3yr old escaping from car seat - advice please

[MummyBtothree]

Anyone know if there is anything on the market you can fix onto child car seats to stop kiddies getting their arms out of the straps and escaping?? My son who is 3 is doing it constantly and im tightening the straps when putting him in as much as I can. Its worrying me sick. Thanks.

There isn't anything you can buy. Have you got them on a high enough setting? Does he fit the seat ok?

You just have to pull over and go NUTS at him when he does it. There aren't many circumstances when smacking children is justified, but this is imo if all else fails. Better than his hitting the wind screen.

Yes there is a small strap called a Houdini Stop, that sits across the child's chest so they can't get their arms out. I bought one for DD and it works like a dream.

www.uberkids.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=4901&g=805432&p=650149&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Car%20Seat%20Accessories&gclid=Cj0KEQjw44exBRCu8vfS_bPEtNoBEiQACrt0073TIKo2uFXalD-Ba342ZjvwTpUUgI07cJ8EC8Yb91IaAuSN8P8HAQ

Eh snossnidge? There are a number of products for precisely this purpose.
Most of them seem to be chest clips that connect the two shoulder straps like this. I agree that pulling the car over straight away and giving a strict talking-to is absolutely necessary after an escape, but if you do it sufficiently deadlyseriousstern-but-calm then smacking won't be needed because it's never justified.

Thank you soooo much. He has a behavioural condition & ive been at my wits end.

OK, well maybe I should have said you shouldn't buy a chest strap rather than can't, as they're not safe.

A smacked bottom is definitely justified if the alternative is an injured or dead child. Great if you have a child who responds to a serious talking to though.

Arch that product looks brilliant: no extra clips and no worries about an extra impact on the chest.

And I agree with snossidge re. the hard plastic chest clips like this.

there is this I haven't tried it personally but found it when dd was doing similar. A few bollockings stopped her from doing it again, didn't take long for her to learn.

Don't get a chest strap, v dangerous and I thought they were illegal in EU car seats?

So where is the evidence that chest clips are more dangerous than a child being contained by their bottom half only if they escape? Rather than 'very dangerous' I suggest the situation is that they are not risk free.

toby I think it's more a case of hard chest clips being more unsafe than alternative restraints, like a soft chest clip or the wrap thing linked to earlier or a car seat with a bumper bar rather than a harness. Given the available alternatives, using a hard chest clip is an unjustifiable alternative IMO.

Oh good, someone with an almost identical username to me.

Have you tried putting old fashioned reins on him back to front, so the clip fastens on his chest (rather than his back) over the car seat straps. This was the only way I could stop my DD3 escaping.

Which is fine thomas if there are lower risk alternatives but I have read all sorts of things are 'very dangerous' on mn when in fact there is just an associated risk. I still suspect any option is better than baby suspended by their waist...