A scary moment in the car today!

oxeye

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #1

I knew my DD could loosen the harness on the MA but I made it clear to her that it was not allowed. I did have her riding in the DC for awhile but switched her back to the MA because I like the install better on that one.

So we're driving along on the freeway and I look back in the mirror and see that she's playing with the harness. It seemed WAY too loose so we got off at the next exit. She has 5 inches of slack in the harness!!! She got majorly scolded and I don't think she'll ever do it again but I couldn't stop looking back and checking on her for the rest of the trip.

I know those mirrors to see a child rear-facing are controversial on this board but they've always given me peace of mind (so I can see that my child is still okay). If I didn't have it I would never have known she had loosened her harness until we arrived at our destination two hours later. That just scares me to death. I do know she was only with the loose harness for a few minutes because we had just stopped for lunch before it happened.

Here's a picture of her right before the harness loosening incident. We took the Passat because the Pacifica was giving me issues this morning. I was worried that she wouldn't like RF in the Passat since she can't hang her legs off the side of the bucket seats like she does in the Pacifica. This was her solution -

I just hope I never look in the rear-view mirror and see a loose harness like that again.

 

R

rlsadc

Senior Community Member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #2

yikes! how scary...i know some of the other more experience posters will have some tips for that (obviously my 9 months old isnt loosening her strasp lol)

 

oxeye

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #3

Yes, I would love tips to get her to stop (short of putting her back in the DC). I really don't think she'll do it again but I'm very nervous about it now.

For now I tucked the extra strap between the car seat and the seat back so if she does pull the lever the harness won't loose so easily. If there are better solutions I'd love to try them.

 

Chameleon

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #4

Oh wow, I would be scared too! I would defiantely have a very long talk about safety and her harness staying tight. I had to talk with my then 3.5 year old about touching the strap adjuster when she started playing with it last year. Now she won't touch it at all.

 

broken4u05

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #5

I know splash had this problem with charlie. I am not sure what she ended up doing. I think she tried to put something over the harness adjuster but i am not sure if it worked. hope she comes around soon for some ideas for you. Mine are too small to know how to do it

 

Morganthe

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #6

I understand your feelings about the rfing mirrors. I loved mine while I had dd rf'd. Same brand as yours I never worried about the safety since they fit on the rear headrest so well and weren't glass anyway.

That had to be a heartstopping moment when you realized the straps were so loose.
Along with reinforcement of proper passenger behavior (fancy term, eh? ), what might help is removing the HUGS from the straps. They're not required when the child is rfing, the straps will probably fit tighter and she might not have the maneuverability to loosen them up anymore.

It's a thought :shrug-shoulders:
good luck

 

BrookeSLP

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #7

I used a rear mirror with my first two as well. I don't with my current baby. She has two big sisters constantly reporting on her movements

 

S

southpawboston

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #8

we find the headrest mirror very helpful, as it enables you to keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel more. if they are light (a few ounces), non-glass or hard plastic (shiny mylar-covered vinyl or flexible plastic), padded, have rounded edges, and strap securely to the headrest, they're not really projectile hazards.

 

broken4u05

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #9

I used the mirrors as well. I took them off cleaning my car and forgot to put it back. I think i will do it this week. Mostly because jack has blood circulation problems so i have to watch for breathing problems. And drew just had surgery and we have to keep an eye on him for the next week. Mine are soft pass the head hitting test. (hitting it to your head to see if it hurts)

 

A

arly1983

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #10

We are mirror people as well.

I think someone on here said that they "hand sewed" the flap temorarily shut.

 

CrabbyBunchX3

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #11

How Scary!!!

Got this idea from here...
You could try a simulated crash test with her on your living room floor. Strap her in nice and tight and tip the seat, then put her in loose or with no straps and tip the seat...She will understand not to touch the harness then.
I have done this with my now 3yo when she was about 2 1/2 and now she tells you if she's not tight enough.

 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #12

Well, the good news is that's one CAUUUUUTE pic

Leila did that a couple times -- the last time she did it I got really super overexaggerated dramatically scared out of my mind taking her out of the car & explaining like a crazed mama bear that she must never ever do that again ... when I noticed she was on the verge of tears I calmed the both of us down & buckled her back in, explaining that my only choice would be to leave her with my parents (she loves going to for rides so that worked) + I showed her that the only part of the strap she could mess with is the tail end: I explained that pulling on that end only would just tighten her up to keep her safer & that's pretty much when *her* obsession began (shortly thereafter she began tattling on unsafe kids in other vehicles, LOL) I noticed she did want more carseat control, though so I let her start using the ToteNgo to buckle her favorite rag doll in next to her (wish I still had that picture)

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #13

The biggest issues with the mirrors are they can be projectile hazards (some attach better than others) and that kids can rebound into them. For a seat that's tethered it's not really an issue.

 

Lara

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #14

I had the same issue with my little girl about a month or two ago. All it took was a good talking to and pinning the adjuster flap thingy down with safety pins. Now she can't get to the adjuster to mess with it!

 

L

Laurenc0101

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #15

Oh, what a scary situation! I am glad she left it alone after your talk.

BTW..we have a mirror too, but ours tethers to the carseat anchor and is all mostly carboard. Brayden has reflux, so I check him during trips to make sure he hasn't had an episode.

Lauren

 

oxeye

New member

• Apr 27, 2007

• #16

Thanks for all the ideas. I pretty much did what papooses did when we pulled over - I was overly dramatic and made a HUGE deal out of it. She was crying afterwards (and then promptly fell asleep when we started driving again to think about it I guess).

When we get home (visiting the grandparents right now) I'm going to do the pretend crash test with the tight harness and the loose harness. Hopefully that will make it click for her.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions (and for not giving me a hard time about having the mirrors! The seats are both tethered so no issue of rebounding into them).