Carseat problem with 15 month old!

[Maclaren]

I cant be the only one with this problem!

Ny 15 month old is in his second stage car seat but the little bugger keeps taking his arms out of the straps! I have them on the highest hight and as tight as possible but he still gets them out even if he hurts himself doing it!

I am just really worried that if I have to break hard he is ging to come out or at least get thrown back and forth be also pulls himself so he is sitting really forward!

I do alot of motorway driving and so I cant just stop and readjust him!

Does anyone know of a carseat that has a straop that goes across the top of the chest or a strap I can buy for the carseat I have??

Haven't read all thread but generally if a child can get their arms out of car seat straps it's because the harness is too high on their shoulders or the straps are to tight.

Are you tried lowering the harness?

also how many of you have this problem with the maxi cosi tobi and use the green slider thing as an indication that the straps are tight enough?

eyeballs, have ou tried saying, in quite a low deep scarey voice, "NO" to your DC?

[drool] I want a kiddy infinity so badly!!! But £150?? Dear god, I don't have that sort of money just lying around.

I have the exact same problem with my 19 month old dd. She has only just started pulling her arms out and it terrifies me that she'll do it when I'm driving somewhere where I can't get to her. DH is going to move the straps up a notch tonight to see if that helps at all.

Oops...I want the Kiddy Comfort Pro, not the infinity. 9months - 11 years

I used a sunshine lock tite on dd until the phase passed, sold it to flamesparrow.....they do come on ebay occasionally.

Sorry again, haven't read all of thread by as navyeyelasH says thsi generally happens when the straps are too high above the shoulders and not tight enough. You could try a reward sticker after good journeys???

I don't know about the others on here - but my DD's straps are as low as possible and so tight that once out - she could never put her arms back through again on her own. She really has to struggle to get them out in the first place. There is no way that even if i offered her the biggest biscuit in the world, she would be able to put them on herself.

Clearly i am a rubbish parent as my DD often ignores me telling her not to do something - even in my loudest, most stern voice.

I am still intrigued as to how to 'discipline' a child under two - as Sazm suggests??

If you find out Lucky13 let me know as clearly I am a crap parent too! I even have a fab stern voice from 7 years of teaching!

question from the ROSPA website:
Q: My child often gets out of the harness, or undoes the buckle or seatbelt. Should I buy something to attach to the buckle, harness or belt to stop him doing this?

A: No. We do not recommend using any device which may interfere with the operation of the buckle or seatbelt. It is not known how such devices will behave in a crash and they could impede the emergency services in freeing your child from the vehicle. There may also be implications for your insurance if you have modified a safety feature like the seatbelt.

as above,it could cause problems with your insurance,hence costing you 8 points on your license and a fine,

link to the page giving advice about how to deal with it:www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/children_undoing_belts.htm here]]
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www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/childrenundoingbelts.htm

point is if you read the links from the rospa site you will see that what im saying is correct,
would you rather get 8 points for invalidating your insurance by using a device like this,or sort out how to get YOUR child to keep his arms in,
all kids are different,but you must all surely have a way of getting YOUR own child to do something they are told,(ie the lady with the pack of biscuits in the car)

(ps thanks for fixing the link,dont know wot happened there!)

I think what is infuriating is that in the US the car seats all come with the extra clip!

yep me too,
the op asked about straps to hold the carseat straps together,
i replied that they are illegal and unsafe (as she obv didn't know this) and the only way to sort it is to either buy a seat like the infinity one or to tell them off,
and i am being totally attacked for it.

No Sazm - you are being totally rude and unhelpful! People are asking for advice and not for you to condemn them.

If you can't see people's dilemma between the implications of an unrestrained child vs using straps which ARE valid for use in many countries - then there is no point replying.

I really don't think 8 points on your license would really matter in the scheme of things!

punctuation,god get a grip,this must be the only website on the internet where people care about punctuation,do you not have better things to worry about?
the point is lucky they are NOT valid for use in this country,
i was simply telling the OP and other people with the same problem,the fact that these things are illegal and unsafe,

i have a very placid nature actually,
i just dont understand why some people would use one of these devices when it could injure their child in an accident,

why dont you put your good punctuation to some use by writing to britax and maxi cosi to ask why they dont make seats with these devices fitted and approved?

as I pointed out further down the thread, (sorry for shouting but my point seems to have been ignored by some)

NOT ALL SUCH DEVICES ARE ILLEGAL, AND THERE IS AN EXCEPTION MADE IN LAW FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LITTLE OR NO COMPREHENSION

I would hazard a guess that a baby would count as a person with little or no comprehension.

At the end fo the day, this is about finding the safest way to travel, keeping a child who does not understand "no" (and some chldren do not understand it until WAY past 15 months old, and some not at all) safely restrained in the car.

Please do take a look at Crelling if you are havingi ssues with this.
they have a range of harnesses and straps, for all types of vehicles.

they are very nice to talk to on the phone, and can advise on various methods.

I have to use an extra harness with dd1, as she will not stay in her seat (she is 5, and uses a high back booster with seat belt). In the event of a crash, the extra harness I use will without doubt cause her some injuries (extra bruising, maybe a cracked rib or two from the buckle), but the fact remains that it keeps her safe in her booster, which will help minimise any other injuries.

without the extra harness, she would not be sitting correctly at all, and would sustain more serious injuries as a result of this.

total no-brainer, imo.

Thanks Silverfrog - just the advice i needed. Shouting was perfectly justified!!

I had to look and see why a car seat thread had 75 posts.

OP
My went through a phase of doing this when he was about 2yo and even at that age it was extremely difficult to stop him. He did get tired of it eventually. I hope you find a solution.

As to the disiplining of 15mth old babies. I do hope Sazm comes back and tells us exactly how to do that. I am obviously a terrible parent as my 5yo and 7yo DC don't do what I tell them. Sazm seems to have special SuperMummyPowers that she should share with the rest of MN.