seats where adults did the harnessing.

Mommy2Marcus · Aug 5, 2010

TXAggieTech said:
I stuck our seat in the middle of the living room and put a large jar of lolly pops on the counter. Then I told DS he could have one every time he buckled and unbuckled by his self. Before that he had zero desire to do it, he still glared at the suckers for a few days before finally sitting down and buckling up.

He was 4 also, my niece had been doing her own since she was 2.

BookMama said:
I agree on letting them practice in the house. I'd like DD1 to be able to buckle/unbuckle before school (and the drop-off/pick-up lane) starts in September. I'm planning to bring her seat into the living room, put in a movie of her choice, and have her practice while she watches.

I like both of the ideas above. Maybe I will use a combination of both of them. I am quite sure he could get the hang of it if I just let him play with it. Also if I rewarded him for it I am sure he would do it.

crunchierthanthou said:
Ds couldn't buckle his GN unless I loosened the harness. After awhile of doing it with the loose harness, he could do it most times without adjusting it. You might need to start with it that way.

Deffinatly will loosen the harness. Thanks for that tips as well.

thepeach80 · Aug 5, 2010

Evan could do his own Radian a few months before he turned 5. He still cannot get himself out on his own. He could out of the RN by using the seatbelt in front of him to get out or a pencil or something, but not his fingers. Neither of the boys can get out of the GN. Ilana will be 4 in November and she tries to put herself in but she's not strong enough.

pj2rc · Aug 6, 2010

I guess I'm the odd one out .... I don't see a need for them to know how to buckle. I don't want them to know how to unbuckle because I don't want it happening at the wrong time

and My oldest does try to buckle herself in and can do some of it, but I have to check her anyway, so there's really no reason she HAS to know how. Besides, I'd hate for her to know ow to do it, then DH or m mom letting her so it and not checking her. I hope they would, but not 100% certain.

Mommy2Marcus · Aug 6, 2010

pj2rc said:
I guess I'm the odd one out .... I don't see a need for them to know how to buckle. I don't want them to know how to unbuckle because I don't want it happening at the wrong time and My oldest does try to buckle herself in and can do some of it, but I have to check her anyway, so there's really no reason she HAS to know how. Besides, I'd hate for her to know ow to do it, then DH or m mom letting her so it and not checking her. I hope they would, but not 100% certain.

Alot of the reason I want him to learn is b/c of my MIL. She hates the fact that he is still harnessed b/c he can not buckle himself like my 2 nephews can in their boosters. So I was hoping to teach him to buckle himself so she would not have to. I am not really so much ready for him to learn to unbuckle himself, just to buckle himself.

So, my plan is to bring the Nautilus in the house one day next week, get out some candy, put a movie on & reward him everytime he gets himself buckled. I also think I will start out with it loose & for every 2-3 times he gets it right I will tighten the harness a little bit. This way he can learn with it properly tightened as well! Sound like a good plan?

stephcali · Aug 6, 2010

My 3 1/2 year old has been buckling herself all the way for almost 6 months now. We loosen the harness every time so that she has enough to work with. She does the crotch buckle first and then pulls on the shoulder straps and then does the chest clip, and she even tightens the adjuster at the end. I always (every single time actually) go back and double check to make sure the straps aren't twisted (they are occasionally) and give it another little tug to get it completely tight. This has been extremely helpful for me since I have 2 other little ones to buckle in. We made a game of it in the car to start and she liked that, she espcially likes the tightening at the end

Question How to teach a child to buckle??

Mommy2Marcus

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TXAggieTech

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P1ally

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BookMama

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crunchierthanthou

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DahliaRW

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emtb79

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singingpond

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flipper68

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Mommy2Marcus

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thepeach80

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pj2rc

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Mommy2Marcus

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stephcali

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