Things to make a 15 month old resigned to being strapped into his car seat?

[lummox]

Maybe a toy steering wheel that would attach to his car seat (Maggie Simpson-style!).

Or anything else that would make him even slightly resigned to being strapped into his car seat?

At the moment we can do short drives provided he has a small packet of raisins every 3 miles or so, but we're going on holiday to Norfolk shortly and i can't believe the raisin trick is going to last forever!

i'd say go the DVD route and also have lots of books/magazines to look at.

DD is 3 1/2 and (like all her mates of the same age) is addicted to her 7 Famous Five CDs in the car. Drive us mad but not a peep from her. We are all word perfect and have just acquired the Secret Seven version.

I remember being stuck for 7 hours on a national express bus from London to Leeds, in a blizzard, with ds1 aged about 22 months. I had one book - his favourite, and a rather bulky early learning centre tape recorder with head phones (this was 16 years ago). ELC used to do a series of nursery rhymes with all the actions that we both knew off by heart. He could hear the music and was doing the actions, I was joining in, the other passengers must have thought I was completely mad.
Seriously though those nursery tapes were the best thing I ever bought. I don't know if they still do them. Also there used to be a great toy that was a sort of mini work bench with screws and bolts - all securely attached, but could be screwed in and out with the screwdriver/spanner on a string.It just fitted across his lap. He used to scream like mad in his car seat, but was as good as gold if someone sat beside him. I think he was frightened in the back seat by himself. Maybe you could sit in the back with him? Good luck

Lummox hi ya, I was just going to suggest the same as 3littlefrogs...dd has never really been a problem and I'm sure that's partly due to the fact that she's always had ds next to her amusing her, fighting with her, snatching her toys away... Seriously tho she does love it when another adult sits in the back (usually grandma squished in between two car seats!)

Apart from that don't really know what to suggest as dd is also as good as gold so long as, when she's by herself in the back, she has a soft ball to hold (mad about balls, will defo be a tomboy ) but woe betide anyone within hearing distance when she drops said ball and it rolls under my driving seat - boy that girl would give Giddy's screamer a run for her money!

Good luck! hope you find a solution, x

Maybe it is his car seat, is it uncomfortable for him????? i wouldnt enjoy sitting uncomfy in a car, get the seat out of the car take it into the house (when not in use) let baby sit and play with it maybe watch tv or have snacks in it 2 get him to be friends with it.

Oh, yes, I forgot about the tape players from elc, I'm sure we bought one for ds when he was 18 months & he loves it! Very chunky buttons, about ten pounds, I think?
Cheerios, cut-up dried apricots and mini ricecakes also lasted quite a long time, I just bought a 'snacktrap' so stuff can't fall out, I remember ds dropping stuff all round tesco a lot.
Wld be interested if you get wonder wheel anywhere else (why objection to m/care?) as I will def. buy one for new baby when the time comes - we do long trips quite a lot. Maybe on ebay?
Also, I did wonder about a plastic coated photo album, one of those mini ones? DS 2.8 & loves looking at photos of himself or grandma or anybody he knows!

AQ - thanks again. i think he would really like a tape player, so will have a look for one.

On mothercare, there is a thread in the Pregnancy section which pretty much sums up my feelings. I've ordered from a random place on the net that I've found from googling. I can't remember the name at the moment, but will post if/when it turns up!

jayjay - i went out and had a good look at the car seat after seeing your message. the straps were a bit tangled, which might have been a problem. Also it is in its most upright setting, which is probably good for when he is awake, but might be acting against sleep? i can't really bring it into the house as fitting it properly in the first place nearly gave dh a coronary!

3littlefrogs - nightmare. the idea of something he can have on his lap sounds good. am wondering about getting the cheapest of cheap casio keyboard type things - seem to be some for a fiver on ebay. he does like pressing buttons, so might work?

teabelly - balls do work for a bit, but ds doesn't seem to manage to keep hold of them for very long. it would be fantastic if the new baby and ds could amuse each other, but i'm not sure a newborn is much company for a while. am also worried that ds will redouble his efforts to get out of his seat to 'play' with him/her.

Oh, dear, didn't link the m/care thread with this one - sounds awful. I haven't personally had any problems with them & ladies in my shop are lovely, but can see why you'd want to avoid it! Do post when you get the wheel & say if it's worth buying, tiny love stuff I've bought in past has been really good I want the whole range!
Link to the ELC Tape player (I know it says 3+ but I bought it for ds when he was 18 months or younger, they're always a bit on the hesitant side with age ranges aren't they?)/

I've done a lot of long car trips and some flights with my 2 year old and now with my 7 month old too. I've used a lot of the suggestions already mentioned by others, but in addition: Stickers and a sheet of paper to stick them to work well for the 2 year old, also some pencils for scribbling. If it's a big trip, I sometimes buy a few small inexpensive new toys and wrap them up and give them to him gradually. Also, pacing the trip helps- eg. sometimes we leave at 5am as both children go to sleep till 7 or so, and you get 2 clear hours behind you, then it's croissants for breakfast, some games etc, a break somewhere for 15 minutes, then it's naptime, then a lunch stop etc. If they're really fed up we stop somewhere where there's a playground, even if it's only for 20 or 30 minutes. I haven't bought a DVD player yet, but it might come to it!

If you are having trouble with car seat fitting, the fire brigade do free checks to make sure its in properly, and so do Mothercare (even if it's not their seat)
Plus your DS might like to see the fire engine!

I just purchased the Wonder Wheel on the www.tinylovestore.com website. Thenks for the information. I've never heard of this brand of toy here in the U.S. My 19 month old granddaughter will LOVE it, as she hates her car seat as well.
Carol in Virginia, USA