Unbuckling again - FF for a while?

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #1

I posted a while back that DD started to unbuckle the MT. Per suggestion I showed her how unsafe that was by slamming Mickey into the backseat, she got the point, for a while.

Now she is doing it more than ever, I'm constantly reminding her and buckling her back in. Earlier today she refused to get into her seat altogether and climbed over it into the empty
backseat and started buckling the seatbelt while yelling 'this way' pointing forward. She knows about FF because she's in a Nauti in my dad's car (he doesn't drive her on a
regular basis though, last time was this week after about a month)
Then she unbuckled once we pulled into our street and I barely had the car parked when she started climbing forward.
What should I do? I'm thinking of putting her other seat in FF for a while and once that wears of put her back in the MT? But I really don't want to let my 2.8 mos old win this battle.. :akimbo:
I dunno, the only other RF option is a Radian and I really don't want to buy another seat..

 

hrice

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #2

Do you have another seat to RF her in? The MT is ridiculously easy to unbuckle IME. My then 2 yo was fascinated with unbuckling it. He has never even tried to unbuckle in any other seat.

Heather, CPST and Momma to Dustin 11/01, Colton 6/08 and Peyton 6/09

 

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #3

The little chunker has been sitting at 40-41 lbs naked for a few months. Last time we measured she was 38inches. To give you an idea I put her in a Blvd 70 for fun and she seemed to 'wide' to even be comfortable in it.. I have a SmartSeat in storage.

 

canadiangie

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #4

Long shot here, having never been to Georgia (geez, is GA even Georgia? I dunno ), but do you guys wear winter coats down there? What about a coat with flip mittens she can't take off? Yes, she'd likely scream her pretty little head off, but maybe you could explain that the flip mitties are because she's unbuckling? (I've BTDT and flip mitties worked -- she raged, I held my ground, she stopped unbuckling). ETA: I even added padded mittens over the flip mitties, just cause I'm extra mean.

 

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #5

Right now we're wearing longsleeve shirts or sometimes a sweater. I wish it was colder though hehe.
I'm gonna have to think of something, but she seems to be going through some crazy phase where 'nothing' works. I can yell, threaten, give time-out all I want and she keeps going like 'did ya say somethin mom'..

 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician

• Nov 6, 2011

• #6

Since she's unbuckling on your street, here's an idea. The second she pushes the buckle (use a mirror if need be to watch) pull over immediately, park the car, pull her out of her seat and march her little butt home and straight to time out. The shock value alone may work.

 

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 6, 2011

• #7

I will definitely give it a try, thanks!!

 

hedgefun

New member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #8

This is purely speculation/food for thought, but I'm almost wondering if you concede are put her FF, what will be next? Will she see an older friend in a booster and start unbuckling FF because she wants to ride in a booster? I'm sorry I don't have any solutions to offer you one way or the other, and I understand your conundrum of the benefits of RF with the risks of her being unbuckled vs. potential drawbacks of her FF, but knowing she's buckled.

 

rachelandtyke

Well-known member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #9

safeinthecar said:

Since she's unbuckling on your street, here's an idea. The second she pushes the buckle (use a mirror if need be to watch) pull over immediately, park the car, pull her out of her seat and march her little butt home and straight to time out. The shock value alone may work.

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love that idea!

I know it is a safety concern, but if you turn her ff, she's won. Hopefully there will be others who have BTDT that can give you more suggestions to try.

 

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #10

I know right, little Misses isn't gonna win this one. We're both stubborn but I'm still supposed to run this show lol.. I just thought it might work out so she will forget about it and I don't have to worry all the time about what she is doing.

 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician

• Nov 7, 2011

• #11

You've mentioned sweaters - can you get a button-down sweater with small buttons to do over the harness, or could she just push it up to access the buckle?

Otherwise, I might give the mittens a shot, regardless of if its cold enough to "need" them.

 

mom of six

Active member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #12

I may be suggesting something that will be viewed as a huge NO NO, but what about flipping the crotch buckle around so that the button is towards her tummy and she cannot reach it? I am sure this option has not been "crash tested" but not having a harness buckled has been crash tested and it is really not safe.

I have also read about putting the pokie side of velcro on the buckle button.

How about a sticker chart. They have worked great for my kids. She gets a sticker every time she rides without unbuckling and after so many stickers she gets a larger prize (new toy or something). You can also try over-the-top excited praise when she does not unbuckle during a trip and when she does unbuckle do not speak to her, or give her eye contact or any positive attention just re-buckle her and continue on your journey. This is the praise/ignore technique.

What about a special cuddly item that is reserved for use only in the RF car seat (to make it more special than the FF car seat) such as a minky blanket or soft furry friend?

 

momtoo3

Well-known member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #13

I don't know if it is allowed/possible on the MT but Safety 1st gave me okay to turn the buckle backwards so it was facing ds3 when he was unbuckling his Complete Air. It was the only thing that worked long term. I need to call Britax to find out if it is okay on his MA70 or not since he unbuckled it over the weekend 7 times . Thankfully ds1 was next to him and buckled it back up each time. I did not need to be pulling over on the tollway getting out and going around to the other side of my van with traffic flying past me at 65 mph.

 

jess71903

Ambassador

• Nov 7, 2011

• #14

Flipping the buckle is what I was going to suggest, too.

 

ProudMommysince09

New member

• Nov 7, 2011

• #15

Thanks ladies! I should have mentioned that it's a puzzle buckle and you can't flip it, The straps aren't even removable on the MT. She did really well today and didn't unbuckle while driving, only when we stopped at our house. I noticed today more that she is regressing in a few areas, but picked up 4 word sentences this week (yay, she was a little on the slow with talking) so I'm thinking that might all have something to do with it.

 

djma

New member

• Nov 9, 2011

• #16

ProudMommysince09 said:

Thanks ladies! I should have mentioned that it's a puzzle buckle and you can't flip it, The straps aren't even removable on the MT. She did really well today and didn't unbuckle while driving, only when we stopped at our house. I noticed today more that she is regressing in a few areas, but picked up 4 word sentences this week (yay, she was a little on the slow with talking) so I'm thinking that might all have something to do with it.

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Yay! I would make a huge deal of this for her! "That's so great that you helped mommy by unbuckling when we got here!" And maybe encourage her to do it when you get to where you're going (store, restaurant, etc) so she knows there is a time for her to do it, just not while you're moving.