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Original poster

Help! DD escapes from car-seat!!

21 replies

Mumsnut · 29/04/2010 17:17

My dd is just 3, and has learnt to undo the straps on her Maxi-Cosi car seat (even I find it difficult to press the button all the way down, damn it).

At the moment, she hasn't tried to get out while the car is moving, but i can see that that won't be long. And it is getting very, very difficult to get her into the seat without physical force and a big bust-up.

She is desperate to sit in the built-in booster seat in the middle of the passenger row (we have a Volvo). She is OK for this height-wise, but being a skinny minnie is six pounds too light.

But would it be the lesser of two evils?

WWYD?

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whomovedmychocolate · 29/04/2010 17:20

(1) Seatbelt cover clip
(2) Mittens
(3) Extra cake

(In that order)

Is the head rest at the right height, straps can be too loose if not and can be undone by enterprising young hands!

kitkatsforbreakfast · 29/04/2010 18:26

WE have the same issue. What weight does she have to be before she can go in the built-in booster? Our vw has built in car seats and she will have to be 15kg before she can use it without the harness (it's the harness she objects to because it's 'babyish'). I'm obsessively weighing her and she is stuck at 12kg. However much butter I try and force down her!

I was determined that I was going to wait until she was nearer the 18kg mark before I moved her but she will probably be a teenager before we get there at this rate.

Danthe4th · 29/04/2010 20:13

Make sure she wants to go to the park, the minute she does it, pull the car over, warn her we go home, mummy can not drive the car etc etc.
It may shock her that you mean business, don't shout but calmly tell her to get back in her seat, if she does praise and go to the park. if she doesn't just sit it out and see what she does, go home if she plays up.
Do plenty of short trips, lots of praise for sitting in her seat and ignore her if she keeps doing it, even just drive round the block 10 times a day.
You have probably started to dread going out and children soon pick up on what winds us up.
A friend drove one of hers to the police station and asked an officer to tell her son that he would be in trouble. He never did it again!

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Original poster

Mumsnut · 30/04/2010 07:53

Who moved - I will investigate the clips, thank-you. I don't think mittens would last a second ...

Kitkats - it is the same thing, a 15 kilo limit and she is stuck on 13k. She grows taller but thinner every day, it seems.

Dan - sadly, our morning commute is a long, boring school run followed by nursery for her. There is a prospect of park or Waitrose (her fave ) in the late afternoon, but i think that's too far away to act as an incentive in the mornings. The standoffs we are having then are terrible.

And my nightmare came true yesterday after nursery - she appeared in the front passenger seat next to me as I was driving.

Am working at home so will google the clip covers

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Original poster

Mumsnut · 30/04/2010 12:53

Oh heck, seems most of thse have been discontinued because they prevent swift removal of the child by eg paramedics in the event of an accident.

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sparkle1977 · 30/04/2010 16:45

mumsnut - I would echo what Danthe4th says. We try that approach with DS1 and it works. Now when he knows we are pulling up on our drive/someone else's drive he always asks if he can undo his seatbelt and we agree that he can do this when on the drive and the car has stopped. Think this helps make him feel more grown up.

We put DS1 in the high back booster seat slightly early, at about 3 years 4 months. He is about average for his weight and height and its working fine.

However I would say that if your DD can get out of her maxi-cosi she will also be able to undo a regular seatbelt even easier.

I say you should try and teach her to keep the belt on as thats the route of the problem.

IndigoBlue · 30/04/2010 16:58

Is it a maxi cosi Tobi? There has been a thread on here before about how easy the straps are for children to get off on that model. I have it myself and had that problem with dd for a while when she was about 2 and ended up putting her in a different seat.

MoneyNoPockets · 30/04/2010 17:30

Mittens with very thick adult sport socks up past her elbows (under clothing is best) over the top.

UK law states that 1 clip is all that needs to be undone to remove a child from a safety seat, so tho you can buy chest clips they are in law illegal (USA allows to clips to be undone)

You could also try doing the straps up properly and then buttoning a cardigan/zipping a fleece over them so she may undo the buckle but should be kept in the seat the vital few minutes it takes you to pull over safely.

Are the straps tight enough (2 fingers just able to slide between strap and chest?) as sometimes slack straps = easier to open buckle.

Original poster

Mumsnut · 30/04/2010 17:54

I take Dan's and Money's point about a consistent and enforced programme of 'no harness, no ride', and if she were an only child I could go for it. In practice, with other dc in the car panicking about being late for school, and meetings to get to, something has to give. I am fantasizing about an au pair to leave her with.

She has the Maxi Cosi Priorifix (Isofix) - very safe so I don't want to abandon it. I can barely undo the button myself it is so stiff, but because she can get a straight shot at it with both thumbs, she can exert all her force pushing downwards if you see what I mean - it isn't that the straps are too loose, truly. She is probably too tall for the Maxi-Cosi (shoulders higher than the top slots) actually, but she is definitely not heavy enough for the high back booster, which i think is the bigger problem.

Her issue is that she wants to use a 'big boy' seat belt, not a harness, which she perceives as babyish, and she wants to be like the big kids in the car. I don't think she would undo a seat belt for this very reason. Anyway, i am going to look out our US seat which has different weight limits - maybe it will tide us over for a month or so.

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BosomsByTheSea · 30/04/2010 20:09

We have the Kiddi Comfort seat. It's the safest ff seat and has an 'impact shield' that is secured with the adult belt. it's fab. So easy to do up and undo by me, but DS can't undo it at all.

Though sounds like you only need it for a few months. Maybe no good, then.

Original poster

Mumsnut · 30/04/2010 20:22

I've never seen that before - is it new? Looks v intriguing, I must say. Could she reach round to undo the three point belt do you think or would she be too confined?

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MoneyNoPockets · 30/04/2010 20:52

Tis hard for them to reach that far.

Used one years ago and it was good, also gave reasonable support when dc fell asleep.

Original poster

Mumsnut · 30/04/2010 21:09

I think we have an answer! Even if she hates the shield bit we could disengage it as soon as she puts on enough weight and still have a very safe booster to use until she's 11 - we could do with a new one.

Thank you all!

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whomovedmychocolate · 01/05/2010 06:50

Hurrah!

We got some velcro strapping and wrapped it round the cover. Rips off but makes one hell of a noise when you do so DD stopped trying.

Original poster

Mumsnut · 01/05/2010 10:13

Ooh - I have some velcro strapping ...

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BosomsByTheSea · 01/05/2010 10:37

Glad I might have been on some help. We do find it incredibly good. So east to do up and undo using the adult belt, light and easy to transfer from one car to another - ut even has an elastic strap on the front of the impact shield to attach toys to. DS loves it.

We got ours from Olivers Babycare - cheapest I could find, free delivery and really good service. website here

BosomsByTheSea · 01/05/2010 10:40

Or this one goes from 9 months to 12 years!!

(Slightly lower scoring in safety tests, iirc, but still very safe)

BosomsByTheSea · 01/05/2010 10:41

(There are 2 types, they look very similar, but one is 9 months - 4 yrs, the other is 9 months to 12 years, to clarify!!)

Original poster

Mumsnut · 01/05/2010 13:52

Thanks Bosoms! Will take her to try it in John Lewis to be sure the bar / cushion bit doesn't freak her out. The main thing is, it has a belt not a harness which is her real ambition so I'm hopeful.

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BosomsByTheSea · 01/05/2010 17:36

We always sing 'Hands up! Baby! Hands up!' while we put the impact shield in and do it up

Works for us! Hope your DD likes the seat.

Buzzybb · 01/05/2010 18:04

It is ok We sing the same song Bosoms and I will second them, they are fab I have 2 one for my DD and a spare for my nieces they all hop in no problems and they never object to the impact shield either. I did find the clips on an American website for my Mums car seat, on the first outing my Mum put GD in the seat went around got into the car to hear Tadaaa, she had opened the clips, Also my 7 yr old niece can sit in the seat as a booster without the impact shield so they should last And it was Dad and Dp who bought them as they believe they are very safe [both are paramedics] if that helps re their safety

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