Getting them into a car seat is the bane of my existence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at your watch and give it a couple minutes. My kids are a little older then what you describe but I taught my son around 3 and my daughter picked up when she was older 2 how to get in their seats and buckle themselves. I put them in the car, close the door and then sit in the driver seat while they get buckled in. On days I’m rushed it’s horrible. But if I look at the clock and think, I can sit here for 4 minutes and play on my phone, they will get in and buckled in on their own time. But if I’m just telling them what to do, over and over it’s not happening. Also remember it’s just a season, it won’t last forever. Difficult while you are in it, but it will end.

We just went through this and I thought I was going to go insane. But what this poster suggested also helped keep me calm and we’ve now gotten through it. We also turned the seat around even though she’s just 2.5. I promise it’ll get better.

[Anonymous]

Whoever designs a carseat where the buckles don't disappear under the bum of the child wins a Nobel Peace Prize in my book.

[Anonymous]

We called it planking. My older kid was an expert. My younger kid will occasionally have a meltdown and unbuckle herself. Fun times.

[Anonymous]

This started with my oldest at 8 months old and this phase lasted years. I don’t have much advice. Improved when we moved the seat to front facing.

[Anonymous]

This is absolutely not normal. My kid is almost 6 now and I never had this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely not normal. My kid is almost 6 now and I never had this happen.

I like how just bc your kid never resisted is not normal and the experience of many other people doesn’t count !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Karate chop

This! Karate chop the back of that knee! Legs will buckle and then you can buckle. Stop bribing these kids to do what they should be doing. M&M my @ss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely not normal. My kid is almost 6 now and I never had this happen.

This happened ALMOST never with my now 5 year old but I can vividly remember a time when she was maybe 14 months old did the full screaming/back arch thing while I was parked outside the grocery store and a former colleague of mine walked by just then. It was an off day, I can’t think of another day it was like that, but I have perhaps never felt like such an inept parent as in that moment.

I will also say that at 5, she’s still in a harnessed seat and while she climbs in herself and never refuses, I still have to buckle her in and I am so tired of it. Kids stay in car seats so long these days, it feels like an endless stage. I can’t wait until she can buckle herself.

[Anonymous]

Tickle her and she will relax...then be super quick with the buckles. It becomes a game instead of a power struggle.

[Anonymous]

Leave earlier than necessary. Leave them back there while you sit in front 100% ignoring them. Eventually they will settle down, as they cannot get your attention that's when you buckle them

[Anonymous]

My 18 month old has just started doing this approximately 60% of the time we are going somewhere. She’s very strong willed and stubborn in general but used to really enjoy going places. It’s gotten to the point that I dread leaving the house. I want to be patient with her but it’s cold and in the morning before work I have no help. I think that she’s trying to assert some independence and control over her world. I tell her we’re leaving soon and try to follow the same routine for getting her ready to go, but the lack of autonomy toddlers have is hard for them. In a true time crunch I sometimes let her watch a short clip on my phone or look at a photo of us or our dogs, which works to get her in the seat but obviously upsets her when I have to take it and start driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely not normal. My kid is almost 6 now and I never had this happen.

What? Not normal bc your n of 1 didn’t experience it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old?

Short term solution -- give bribes. You can have a snack or a treat once you are buckled in. My kid would do almost anything for a small piece of chocolate at that age.

Long term solution -- make them feel like they have choices. Do they want you to lift them into the seat or do they want to get in on their own? Do they want to wear their jacket in the seat or take it off before we buckle? Do they want to listen to a podcast or music in the car? And so on. Just help him to feel like he has some agency over the situation so he feels less like he's being pushed around. The timing of when you leave somewhere in the car will generally not be up to him, so try to give him some choices around how you get in the car, or at least offer some appealing incentives.

Going through this list of silly negotiations will not cut any time off that 10 minutes