• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Baby Products Mom

empowering parents with practical product & safety advice

baby products mom

empowering parents with practical product & safety advice

  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Baby Gear Coaching
  • Freebies
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Safety Savvy / Help! My toddler keeps unbuckling!

June 22, 2010 By Sandra Gordon Leave a Comment

Help! My toddler keeps unbuckling!

DABihqCoDQ41It’s a fact of life that starting around age 2-2 1/2, curious toddlers become enamored with unbuckling their car seat while you’re driving. It’s one of those unofficial milestones–the unbuckling the car seat stage. Look what I can do, Mom! Dad! Ta da! “Is there anything you can buy to prevent my child from unbuckling?” I was recently asked that question at a childproofing symposium I was leading.

The answer is…unfortunately, no. There’s really nothing you can or should buy to essentially lock your child into his car seat. In fact, here’s the stance about aftermarket products like these that manufacturers, such as Britax, state on their Website:

Do not use any aftermarket products (e.g., mirrors, sun visors, toys attached to the seat, etc.), as they could affect the performance of the child seat in the event of a crash and could become dangerous projectiles in a collision.

And in this case, there may be an instance in which you need to get your child out of her car seat quickly. So, the best you can do for this problem is to engage your child by, for example, keeping special small, squishy toys in your car for your child to play with that are for the car only. Another distraction idea: One mom at the symposium recommended putting in a DVD. That sounds like a good idea if your car has a DVD system, but keep in mind that watching TV while riding counts towards your child’s screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting TV time to 1-2 hours of quality programming for kids age 2 and over: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/work-play/Media/pages/The-Benefits-of-Limiting-TV.aspx. I know first hand how addicting TV can be for kids. So I hesitate to actually recommend that strategy. I think putting a fun song in the CD player is better. You can also try to reason with kids this young and begin to state ground rules such as “I won’t drive the car until your car seat is buckled because that’s what we need to do to be safe.” Kids thrive on praise so a little, “Thank you for buckling your car seat like a big girl,” probably couldn’t hurt either.

When my kids were younger, we often pulled over in a safe spot until the car seat got buckled again. And sometimes, we had to sit and sit until finally, my daughter gave in, only to have to pull over again until the we heard the magic “click” of the buckle. It’s an exasperating time, but you’re not alone. Most every parent I know went through it.

Related Posts

  • Top car seat safety tips from the NY Baby ShowTop car seat safety tips from the NY Baby Show
  • Worldly Family Travel Trip Tips with a ToddlerWorldly Family Travel Trip Tips with a Toddler
  • Car Seat Shopping? Put an Anti-Rebound Bar on Your RadarCar Seat Shopping? Put an Anti-Rebound Bar on Your Radar
  • What’s on your baby’s reading list?What’s on your baby’s reading list?

Share this post:

Share on Pinterest Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Email

Filed Under: Safety Savvy Tagged With: car seats, toddlers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

sandra

I’m Sandra Gordon, baby product and safety expert. I’m on a mission to help you buy the best for your baby and your budget. Want to know more? Read on!

Books by Sandra Gordon, on Amazon!

BPBookCover.Finalhttp://www.amazon.com/Save-Dollars-Diapers-Strategies-Slashing-ebook/dp/B00OP6QS6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415467828&sr=1-1&keywords=%22Save+Dollars+on+Diapers%22


Create Your Amazon Baby Registry

Recent Posts

  • Get a deal on a hands-free breast pump!
  • How Can You Save Money on Disposable Diapers? Go Diaper Free + GIVEAWAY!
  • Your top diaper questions—answered + diaper giveaway!
  • Why is my baby’s skin so sensitive? Your Answers Here!
  • What Nobody Tells You About Preparing for a New Baby!

Categories

  • Baby Eats
  • Best Of
  • Birthday parties
  • Budget Baby
  • FAQ
  • Gear guide
  • gift ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Health and safety
  • Holidays
  • Mother's Day
  • Nursery decorating
  • Pregnancy
  • Proactive Parent
  • Safety Savvy
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 Babyproductsmom.com & Sandra Gordon · Website design by Sarah Marie Lacy