Tips to teach child to unbuckle 5pt harness?

marim123 · Mar 18, 2009

Hi Everyone,

My 4 year old son can buckle himself into his carseat (Britax Blvd). He does a great job, positions the chest clip perfectly, gets it tight, etc.

But he can't unbuckle. I don't know if it's that he's not strong enough in his hands/fingers or if it's just lack of practice. He tries to push the button on the buckle and just isn't pushing hard enough. Also, he doesn't know how to undo the chest clip either. The only thing he can do is loosen his harness.

Since he'll be starting kindergarten this fall, and the school has a valet system for drop-offs, he'll be required to unbuckle himself. Do you have any tips or advice to teach a child how to unbuckle himself?

Thanks much..

marim

Stretchy Glue · Mar 18, 2009

Honestly, my dd couldn't unbuckle herself at 6 in her Husky. The angle that their thumbs are in relation to the buckle (completely backwards from how we push the button) really messes things up. Those red buttons aren't the easiest to push anyway, (for good reason). When I had dd in the line (the few times I dropped her off) I would turn around and unbuckle her when we were the next car to drop off. It was the only way we worked that out.

bobandjess99 · Mar 18, 2009

If a new seat is possible, the nautilus is easy for most kids to unbuckle, because instead of pressing IN on a red button, you are PULLING DOWN on a lever....way easier, and especially from the angle their fingers are...there are always exceptions, of course, but we did an informal poll a while back, and it seemd like most 3.5-4.5 year olds could unbuckle their nauti.

Otherwise,you can just do lots of practice...My dd is just now, at 4.5, starting to be able to unbuckle "regular" push button style buckles, like on the Frontier.

If all else fails, you might have to park and walk him up if the teacher wont unbuckle the kid. We have a car line, and there are easily a couple dozen parents who park and walk their kids up for carseat reason amongst others.

monstah · Mar 18, 2009

That button is probably going to be super hard for him to do. I don't have any good tips to teach him, I think it would just take too much hand strength from his position.

If he isn't able to do it by school time, and you aren't able to reach a hand back there to unbuckle him, I also would suggest a Nautilus.
My DS can unbuckle his at 3.5 years old.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

Chameleon · Mar 18, 2009

Just practice doing it over and over. My 3 year old can undo himself in the MA and the Regent. It took him some time to learn the chest clip but now he's good. He can't buckle himself though, although if he really tried he probably could. He can also get out of the Nautilus by himself as well.

TXAggieTech · Mar 18, 2009

We brought the Marathon inside and set it in the living room for a few days. I set a huge jar of suckers on the counter close by. Every time he buckled and unbuckled he got a sucker.

I showed him how to undo the chest clip, pull both arms out, loosen the harness and climb out in case of an emergency about a year before.

When learning how to do it this time he does the same thing, undoes the chest clip, pulls both arms out, then he unbuckles the crotch strap. It took a few tries inside to get it done and then about a month for him to do it consistently in the car. I kept random candies in the car that I tossed to him for buckling up by himself since that was harder for him. He got candy about every 3-4 time and would ask every time what he was getting. I tell him he got to be safe all by himself and he was happy with that.

Good luck, it makes life much easier!

My niece has been doing her own since 3 in the Marathon and Regent.

flipper68 · Mar 18, 2009

TXAggieTech said:
He got candy about every 3-4 time and would ask every time what he was getting. I tell him he got to be safe all by himself and he was happy with that.

:2thumbsup:

Love it!!

marim123 · Mar 18, 2009

Hi All,

Thanks for the quick replies and advice. It's good to know my son isn't the only one who can't unbuckle himself. If he doesn't figure it out by kindergarten, I'll most likely just walk him into class. That seems easier than trying to unbuckle from the front seat.

TXAggieTech--I love the idea of bringing the car seat into the house for practice and the rewards system. I'm going to try that this weekend.

Thanks again.

best regards,
marim

Sceason1972 · Mar 19, 2009

I agree with bringing it in the house and giving time some time to practice.

Also, have him practice undoing the chest clip and buckle form outside the seat first. That way he gets familiar with how they work without the pressure of being stuck in the seat if he can't undo them.

Once he gets that down then have him get into the seat. Undoing the chest clip first does make it easier for them to reach and undo the buckle. For the buckle though it is partly a strength issue.

Victorious4 · Mar 19, 2009

Those buckle buttons are legally required to be made to withstand a certain amount of force & are tested to be sure they cannot open with less than that certain amount of force -- I forget the exact amount, but suffice it to say it could be counterproductive to set your expectations too high

Practice might help, it might not.... My kid can still barely get out of her Husky although she can buckle into it. She could, however, unbuckle her old seat 3 years ago all on her own because that buckle pushed downward instead of inward :twocents:

jb5416 · Mar 19, 2009

My strong almost 7 y.o. can't unbuckle his Nautilus. It's a pita.
Jessie

Tips to teach child to unbuckle 5pt harness?

marim123

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Stretchy Glue

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bobandjess99

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monstah

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Chameleon

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TXAggieTech

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marim123

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