Looking for a tip!

amy&girls

New member
So Grace is still rear-facing, but its SO hard to get her into her seat now, with as tall as she is. If I let her climb up there, it takes her to much time b/c she plays around. Sigh. Anyone have any tips? I really want her to stay rear-facing as long as possible, but its getting hard to get her in and out of the car and about half the time she hits her head resisting me.
 
ADS

jjordan

Moderator
How old is she? I would try to make it a game for her to get into her seat quickly. Exactly what kind of game probably depends on how old she is and what she would find fun. The most basic "game" (and it's a stretch to even call it a game) is to reward her with something if she gets in quickly. I'm thinking, let her pick a stuffed animal or something when you are ready to leave, and if she gets into her seat quickly, she gets to hold the animal during the car trip. If she's older and has a competitive drive and understands counting, then you can do something like challenge her to get in her seat before you get to 15, or whatever number.
 

NebraskaMom

New member
Without knowing her age, I'm going to just offer a few tricks I've done and/or I've seen done for a variety of issues :)

I'm big on "finding their currency". With my (now) 7 year old son, his currency is playing outside with friends. If I am having problems with him that cannot be solved with reasoning and/or discussing the problem and coming to a solution together then I get him where it hurts and take away playing with friends for a specific amount of time. Usually does the trick and we go back to living peacefully. For a long time though, his currency changed like the wind blows. One day it would be losing his TV time....another it was the Wii...you get the idea.

A friend of mine uses the "is everyone buckled" patrol system. The first one in their car-seat correctly gets to ask everyone else in the car if they are buckled in and then they report to the driver. This is the only time she allows yelling in the car, so it works well for them. Apparently getting to holler "Mommy are you wearing your seatbelt correctly?" is a big deal for her kids (power, I suppose).

I hope this helps you a tad. How old is Grace?
 

aeormsby

New member
Does she help with buckling at all? I got my kids interested in helping with the buckles (step 1 was pushing the chest clip together after I got it lined up, next was either 'helping' push the bottom clips in or helping line up the chest clip). It could backfire in the future when she starts to want to do that all by herself and it takes forever :rolleyes: but that will happen eventually anyway.

A special toy or small treat once she's buckled could be a good motivator also.
 

NebraskaMom

New member
Hmmm...ok I'm guessing a little young for my first 2 suggestions....

Does she have a favorite stuffed animal? Blanket? Something she likes to carry around with her? Perhaps taking that with you would help, but she can't have it until she's in the seat and buckled...

How about distraction? I know kids are smart and fairly observant, but also have a one-track mind on occasion. Is there a song you could sing with her (Old McDonald--let her choose the animal/noise) while you're buckling the seat up?

I suppose if all else fails you could start her a few minutes earlier than normal...and maybe set an egg timer (battery operated in the car). When the timer runs out, if she's not buckled alone then you buckle her in.

Not a fun stage when they have trouble getting in their seats...or resist it...

Hang in there :)
 

jjordan

Moderator
At that age, my son started to get to be fascinated with the chest clip. (He still is, a few months later.) So if he gets into his seat without monkeying around, then he gets to buckle the chest clip. Otherwise I do it for him (and he gets really mad).

He also likes to ride with stuffed animals, so using one of those as a reward works well for him. Another possible reward might be listening to a CD that she likes (we can't do this b/c our CD player in the car is broken).

It takes a little more effort, but she might respond well to you really talking up how she is such a big girl and can climb into her seat and sit right down and do such a great job, etc, etc. Start the pep talk as you're going out to the car, tell her what you expect of her and how you know she can do such a great job, praise her as she's climbing in, and keep it really positive (Yay! you did it, wonderful! What an obedient girl!). That sort of technique worked great with my dd (who, coincidentally, is named Grace). DS is not quite as motivated by praise.
 

Athena

Well-known member
Are you looking for an easier way for you to put her in or for her to climb in? Minivan or car? I put them in and out myself and no minivan, but for an outboard seat in a traditional car without bonking her head, a seemingly little tip that makes all the difference for us is that I hold my 2 yo like a baby and slide her legs in first, avoiding any head banging. I hope this helps.
 
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Judi

CPST/Firefighter
I don't let them climb in. I fold them in half and set them in the seat. Then let them help buckle.
 

amyd

New member
I don't let them climb in. I fold them in half and set them in the seat. Then let them help buckle.

This is what I did when DS was that age. I don't even think he could climb in that that age. He does now, but he knows that if he fools around & takes forever, I'll put him in. He doesn't like that so he usually climbs in pretty good.
 

Mae

Well-known member
Uh, yeah. I still put the kids in their seats. If I let the 3yo get in her seat herself, we'd be there all day. Same with the 2yo's. And the 4yo.

I just put them in myself. Much less hassle. :)
 

sunnymw

New member
I think there's some kind of magic button between 18 months and 26 months... where kids just loathe the car seat, period. Went through it w/ both kids and am still weathering it with DS2! Good luck!!
 

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