Question Daughter Loosens Straps

Christie

New member
Ugh! My 6 year old DD is in a Britax Boulevard 65 manufactured in '09.

My problem with her in this seat, is that she can easily reach the strap adjuster at the bottom and she loosens her straps so that she can turn around to interact with her sibs in the vehicle (Chevy 12 passenger van).

WHAT can I do to make it so that she can't loosen the straps? Or is there anything? She also pulls down her chest clips and wriggles out of her straps even sometimes. I always pull over and make her get back in.... But I'm at the point of needing to begin corporal punishment if she continues this. I'd rather she have a sore bottom than be hurt or killed if I'm in an accident.

I would even consider purchasing a different seat for her if I knew that she couldn't wriggle out or loosen the straps.

TIA!
 
ADS

lorismurph

Senior Community Member
Is she capable of sitting properly in a booster? Most kids are by age 6 (though not all). Maybe she is ready to move out of the harness. I would guess she will do the same with any seat so a new seat will likely not solve your problem.
 

Christie

New member
She only weighs 45 lbs.... So I'd like to keep her harnessed as long as I can. She's also pretty tiny overall and I don't feel that she's as safe in just a belted booster.
 

babyherder

Well-known member
She's 6. Talk with her about why its unsafe. Then come up with a big punishment for what will happen next time she loosens her straps or moves her chest clip. Then follow through. If it was me she would have a BIG punishment. Like loosing her favorite toy for a week or loosing a toy for a week every time she touches her chest clip or harness adjuster. Or bring her seat in the house and make her sit in it, strapped in (with no electronic entertainments) for _____ amount of time for every time she tried to get loose in the car.
 

Lemonade

New member
Are her shoulders below where the shoulder straps come out? I have a tiny 6.5 year old but he's outgrown the blvd by height already even though he only weighs 38 pounds. He's harnessed in a Britax Frontier and I don't think he can reach the harness adjuster. Even though he would not be over the weight limit on the BLVD he would have outgrown it by height and be super uncomfortable in it in general. (He's been in the Frontier since age 3 when his sister got his BLVD.)

But I agree with the consequences. At 6, even if she couldn't reach the harness adjuster, she could unbuckle herself if she wanted. Figure out what motivates her and put some penalty/reward system in place.
 

lorismurph

Senior Community Member
Not that you need to booster but a 45lb 6yo is perfectly safe in a booster seat. You could get the Britax with the SG clip if that helped you feel safer. Of course, you are the parent and if you want her harnessed still, that's a perfectly safe option as well (as long as the seat is not outgrown). Yes, either rewards for good behavior, punishments for messing with the seat, or both.
 

Christie

New member
Not that you need to booster but a 45lb 6yo is perfectly safe in a booster seat. You could get the Britax with the SG clip if that helped you feel safer. Of course, you are the parent and if you want her harnessed still, that's a perfectly safe option as well (as long as the seat is not outgrown). Yes, either rewards for good behavior, punishments for messing with the seat, or both.

What's the SG clip??


I think I'd prefer her to be harnessed... and yes, her shoulders are well below the limits for the height adjuster (although I do keep the straps just above her shoulders).

I just didn't know if there was a way to "hide" the harness adjuster at all....
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
lorismurph said:
Not that you need to booster but a 45lb 6yo is perfectly safe in a booster seat. You could get the Britax with the SG clip if that helped you feel safer. Of course, you are the parent and if you want her harnessed still, that's a perfectly safe option as well (as long as the seat is not outgrown). Yes, either rewards for good behavior, punishments for messing with the seat, or both.

I have to totally disagree with this. A 6yo who unbuckles to turn around in her carseat would NOT be safe in a booster. Booster readiness is part physical maturity (which she has) and emotional/behavioral maturity (which she does not.) If OP was talking about her boostered daughter performing these actions, we would recommend harnessing her, right?

Christie, I might take your daughter to Babies R Us or similar and try her in a variety of combination seats. See what she can adjust and what she can't reach. At her age, though, I agree with the others that it's really a discipline thing (unless there are underlying special needs.) She needs to learn that it's not acceptable - establish a consequence and then follow through.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
You can sew or duct tape or velcro the sides of the tab in the cover down. But this was such a common problem it's why the harness adjuster on the new generation ones feels like you're giving the seat a pelvic.

Wendy
 

ginny4

New member
That's so funny Wendy!! About giving the seat a pelvic. LOL.

OP -Hope you can find a system that works to keep your DD safe.
 

Christie

New member
You can sew or duct tape or velcro the sides of the tab in the cover down. But this was such a common problem it's why the harness adjuster on the new generation ones feels like you're giving the seat a pelvic.

Wendy

:p lol Never heard it quite like that before!!

I like your ideas. I think I will try one of them and see if it will at least deter her. The discipline is working... slowly.. but it's starting to. I was just wondering if anyone else had heard of a way to make it harder for the child to loosen those straps.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
I have to totally disagree with this. A 6yo who unbuckles to turn around in her carseat would NOT be safe in a booster. Booster readiness is part physical maturity (which she has) and emotional/behavioral maturity (which she does not.) If OP was talking about her boostered daughter performing these actions, we would recommend harnessing her, right?

I agree completely that the child is not ready for a booster despite her age.

I also agree that unless there are special needs at play, at age 6, loosening straps is a disciplinary issue and needs to be treated as such. I'm not a fan of spanking, but there needs to be BIG consequences for unsafe behavior.
 

babyherder

Well-known member
The 3 year old I nanny for likes to push down the chest clip and take her arms out of the shoulder straps. Whenever I buckled her back in I made the harness tighter. I'mt sure it was very uncomfortable. She figured out quick that she didn't want me to do that and stopped trying to get out.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
I completely agree this is not a child who is ready for a booster AT ALL.

Does your child have special needs? The reason I ask is that an atypical 6yr old will be mature enough not to do this.

It sounds like you are doing all you can by adjusting and tightening the straps properly and installing it properly. If she has special needs to where she can't be reasoned with to leave it alone, then I would consider a vest and buckle guard from ezonpro.com
 

Christie

New member
She isn't special needs, just stubborn as all get out.

When I reinstalled it last night, I left the strap tucked inside of the cover/padding. Then I gave her some serious chatting about leaving the straps alone.

We shall see whose stubbornness wins out!! It better be mine!!!!!
 

danivdp

New member
I would go so far as to handstitch the cover where the adjuster straps comes out closed (if I'm imagining it like my Regent's strap) after tucking the strap in.

And yeah, I agree if she's getting out of her harness, she's DEFINITELY not ready for a booster, and there needs to be serious consequences. I've had more than one kid trying to Houdini out of different carseats though, so I understand your irritation. :thumbsdown:
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
Can you rearrange the seats?? it sounds like she wants to be able to interact more with her siblings in the van, so could you position her in a place where she has someone to play with next to her? That way she could stay seated properly, and also have someone to interact with.
Beyond that I agree, it's a discipline issue, and you should address that however your family handles that. At age 6, mine would definitely get spanked for something as serious as carseat misbehavior, but that is not popular on this board. ;)
 

christineka

New member
My ds unbuckled himself a couple times when he was 5 years old. I showed him youtube crash videos of unrestrained dummies. He never did it again. At this age, it is a discipline issue. For my son, showing him why he needed to stay buckled solved the problem.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
She's not special needs, then it's ON... I would tell her flat out what exactly can happen to little girls who aren't properly restrained in a car accident (not in detail, but in general... broken bones, neck, spine, DEATH)

I would also flat out tell her that she is a BIG GIRL and BIG GIRLS obey the safety rules. If she doesn't want to keep herself safe in the car, same as breaking other rules... she gets consequences.

NO tv, no electronic games, nothing but reading, not going to the park you were taking her to, no getting her ice cream you were going to buy her, etc.

I would also show her crash test videos if need be, which can help. I don't want to cause a kid to be OVERLY worried, though, so that would be my last resort (my daughter is so visual that I haven't shown her out of trying to prevent her obsessing... do you know how much talk she's been giving me about bras and boobs since I told her she was getting training bras, let alone since I bought her some?)
 

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