Climbing out of car seats

[Stickytoffeetartt]

Ds 4 and dd2 both constantly climb out of their seats. I got the escape -me -not things but they get through them no problem. Ive tried shouting and braking hard (in our driveway) Nothing deters them. I sometimes get them to sit in if they are bribed with a snack but I can't rely on snacks forever. Any tips for a worn out Mum?

Apologies if this is a silly question - but have they outgrown their car seats or do they still securely fit in them? Do you need to adjust the straps or raise the head rest at all?

My 5 and 3 year old are so secure there isn't any way they'd be able to escape, they're strapped in so secure with no extra bits added to stop them, literally just their seats.

Some kids are expert escapists. My 18 month old has figured out how to escape his car seat already. He can actually push the buttons and undo the belts just enough to squeeze one arm out, then the other, then it's game over. When I told other mums (who have the same car seat) they were totally baffled.

Anything I strap my son in (high chair, car seats etc), he immediately sees it as a challenge to escape.

i love this ' some kids are expert escapists' !! made me laugh

Sounds like the seats aren't right for them, especially not for the little one. I would go see a proper qualified car seat fitter and get advice. I cannot imagine that it wouldn't be possible to find a seat the 18 month old couldn't undo. The 4 year old might be more of a challenge.

They are still in stage 2 seats with harnesses which are within their age limits. They are both tiny for their ages too. The straps are really tight (probably too tight) but they still escape them. I think it is a behavioural issue rather than an issue with the seats 😬

They definitely are!

I’d try the 2YO in one of those cybex impact shield seats and with the 4YO then that’s more of a behavioural thing surely? Most 4YOs are in high back boosters secured with the seatbelt so could very easily escape but normally understand that they’re not to do that. So I’d tackle however you handle other undesirable behaviour whether that’s loss of TV, time out, natural consequence of now we can’t go to soft play or whatever fits your usual approach.