How do you convince toddler to get in carseat?

[Maria2007loveshersleep]

Hi, just wanted some advice as I'm a new driver / new car-owner.

We have a 2 year old DS who is generally quite easygoing, but not always when it comes to getting in the carseat! Do you have any tips on convincing toddlers to get in carseat without having to actually force them in? Which in our case doesn't even work because he is then perfectly capable of unstrapping himself.

I also think our carseat is probably not ideal, it's a booster seat. My son is 2 & 2 months, tall for his age (looks more like a 3 year old), so do you have any recommendations for appropriate / safe carseats for his age, and ideally ones he can't get out of that easily?

thanks!!

We have Britax evolva for both Dc's, they are very good and neither of ours have managed to get out of the 5 point harness. Also won't have to buy another seat as they grow
LOL @ Loopy, ds 17 months locked himself in the car a couple of weeks ago. AA callout whilst on holiday, can laugh about it now, though not funny at the time

If your ds is over 15kg, have a look at these

My ds is 10 and still uses it even though he is plenty tall enough, legally, to go without (but still within the height/weight guidelines for the seat). In fact, when we take his friends in the car and borrow their crappy boosters, they ask to go in ds's seat because it is far more comfortable.

I deliberately bought a seat that didn't convert into a booster because I really don't like them.

Having said that, it does sound as if he should still have a 5pt harness. Feel free to ignore me

Another vote for the Kiddy carseat BertieBotts mentioned. My DS has the Infinity one and has never made a fuss about going in it, doesn't like 5 point harnesses though.
There is a group 12&3 version called the comfort pro (here: www.johnlewis.com/230906484/Product.aspx?source=14798) that would fit until age 12.

Take a look at these www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categorydisplay10A_65_10751_14571_-1__14568_14568_10001_14568 sorry cant do links! Can always look at seats in mothercare and order from Kiddicare - I always found them excellent value and service.

maria2007, Isofix is a mechanism for fixing a car seat to the car. Your car (if it is new enough) will have a pair of square loops welded to each rear seat pan. If you lift the back seats you'll see them. The car seat clips into these brackets so it is effectively attached to the car chassis, rather than being held in with a seatbelt. It is far safer than using a seatbelt to hold a seat in place for two reasons. Firstly the fixing is much more secure and has no movement. Secondly it is much harder to fit an isofix seat wrongly as they generally have coloured indicators that show when they're clipped in properly.

I'm afraid I resolved our issues by pulling in at our local police station and telling the kids in the back of the car I was going to report them for unbuckling the straps. They got pretty upset and I didn't actually have to go in - mind you, I was quite prepared to ask someone to come out and have a word with them! There has been no opposition since

you can get booster seatswith 5point harness to 18kg then afterwards hey go on to use a normal lapbelt .Have just ordered one for ds though opsite problem as he is 5 but titchy and weighs in just over 15kg

I know of a woman who took her six year old to the police station when he would not sit properly in his seat. The police officer on the front desk was great and gave him a big lecture . He has not moved an inch in his seat since.
I think i might try it for my 3 12 year old!

My Husband has a Cybex Pallex, and no strps means no escaping. He is good as gold getting in and out and helping Mr Toddlerwranger 'do him up'.

www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&biw=1362&bih=574&q=cybex+pallas&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=z2qsTLnBHMaz4gaPoeyNDg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQrQQwAA

I have a britax, and he is a different child. I now just have to puick him up, fold him in half like a snadwich (no other way to explain it!) and get him in as quick aas I can because he REALLY fights me otherwise, and if am in a tight careparking aspace it can be impossible to ge him in otherwise!

We too have the Kiddy Infinity Pro.

DD loves it, especially the impact cushion that she uses as a table. We have attached a mini scribbler thingy that she likes to draw on. Ive also noticed a new thing they have is an Aquadraw type mat that fits over the cushion.

There are still the odd days when shes particually tired that she may kick off but thats 2yrs old for you!

We keep special toys in the car which DS can only play with in his car seat. Once we get him sitting in his seat (by force usually...) we give him a toy and he is distracted from the strapping in going on around him.

That advice from Mothercare was shocking Clearly if he undoes a normal seatbelt, he's not old enough to be trusted in one, whether he's big enough by weight or not! I'm surprised they didn't try to sell you a Group 123 seat anyway as they are much more expensive than normal boosters.

Got DS' red book here. It seems to suggest that a boy on the 99th centile will reach 18kg at age 2.5. On the 50th centile they won't get there until age 4.9. If he's about 15kg now then he probably won't hit 18kg for at least another year.

I recommend the Kiddy Comfort Pro (I think John Lewis stock these) or the Cybex Pallas (Can get this in M&P shops). Both have the escape-proof impact shield as already mentioned and can convert to not using it at 18kg and be used as a normal booster until age 12 or whenever your child gets to 135cm. I can't see that it would be incompatible with any cars as the seatbelt goes across the front similar to a booster. I got my Infinity Pro online and they delivered for free the next day, I think it was baby boom 2000 which I ordered from.

Cheapest I can find online is here: £150 with free delivery.

Thanks for all your advice :)

Turns out DS is 14 kilos (had overestimated his weight). So after reading through all your advice, we went today & bought the Britax Evolva 1-2-3. Which we really like.

www.houdinistop.co.nz/

Wow that houdini stop looks really effective. But I'm glad to report that already with the Britax Evolva we've seen a massive difference. DS can't get out of it he he he - he tried & was slightly dismayed that he couldn't.

But he seems super excited by his new 'chair' as he calls it: we called him his 'big boy chair' and got him a special toy too & so far so good.

Thanks again everyone :)

I am probably too harsh with mine but at the age of 2 1/2 my DS asked why one of his friends was allowed in the front seat without a carseat and he wasnt. I told him in quite graphic detail about EXACTLY what would happen to said friend if his mum were to have an accident. My DS is now 9 and nothing in the world would tempt him out of his hi-back, side-impact booster seat. Try to find some viseo footage on RoSPA/YouTube of crash test dummies in car crashes. Shock value is good with toddlers

Contact your local council who have proper, qualified car safety experts who work there. Their job is to guide you on such things and are the only ones who absolutely know what they are doing.

Mothercare and Halfords are really poor at advice tbh. Mothercare assistant actually told us that DC shouldn't be in rear-facing at his age (he was about 12mths)!!! WTF?

I think our 5 point harness seat goes up to 22kg so will last him from 14mths til about age 4-5yrs.

So far DC has been a pain to get in some days but I tend to just leave him to have a tizz and when he's bored he gets in the seat in resignation that it hasn't had the desired effect. Still, got a long way to go with him yet, so bribery will no doubt come along soon.

The houdini stop is a great product, available in the UK at www.houdinistop.co.uk

Thanks for the tip, Theames, about the houdini stop thingie. Will have a look.

Things are really getting worse & worse. Even though we've now bought a very good carseat which we're happy with (Britax evolva), still our DS just doesn't like going in it & 'plays up' almost every time, as he knows it gets on my nerves.

I use bribery (special 'car' biscuits). Works quite often: but not always, there are many times it doesn't work.
I use praise (look at the big boy going in his big boy seat). Doesn't work :(
I use consequences (if you don't get in carseat we'll go back home). Absolutely doesn't work, particularly as many times that's not possible.
Unfortunately, I also sometimes have to strap him in using force, which I hate as he's such a strong boy, and he resists me all the way & then I feel like a horrible mummy... :(

Any brilliant tips? Come to think of it, I'll reread the whole thread again to get some ideas...

hello! my Ds went thrpugh i phase of i dont wan to be straped in, so when it came to getting in the car i told him we were going roller coaster driving, so he needed to get strapped in, then when he was in i used to make him lift his ae=rms in the air and we would give a little cheer as we were ready for the ride. if he reaaly hates the straps though i would think of getting a mamas and papas...has a cusion and no straps on sale at the moment
also repeat to yourself only a stage!!!