When did you stop having trouble keeping your child in the car seat?

You are definitely not the first or the only to have to deal with this, and I know, it stinks! Unfortunately - at 2 years and 8 months old, it is a complete and total discipline issue and has to be dealt with as such.

Set aside a day that you can devote to teaching your little boy about why he needs his seat. First thing in the morning (well...ok...after breakfast) talk to your son about car seats. You of course have to tone it down to terms he can understand at his age, basically I asked my son if he knew why he had to be in a car seat. He said no. So told him that if he rides in the car without his car seat, he will get BIG boo-boos and have to go to the hospital, perhaps for a long time. I also told him that if he doesn't sit in his car seat, the police will take mommy away (yes, a little bit of an exaggerration, but not much, the authorities actually will restrict kids from riding with parents if there is persistent negligence about using car seats). After that, I asked him if he wanted to go to the pet store - his favorite outing. I told him he had to sit in his seat for the entire trip. (The trip was only 10 minutes, start out with a short one) As soon as he was buckled and we were ready to go, I told him that if he got out of his seat or undid it, we would turn around and go home. And be prepared to follow through! If he undoes his seat (don't use zip ties) turn around and go home, then wait an hour or so, and suggest a different outing he'd like - the park, ice cream, whatever. And try again. He WILL get the message. And anytime he does undo his seat, pull over at the first availability. I would not pull over on a highway either, but I would take the very first exit and park somewhere to put him back in. He HAS to learn that if he undoes his seat, you WILL stop the car to put him back in. Also, he has to learn that if he doesn't stay in the seat - he doesn't go anywhere fun. Be consistent, and do what you say. He will get the message.

On another note - what another poster is perhaps referring to in regards of the booster seat. 3 years old is NOT old enough or big enough to be in a booster seat. He may meet the minimum height stated on the box, but that does not meant its safe to put him in it. My 2 year old met the minimum height/weights on those Turbobooster boxes, but that doesn't mean he was ok to be in a booster seat. Booster seat manufacturers want to sell car seats to the most people they can, so they of course put the lowest limits they think they can get away with. In actuality, 4 years AND 40lbs is the bare minimum for safe booster use, and many states laws reflect this, as well.

That said, however, it is MUCH better to keep your child harnessed for as long as possible. And for the record - if he is undoing his 5 point harness easily he will find it even easier to undo the seatbelt. And if he is immature enough to be undoing the harness, he has no business being in a booster soon. For that matter, most 4 year olds do not possess the developmental maturity to be safe ni a booster. They lack the impulse control to sit straight up, without leaning over or side to side, for the entire trip. We also now know the spine is not solid until age 6.

Compare the following crash tests for your self and see the major difference a harness makes.

Forward facing harness vs. booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest...

A lateral test (the third view in) of a harnessed seat: http://www.oeamtc.at/videobox/index.php?domain=oea...

A deep winged high back booster like a Parkway: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest...

A shallow winged high back booster like the Turbobooster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest...

And a no back booster: http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/html_seiten/kisitest...

P.S. You could also try purchasing a seat, and including him in the choosing. A Britax Regent would keep him harnessed the longest, keeping most kids harnessed to about 8 years old since it goes to 80lbs. Regularly $269, but Britax is having one of their semiannual sales from February 24 - March 2. You could snag a Britax seat for $200 or less including shipping! The Regent's major selling point with kids: it is SO comfy!

Another one to show him - Graco Nautilus. Currently only available at Walmart for $150, but expected in other stores by the end of Feb/March. AWESOME seat! HArnesses to 65lbs, and then becomes a Turbobooster and then becomes a backless booster. Has a cool cup holder and little cubby for toys, and has the bonus of looking like a big boy seat instead of baby seat. Its metal reinforced as well as easy to use and install. amazon.com is taking preorders, expecting to ship out the Nautilus on Feb 25.

Lots of people flip the chest clip around so it is harder to open. I would keep him in the car seat with the 5 point harness as long as possible for his safety. 2 years old is too young for a booster seat! We kept my step son in his car seat until almost 6 years old before we switched him to a high back booster seat!

it almost seems silly to buy a new car seat since he only has about 4 months left until its time for the different car seat with the regular seatbelt. In the mean time, i would tie it or something or find another way to distract him in the car, like looking at picture books or watching tv. Keep him active and busy doing something in the car to keep his mind off of that seat belt!

hi there, my daughter started un doing the clip on her car seat at 2 and a half years old aswell.

on a 30 min drive i would pull over at least 6 times and put her back in.

this sounds really cruel but the only way i managed to keep her in her seat was a shock tactic and a very firm and low toned voice.

i told her that if she got out of her seat when mummy was driving and mummys car went bang (crashed) then she would be very very poorly and that she must not come out unless mummy gets her out.

like i said sounds really harsh to tell a 2yr old that but the police, not goin to playgroup or nanny house, sweets or father xmas worked so i went for being extremely firm and it worked she hasnt taken her self out of her seat since and she nearly 4 now.

hope that helps

my mom went through this with me actually, she bought many different seats and tried everything but nothing worked, but i was slipping out of the seats somehow not undoing the harness. she actually got pulled over and when she told the cop there was nothing that could keep me in they took us to the police station to try all the seats that they had (they made an agreement that if I could get out she wouldn't get a ticket) and I got out of each one in under a min so they gave her a thing to keep her from getting tickets as long as the seat was done up correctly.

I don't think this is a problem that they outgrow until they outgrow the carseats! When they unbuckle, you simply pull over and put them back in it. I also told my children that the police would get me in really bad trouble if they didn't stay in their carseats because it wasn't safe. I even had a police officer friend speak to them about it.

I never had that problem my son is almost 4 and and he stays in his seat never had a problem with it at all and its a 5 point still.

Nice one