4-yr old moving the chest clip in carseat

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

DS1 is moving his chest clip while in the car. He did this months ago, and I explained how the seat belt needs to be clipped for him to be safe. He has gotten really defiant these past couple weeks, and today started doing it again. Today, it was as low as his waist. Is there any way I can get the chest clips to stay where they are supposed to be? He is still RFing. He is small for his age, we have a seat with very high limits, and he says he like sto put his feet up

[MashedUp]

I think I read that you can wrap some duct tape around the straps a few times, taking care to make sure they still lay flat and aren't bunched up, so that the clip can't be pushed down past the duct tape.

[ibisgirldc]

Our son loves Avengers/Iron man. Iron man has his arc reactor and the chest clip is our son's arc reactor. Thus, it stays where it belongs (now). (I.e., if your son is a fan, too, maybe try that.)

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

Our son loves Avengers/Iron man. Iron man has his arc reactor and the chest clip is our son's arc reactor. Thus, it stays where it belongs (now). (I.e., if your son is a fan, too, maybe try that.)

lol. that is a good idea! My son isn't into that, though.

[MommyShannon]

First for rear facing! Do you have a radian by chance? They had some really huge pads that came on it for a while. They attached below and above the chest clip and made it very hard to push the clip down. You might be able to call and get a set. I've heard of putting a button up shirt on over his normal shirt. Once he is buckled, button the shirt over it. He could probably get around that fast though at his age. Maybe bribery would work best; a sticker or stamp for the ride.

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

First for rear facing! Do you have a radian by chance? They had some really huge pads that came on it for a while. They attached below and above the chest clip and made it very hard to push the clip down. You might be able to call and get a set. I've heard of putting a button up shirt on over his normal shirt. Once he is buckled, button the shirt over it. He could probably get around that fast though at his age. Maybe bribery would work best; a sticker or stamp for the ride.

yes, I do have a radian. it goes up to 40 lbs RFing, and he is not at the height limit either (i check weekly). I get a lot of double-looks when they see DS RFing, but whatever.

Are the pads removable? that sounds vaguely familiar. I got rid of all the newborn/infant extra padding stuff. I know we are getting good use out of these and will trash them when we are done, so I dont know if I kept it. i'll email them and see.

He does respond well to bribery and stickers on a chart. If he keeps it up, I'll have to do it. We go out 1-2 times a day, though...that's a lot of stickers he'll be earning!

[Bridget]

Kai did this once. I pulled over and said I couldn't drive until he was safe so I would wait. Luckily we were going to the park which is his fave so it didn't take him long. He never did it again. I don't know how well that would work if you are going somewhere less appealing though.

[ibisgirldc]

you might try reversing his role. That it's not what he must do or else but rather, it's his responsibility to make sure that mommy and daddy did it right. So buckle it lower and ask him if how you did. If it works, he'll tell you that "mommy! you messed up! You have to do it higher!" and he'll move it for you. And you can keep checking with him as you drive to ensure that as the guy in charge of the chest lock (or whatever he wants to call it) hasn't let it slip. (or the dragons haven't pulled it down or the decepticons or Magneto or whatever.) At least, that might work with a kid like my son but he's 3. Maybe that's not for a 4 yr old. dunno.

(Oh, and my son likes to reverse roles, too, and tells us that he's mommy or daddy and we're him. So we could say, I guess, that "Mommy, you have to buckle me in so we can go to the zoo." etc Depending on his mood (his taste for imaginary games conks out when he's overtired), my son might jump into that.)

[Babidol]

I've turned around and gone home over this issue. It's a pain in the butt but I've only ever had to do it twice and she's never messed with it again. I wouldn't do anything to the straps like duct tape or safety pins or any of that. I'd be scared it would interfere with the integrity of the belts, the chest clip or even void the warranty.

[MommyShannon]

yes, I do have a radian. it goes up to 40 lbs RFing, and he is not at the height limit either (i check weekly). I get a lot of double-looks when they see DS RFing, but whatever.

Are the pads removable? that sounds vaguely familiar. I got rid of all the newborn/infant extra padding stuff. I know we are getting good use out of these and will trash them when we are done, so I dont know if I kept it. i'll email them and see.

He does respond well to bribery and stickers on a chart. If he keeps it up, I'll have to do it. We go out 1-2 times a day, though...that's a lot of stickers he'll be earning!

They are just different harness covers. I can't find a pic though here is a thread on them http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=166959
I'm not sure if they are available now.

My 2.5 year old is happy rear facing. I haven't really gotten looks or comments since mostly just my family sees her in it. Last year though a teacher in my older DD's pick up line got scared. M had covered up including her head with a blanket to hide from dd as we picked her up. The teacher obviously couldn't tell it was a 2 year old under the blanket and thought for a second she was a baby and was concerned. She quickly saw it was a bigger kid just playing.

[3andMe]

I assign my kids (rotating positions) to be the car safety police officers. They like the position of authority, and they check to make sure everyone is buckled in before we go, and it helps them take some responsibility for their own safety and others. Of course I double-check everyone, but it gives them a sense of ownership and makes them more inclined to work WITH me instead of against me.

And I have stopped the car on the few occasions when someone did something dangerous with a car seat or buckle. I have kids that run away from me and do all kinds of things I don't want them to do, but they have been very good in general about the car, even though they can unbuckle their chest clips and slide them around.

[NHKate]

I'm curious, do you have a way of telling that he's pushed the chest clip down while you're driving, since he's rear-facing? My DD is also still RF'ing, which I know is safer, but it also means I can't see what she's doing. Thankfully she hasn't pushed the clip down, but if she did, I'm sure I wouldn't know until I stopped the car and went into the back seat.

[ibisgirldc]

lol. that is a good idea! My son isn't into that, though.

How about fighter pilots or helicopter pilots? They wear similar harnesses. Or Astronauts? For the longest time (before we went all-in on superheroes), my son was into the space shuttle, Armegeddon, videos on youtube, etc. My car was a shuttle and the neighbors's house was yje Rissia Space Station. When we'd put him in has carseat, it was as Commander Nicholas and we were strapping him into the shuttle for take-off. Like he's seen in the videos. He'd do the backwards count and yell "blast off."

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

I'm curious, do you have a way of telling that he's pushed the chest clip down while you're driving, since he's rear-facing? My DD is also still RF'ing, which I know is safer, but it also means I can't see what she's doing. Thankfully she hasn't pushed the clip down, but if she did, I'm sure I wouldn't know until I stopped the car and went into the back seat.

No, I can't see, which is why I mentioned that he is RFing. He is also directly behind me, so even if I were stopped at a light, I can't see. The 2 times that he has done this, I didnt notice until we were at home, and I was getting into the car.

I like the ideas about giving him some responsibility, so I will try that