my son gets out of his britax roundabout

I don't know what to do. My two year old son has actually unlatched and climbed out of his carseat while I was driving. He is the master of all locks and latches. Every gate system in the house he has overcome. I have looked at other car sears and I know he can get out of them. Any suggestions?
Jeannette

Ugh, its frustrating I know.

My dd (will be 2 1/2 in a few days) did this a few weeks ago in her seat. I put the rough side of velcro on the chest clip, and if she had tried the crotch strap, would have put it on the button there. Its just scratchy enough for her not to want to touch it. Oh and I yelled at her like I have never yelled before... So not sure if it was the velcro or me yelling that did the trick lol.

Pull over as fast as you can and stay there. Buckle him back in and then talk to him about it until you're blue in the face. As soon as he unbuckles again pull over again. Or, if you have the time, tell him beforehand that you're going to just go home if he does it again. When he does it pull over, strap him back in, and turn around. Hopefully whatever was at the other end was something he rather wanted to do and he'll get it quickly that leaving the house in a car means staying in a seat. Period.

This is more of a discipline issue than a carseat issue. My daughter did this, I can't remember how old she was, about that age or a bit more. She was wiggling out. I told her no no nononononono, it's unsafe, and showed her crash test video and told her in no uncertain terms what would happen if she wasn't buckled and we were in a collision.

She doesn't unbuckle anymore, and in fact will tell me when her straps are too loose, and will yell at anyone who is not buckled while the car is moving. My husband unbuckled as we were pulling into a parking space once and she ripped into him and then didn't let him forget it for about a month. They can be educated, and honestly scared, at this age. Cars are not toys. A good healthy fear of them is something everyone should have.

Wendy

Try the prickly velcro trick. How old is he exactly? My son is 26 months and I just don't think any amount of discipline or videos would get through to him at this point. 'Course I can't imagine him getting out of his seat either!

The developmental difference between a "new" 2 year old and a nearly 3 year old is huge. If he's closer to three than two, I agree discipline is key, but if he's *just* turned two I think you need to find an outside solution in addition to being consistent about talking to him about "why".

What part is he undoing? Is he pressing the buckle? I wonder if you call Britax and order a new buckle, if its new and "stiffer" maybe it'll buy you a few months until he gets a bit older.

If you don't have one, purchasing one of those after market children's mirrors is a great tool to keep your eyes forward on the road AND on the back seat antics. The moment you see your son's hand nearing his buckle, you can immediately react.
I've used one for rear facing and then another model when my daughter turned around. She's now three. The rare times I've driven without it, I feel as if I'm completely clueless to what's going on in that back seat. Certainly it helps with conversation these past years

I have a Bebe Confort that attaches to the front passenger visor next to the garage opener. It's similar to this model that's on sale.

http://www.babyuniverse.com/pro/baby/8614/BabyviewMirror.html
hth & good luck.

24 month old

Hi,

I wrote a post about this a week and a bit ago. I only got one response, maybe because I'm not a parent or have Britax convertibles?

I have a 2 yr old in my life who I see every weekend. She has 2 sisters and lives in foster care. I support them and their mom through my church. Well, this just turned 2 yrs little girl also tried to get out of her seat for the first time 2 weekends ago. I like the velcro idea and will try it soon (I didn't see the kids this past weekend as I was sick). I'm curious to find out if it wil work.

I also agree with a previous poster who said that strict discipline about this issue is likely too much/different for a just turned 2 yr old vs. an almost 3 yr. old. I also say this from a child development perspective which is my profession.

If anyone has more ideas, please share-thanks!

babychild taxi said:

Hi,

I wrote a post about this a week and a bit ago. I only got one response, maybe because I'm not a parent or have Britax convertibles?

Click to expand...

I sincerely doubt that either of the snide rationales you propose have any truth in them. This is a volunteer site and no one is paid for their time or efforts. Some postings have multiple responses, others don't. C'est la vie.

Personally, I didn't see the thread myself at the time you posted, I just looked it up now to see what was said. You actually had 2 responses. Flipper 68 wrote a wonderful outline of various suggestions. Not much more could be added, imo. IluvBabies shared what happened to her daughter and her solution (the velcro). Neither was thanked for their time and effort.

babychild taxi said:

I also agree with a previous poster who said that strict discipline about this issue is likely too much/different for a just turned 2 yr old vs. an almost 3 yr. old. I also say this from a child development perspective which is my profession.
If anyone has more ideas, please share-thanks!

Click to expand...

At the age of 22 months, dd tried to be a houdini in the car. She didn't actually escape, but it was a warning. So later, I used my child mirror & a quiet street in conjunction with one another. As soon as my daughter's hands touched her buckles, I dead stopped the car, I turned around, took hold of her harness buckle, and spoke as harshly as I could "NO... NO... NO! TOUCH!"

No reasons needed other than Momma says so! needed. She was too young for explanations then. My daughter was terrified of me for that moment and began crying hysterically. Yes, I completely shocked her world because Momma was usually quiet, comforting, and calm. I wanted to emphasize that on this matter, there was no possibility of any relaxing of rules. After 30 seconds to let Mama's displeasure set in, I soothed her down after getting out of the car and being right next to her seat.

She tried going after her seatbelt again, but on another day, not that one. Too traumatised. I kept an eye out for another time to just test the waters. 3 days later, she was antsy & hyper... sure enough, she tried opening it again. I repeated what I did the first time and she's never touched them since. She's 3 now and I can reason with her, but a year ago, there was no way.

But to be honest, I don't have any idea how well this would work with a child that is not being disciplined by their own parents or are in foster care. There are rules and regulations, and "scaring a child to keep safe" is not really something that probably would go over well with policy and public. It's very difficult to define the boundaries of what you can do on a website where there's advice freely offered. That's possibly why you also didn't get a lot of advice on your first posting. Not being her parent, you are in a different legal & ethical category on what you can and cannot do for discipline.

To answer one of your questions from your first post:
Since you have her in a fwd facing seat, yes, the harness has to be in the top slot. If her weight is under the carseat rear facing limit, you can turn her around rfing and move the harness down to the middle. That would make it tighter. But I would highly recomend getting a mirror to see that back seat, that would make it easier for you to keep an eye on her.

hth & good luck.
M

I do appreciate....

...the advice given. I was waiting to try the velcro ideas and then post the results and thanks. I did not see the children on the weekend to try it out as I have been sick. I hope to try it out this weekend.

I am able to "discipline" the kids if they are with me. I use teachable moments, say "stop" firmly, use positive re-direction, consistency of approach, etc. I don't like yelling at children, but will use a firm voice when needed. Since the children and I are very close (they do not have any "Aunties" other than me), they are generally responsive and thrive on having someone consistent in their lives care about them/teach them.

I will update as needed

Thank You