how old were your kids when they could buckle their own harness?

Babywearing Meghan · Apr 23, 2009

I ask because I have been encouraging the kids to learn to buckle their own.. ESP my 6.5 year old.. but she just can't seem to do it, she gets upset and asks me to do it, she gets the chest clip but not the crotch clip..

Also do you check it over for them once they buckle it?

Sometimes my 3.5 year old will do her chest clip but I have to undo it cause the straps are all twisted.. I have to be honest I am so ready to not have to buckle all three of them into harnesses, but not ready enough to move my oldest to a booster. (She still has room in her radian 80)

all together ooky · Apr 23, 2009

My 5 year-old can buckle and tighten the Nautilus but she struggles with the Frontier (she can usually buckle but she can't tighten it well enough).

SGTex · Apr 23, 2009

My kids buckle and I check & tighten. They are 7 & 5. Julia's been able to do it for at least a year by herself in her Regent. She could not do it in her Apex before, but the Regent was easy for her.

My babysitting kids are 4 1/2 in a Radian and almost 4 in a Nautilus and they can both buckle themselves also.

ETA: That I have to frequently remind my babysitting girls to check their straps and they sometimes will have to redo b/c of twisted straps. One of them, can get the straps twisted in any seat she sits in!

joolsplus3 · Apr 23, 2009

DD was about 4.5, DS was at least 6. Are your kids in older Radians? Did you ever get the longer crotch strap? It can make it a lot easier to buckle when there is a longer crotch strap, considering how hard it is to tighten and loosen that harness. If the buckle is higher up, it's just a bit above the legs and easier for them to reach. (my dd used to hold the lever up on the Marathon, lean forward with the harness on her shoulders to loosen it up, buckle, then grab the adjuster and lean back while pulling it up, then I'd check and give it an extra tug most of the time).

Maedze · Apr 23, 2009

The boy child is 4.5 and just recently has been able to buckle the Nauti himself. He can tighten it too, but not all the way.

DD, 3, can do up the chest clip on her BV, but not the buckle.

Neither of them can unbuckle themselves.

azgirl71 · Apr 23, 2009

Tucker just started buckling her harness herself as she wants to be miss independent. I do check it EVERYTIME though as she does have a hard time inserting the buckle tongs all the way. She has been doing the chest clip herself for about a year now.

MomToEliEm · Apr 23, 2009

My older DD was able to do her regent when she was 5 and had just started kindergarten. My younder DD is almost 5 and she isn't very good yet at doing the regent buckle. She can do the straps and chest clip, but not the buckle.

I do very DD#1's install each time as sometimes the chest clip is pushed down. We don't loosen the harness each time so typically the straps are at the correct tightness already.

TnT's Mom · Apr 23, 2009

My youngest is 4 and 1/2 and he can buckle and tighten his Nautilus. I always double check it much to his dismay..."I can do it...I can...I did...I don't need you to check."

I don't remember when my oldest (8) learned to buckle his 5pt but he has been buckling himself into his HBB for a couple years now ...he knows to make sure the belt is snug across his body.

christineka · Apr 23, 2009

#1 was nearly or newly 4 and in a graco cargo.
#2 and 3 were more like 4.5 and in the cosco hbb with puzzle buckle
#3 moved on to the radian at age almost 5 and could buckle himself. Now he has the nautilus and can buckle himself.
#4 is 4 years, 4 months and can buckle the top of her radian if she actually settles down instead of playing in the van
#5 is 26 months and can do his cosco chest clip. He's a do-it-himself kinda guy and I bet he'll be buckling himself by the time he's 3.

#4 is a giggly girl and just seems to have fluff in her head. I think she capitalizes on being a tiny kid and wants to be treated as a baby.

J-max · Apr 23, 2009

DD#2 is 5.75 and can buckle herself in a regent and a GN, and has been able to for about a year. DD#3 can do the chest clip but not the buckle in a regent/BLVD/GN - but both the older gilrs can help her buckle and tighten - So I usually only have to do the babies. Maybe you can help your oldest learn to help her sister?

Momof4Girls · Apr 23, 2009

My kids (6.5, 4.75, 3.25, and almost 22mos) are of varying abilities to buckle their own seats.

My 6.5 y/o can buckle/unbuckle any seat we have (Regent, Monarch and PW boosters, BlVD, WZ, MCP, Marathon-was a loaner, no longer have it-, etc) Whether she is in it or buckling/unbuckling for anyone else.

My 4.75 y/o can do her own (primarily a Regent, sometimes in a PW or Monarch), and she can unbuckle her little sisters (BLVD and MCP and WZ currently).

My 3 y/o can buckle her chest clip by herself most of the time (she is RF). She can dig her own straps out from under her and get them positioned correctly (without twisting), but she cannot yet buckle or unbuckle her crotch buckle.

My almost 22 mos can buckle up a car seat if she's not sitting in it (even around a baby doll), but she cannot unbuckle yet. If we position her chest clip so that the edges are starting to meet in the middle, she can buckle it herself easily....and she gets a kick out of it.

My dd1 knows the pinch test, she knows how to check that everything is tightened up where it needs to be, and she is a big help in getting her sisters in the car and ready to go. DD1 and dd2 both know when their own seats are too loose (the straps I mean), and they know how to tighten them while in the seat. I do double check behind them, but they haven't "missed" yet

Raechel

lovinwaves · Apr 23, 2009

DD and DS can both undo and clip together their chestclip. They cannot do anything with the harness buckle yet. They are almost 5 yrs, and 3.5 yrs.

lorismurph · Apr 23, 2009

My 4yo can buckle and unbuckle her CarGo and can buckle her Nauti but not unbuckle the crotch in there (which I prefer). My 2yo learned to buckle the chest clip on her SS1 by 14 months (she cannot do the one on her Titan however).

Splash · Apr 23, 2009

Charlie can completely buckle and unbuckle the GN, I don't even touch check it anymore. I buckle Sam while he buckles himself, I glance over to make sure it's all done (he even puts the chest clip in the right spot), but I almost never need to touch it.
The FN he can't even come close. He can do the chest clip but it takes awhile. The Regent he could get the chest clip and one crotch buckle, but not the other.

myliljunebugs · Apr 23, 2009

My ds started buckling himself in the Regent at close to 5 years old. My dd can't right now at almost 4, but it is kinda sticky. Maybe I need to soak the buckle lol

emntheboys · Apr 23, 2009

DS1 will be 4 in one month & has just started buckling himself into his Apexes this last week. He sometimes has trouble with the crotch buckle (like if his clothes get in the way) and cannot push the button hard enough to unbuckle.

APmama2MAK · Apr 23, 2009

DS has been able to buckle his harness since about 10 months old (graco safeseat 1) and from about 13 months old pull the strap until it is "okay" but I am totally not okay with just okay so I let him do that (he insists) and then I tighten more.

by "okay" I mean I cant really pinch the straps but its still not tight enough for my liking. Now he can do the EFTA as well but obviously cant tighten it because of the knobs!

Oh and he cant unbuckle the crotch strap in either, but can undo the chest clip in the graco, thats it!

Babywearing Meghan · Apr 23, 2009

Oh gosh someone tell me you have a 6.5 year old that cant do it yet? she can unbuckle for the most part, esp in the APEX 65 but she just outgrew that harness so now she seems to have a bit of a harder time getting herself unbuckled from the radian.. it is an older one.. feb 08.. maybe I will invest in the longer crotch strap for it.. she can buckle Fionas in for her when we aren't rushing lol

rochelle · Apr 23, 2009

DS1 and DS2 can buckle themselves in since they were 3 on the scenara and frontier. I have to adjust and tighten the harness

Neither of them can unbuckle themselves.

heyruthie · Apr 23, 2009

i have MADE both my boys learn to do it when they were 4 years old. it involved a LOT of blood, sweat & tears, but they were both physically capable, and when i worked with them on it (i was seriously comitted to making it happen) they have both mastered it. but there was a lot of blubbering and whining until they learned. my children are lazy, and didn't want to put forth the effort. but i needed them to have that skill mastered, so we spent time on it each day.

i did it because when my oldest DS1 was 4, i was expecing DD, and he was going to have to move to the back seat. i have a VERY bad back, and CANNOT climb back there to help him. so, i trained him while I was PG to do it himself. if i had to reach back behind the seat to tighten the harness, i could do it.

now that I'm PG again, DS2 is in the same exact boat--at the same age (actually a few months older.) he is 4, and now he'll be joining his bro in the back seat. he is at about 90% right now, and before July, i plan to have him at 100% for both buckling and unbuckling.

i use rewards, time, and praise. even though their hands are small, and at first it seems like they lack the strenght, with practice they CAN do it. good luck.

how old were your kids when they could buckle their own harness?

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