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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I have spawned the reincarnation of Houdini?

28 replies

TammySwansonTwo · 28/12/2017 16:47

One of my twins learned early on how to climb out of his Baby Bjorn bouncer. Today I strapped them into their highchairs (Ikea, very tight straps), turned around to get their cereal from the kitchen (40-60 seconds tops) and the kid was on all fours on the fucking tray, straps still fastened on the chair.

How is he doing this? How can I stop him from killing himself? Any other infant escapologists out there?

OP posts:
toomuchtooold · 28/12/2017 22:31

DT2 managed to free herself from the baby car seat at 11m old. On the M6. We didn't even realise until she appeared in the rear view mirror standing up holding onto the back of the seat and going "cooee!"

Amanduh · 28/12/2017 22:34

Ds can free himself from the ikea highchair in 10 seconds even if the straps are skintight. I have no idea how. You have my sympathies!! Today he's decided throwing his whole body with all his might towards the back of the chair amd therefore tipping it is fun.

mineofuselessinformation · 28/12/2017 22:35

Buy an old fashioned harness and use that?

UrgentScurryfunge · 28/12/2017 22:38

I retaliated by using reins on the high chair and pram/ buggy. That thwarted them Grin

Lostmyemailaddress · 28/12/2017 22:43

I've used reins in the past. I fastened them into the buggy or high chair and put reins on and on 1 side put the rein being the strap and the other over the strap then fastened the reins.
Learned this after dd1 was 11 months old and managed to exit th3 buggy and start toddling off down the street.

countingkids123 · 29/12/2017 00:35

Boy twin was and still is a Houdini aged 5. Car seat straps were no trouble for him. I’d strap him in, start driving, and before I knew it he would have his arms out and be chuckling away to himself. Supermarket trollies were a fave; I’d turn away from the trolley to pick milk off the shelf to then turn back and find him about to launch himself from the seat. He’s now in Reception at school. I warned them that while their security is great, they do have an exit button on the gate at wheelchair user level that overrides the lock. It’s only a matter of time before he decided to press that button when no one is looking and slip. Thankfully he won’t get far. He’s got a fascination with understanding how things work, and as far as he’s concerned if there’s a button to press or buckle to release that’s brilliant fun. The next step for him is to take things apart. He’ll go far, I’m sure. Safebreaker or something [santa]

Fadingmemory · 29/12/2017 00:42

DD escaped from her car seat and
poked her head between the front seats shouting, 'Ayo Mummy.' The journey from London to Scotland took a very long time Shock

meandmytinfoilhat · 29/12/2017 00:51

My son was the same. Everything has calmed down now although he still has his moments, but for the first 3 years of his life my heart was in my mouth.

Parsleyisntfood · 29/12/2017 00:58

My cousin got out the car seat at 18 months on the motor way. He started feeding him mum pate and ended up standing between her legs (ie in front of the driver).
Horrified aunt told her mum who told her that when the aunt was 3 she made it onto the top of the dresser where no one could get her down.
I’m not trying to help, just letting you know it’s hereditary.

Witchend · 29/12/2017 01:01

DD1 never got out of anything without permission. She was in her bed nearly 6 months before she realised she could climb out of it. Grin

Then we had Houdini 1 which was challenging, but only a preparation for Houdini 2 who could climb out of any cot by about 8 months wearing a sleeping bag, and that was just the start off.
Houdini 2 at least used to generally get out safely, even the shopping trolley they just climbed down out of and crawled off.

I got one of the old leather reins. With those on and tightly attached to highchair/trolley/buggy and a ribbon tied behind to keep the shoulder straps tight enough they couldn't wriggle out of them. When it got particularly bad I had two pairs which took twice as long. Grin
Houdini 2 is now 10yo and doesn't try and escape any more.

BlackeyedSusan · 29/12/2017 01:02

reins over the top were the way we went...

sashh · 29/12/2017 06:48

countingkids123

My nephew was like that, he's just finishing a degree in Physics and going on to post grad engineering.

OnTheRise · 29/12/2017 08:47

I had a Houdini too.

We discovered that for the high chair a five-point harness was required, so one with shoulder straps as well as the waist straps and one between the legs. And we crossed the shoulder straps over behind his back before fastening them to the buckle at the front as this made them too tight for him to drop them off over his shoulders like he wanted to.

And then we had a piece of Velcro which we wrapped round the buckle which didn't stop him undoing it but at least gave us a nice loud alarm sound when he did it.

Good luck, OP. You're going to need it.

SimultaneousEquation · 29/12/2017 08:55

We got a chest strap that went between the arm straps to stop dd escaping from her car seat. And high chair.

The worst was when she had just turned 2 and I found her about 6 foot off the floor in a wall-mounted kitchen cupboard where I’d put a tube of smarties (shudders).

Original poster
TammySwansonTwo · 29/12/2017 09:01

Hmm. I can honestly say that reading the responses here have made me feel physically sick - I'm totally fucked, aren't I?

At least his twin is (so far) much more sensible. So far. Houdini is literally trying to run before he can properly walk - he staggers around like a drunkard at high speed, not looking where he's going or thinking about what he's doing. He's a danger. His brother isn't walking unaided yet but has so much control of his body, I think I've only seen him fall down twice (rather than twice a minute for the other one).

Okay. I will try to find some kind of additional harness / straps I can add so he doesn't kill himself. And NEVER TAKE HIM IN THE CAR EVER AGAIN. (What do you do once they figure out car straps? Is there anything you can do?!)

OP posts:
Original poster
TammySwansonTwo · 29/12/2017 09:02

Amanduh my twins have been using a similar technique to traverse the room in their highchairs since they were about 7 months old. Little monsters.

OP posts:
Singlebutmarried · 29/12/2017 09:08

Have you seen the Houdini straps? They’re an extra fastener. Worked for my escapologist.

RavingRoo · 29/12/2017 09:14

Neice started escaping the car seat at 7 months, so someone (ie me) had to sit in the back with her whenever sibling took her out. Involved a lot of distraction and quick refastening as the kid likes to crawl out to the front otherwise

LakieLady · 29/12/2017 09:33

I think it's hereditary. My DB used to climb out of his cot long before he could walk, then sit on the bedroom floor yelling, because he couldn't go anywhere. At 3, I used to climb on chairs to undo the bolts on front and back doors. My mum found me in the back garden at 5 am one summer morning, digging holes. Our dog had woken them up, or they probably wouldn't have noticed for a couple of hours.

DP and his brother were both skilled escapologists and they both had Houdini toddlers. DSS was a nightmare, he not only excelled at getting out but could move incredibly fast once he did. DP reckoned that nothing short of a heavy weight manacled to his leg would stop him.

Maybe a dog, some sort of sheepdog, would be a good idea - it could alert you when they escape AND round them up for you. Grin

OnTheRise · 29/12/2017 10:03

My Houdini worked out the car seat buckle very quickly. We found that using some velcro around them helped, as it was easy for us to put on and take off but it was a bit too difficult for his little fingers. And again, there was the noise of it so we knew what he was up to.

The trick of crossing the shoulder straps over behind their back is a very good one--it makes it almost impossible for them to wriggle their little shoulders and arms out of the straps.

Themiscyra · 29/12/2017 10:49

A friends ds(demon spawn) escaped his car seat straps and proceeded to hide UNDER the driver car seat while they were on the M1, prompting an about turn to the last services. The atmosphere in that car I don’t even want to imagine, before the little fucker darling poppped up going. ‘Peek a boo’

Bubblysqueak · 29/12/2017 11:15

You can get an alarm buckle for car seats which goes off when the buckle is undone.
You can also get a Velcro jacket thing which attaches to a car seat which stopped my Houdini escaping.

Parsleyisntfood · 29/12/2017 12:49

my Houdini cousin is 40 now, I checked with my aunt and they used to put a jacket on top of the straps. Basically a straight jacket.
When he wasn’t yet 6 months old he was in a old fashioned pram and left outside a shop. Aunt found him “dangling like a WWII pilot stuck in a tree” so strangulation was a possibility but he could also have landed on the pavement.

Minxmumma · 01/01/2018 16:16

My twins now 15 were a nightmare but him especially. He would climb anything just for giggles, escape most straps quicker than I got him in them, and would run around bouncing off the walls with no real sense.
He progressed to using the screw driver from his 1st mechano set to take apart anything he fancied .... oh and replaced the batteries in exhausted toys by pinching all the ones from various remotes.
I used to live on the edge but he grew out of it without serious injury and ironically is now afraid of heights.

Old fashioned leather harness with proper buckles was my saviour as he couldn't reach the buckles easily.

latedecember1963 · 01/01/2018 18:13

We were lulled into a sense of security by DS1 who was extremely laid back. DS2,however, was a completely different character. He was walking at 10 months and had no sense of danger. He was in a bed quite young because he learned how to vault out of his cot. My scariest moment was finding him on the bathroom window sill with the window open. He'd climbed on the toilet to get to it. All upstairs windows remained permanently locked until he was about 8! I still go cold at the thought of what could have happened. It does get easier, honest!