Going crazy trying to get ds 16 months in car seat....

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Ds is a lovely, well behaved 16 month old. However, getting him in his car seat is a nightmare. He arches, screams, wriggles and evades. He's really very strong. I end up getting in a battle and sometimes feel close to losing it if we're in a rush to go somewhere. Its me against him. He's too little to explain to.... What can I do if anything to make this easier..... ??

A favourite toy, buckled in, sitting there as he approaches the car.
A playmate of the same age who is travelling with you can distract from the oh-no-here's-my-car-seat-which-I-hate song and dance.
Getting out to the car ten minutes before you would normally leave so you aren't under pressure.

Is he like this with anyone else who straps him in?

My DS of the same age is just like this. I bribe him in with chocolate raisins. It usually only takes 1!

I love those ideas especially a teddy sitting in car seat . Hes just like this with me really. He's far better with dh. Hardly bats an eyelid. Dh is a bit 'firmer' than me he reckons, whatever that means......

DS has just discovered planking and screaming while I'm trying to get him into the car seat. I tickle him so that when he scrunches himself up I can bundle him into the seat and get the seatbelt on before he has time to recover!

I feel your pain!! My two year old is impossible to get into his seat when he doesn't want to. He is rear facing and desperate to be in his big sister's booster seat. He kicks, scratches, pulls my hair and makes it impossible. I have tried all sorts of methods including toys, giving him an old set of keys so he can pretend to drive, distraction techniques etc, etc - none of which have worked.

Last week we were in Tesco's car park for half an hour as he wouldn't sit down. Finally I remembered that I had just bought some little chocolate eggs for an egg hunt. I got them out, bribed him and he sat straight away. I hate using food as a bribe or treat but that is what I have now resorted to! If anyone has any solutions would love to hear them!

Marrow I feel your pain too..... Chocolate seems a common denominator here! Ds is allergic, but I will have to find an equally attractive alternative....

Where did they learn that planking thing????

Ipswichwitch, at tickling

Can you try offering a bribe reward for good behaviour before he kicks off? So before you even leave the house, say to him, "If you sit nicely in your carseat like a big boy, blah blah you can have/Mummy will sing you a song/do a dance/whatever".

Donkeys I'm not sure how much reasoning he would understand at 16 months.... Hard to say

My dsis used to wrap some food in tin foil and while he was busy unwrapping it she would put him in as quickly as possible.

Was thinking of Marrow's 2 year old but same probably applies how much would he take in.

Does ypur 16 month old act up if his dad is alongside you as you put him in his carseat?

I found a small box of raisins did the trick.

pin him down with your knee while fastening straps I didn't type that... but whoever did makes a good point! Obviously don't hurt him but sometimes there is literally no other way to get them in the carseat if they are tantrumming. Take it from someone who once left the car at the supermarket carpark and walked home with ds1 in the buggy as she couldn't get him in the car...

mummy2benji you are not the only one! On one occasion when it had been a particularly fractious day out, made worse by needing to go and buy nappies on the way home, DS was screaming so furiously I thought other shoppers would think I was kidnapping him, thank goodness for British indifference.

This is making me feel better

DS (17 months) did his planking things this morning. unfortunately for him his arms were already in the straps on the car seat, so as his bum slid down and out of the seat, he was kind of left in full on planking mode suspended by his arms. Honestly he looked so comical i was hysterical laughing. disclaimer: he wasnt hurting or even upset by this point, just bemused at the sight of mummy crying with laughter. Took me 10 minutes to pull myself together enough to sort him out and get going. Was bloody late for work!

Tickling does work, though. DM used it on DB and me, and we've started having to use it on DD!

Ipswich we've had that same situation!! It's very funny seeing them suspended like that! Glad you were able to laugh it off, I reckon you're a bit more chilled out than me

We use the iPhone!! We have alphablocks and 1 episode is short enough for you to do him up and for him to give it up once buckled in. I also use it for nappy changes as he otherwise won't stay still. Provided you make it clear its just one episode of course.

am i the only one who pushes her in with my elbow while wrestling the straps with my hands then?

Nope, I do that too! But have recently swapped DS's car seat to the passenger side so he can see the steering wheel and related gubbins and suddenly everything is much calmer!

knee in the chest used to work for me ..DS1 was a planking specialist..even better in his buggy!

It will pass....:)

I just had a couple of weeks off from taking him out in the car! It was an inconvenience to walk/bus everywhere, but he was fine when we went back to the car and I lost 5lbs from all the walking

I have to brace my 15m old with my arm using all my strength. Hes like that