two year old and carseat issue

DD will be 2 next month and we are having issues with her in her carseat. I had her rear facing and she was pulling her arms out from under the shoulder straps and was so she was only secure from the bottom buckle. i thought maybe this was because she was bored sitting rear facing and wanted to turn around.

we moved the seat forward facing and she is still doing it! not everytime we 're in the car, but often enough to make me nervous and god forbid we were in an accident, she would be pushed forward. i literally had to pull over three times this weekend both on the northern parkway and the LIE to strap her back in the seat.

has anyone else had this problem? solutions? i've tightened the straps as much as possible. we have the britax marathon. so far, she is not doing this in DH's car where she's forward facing in an Evenflo Triumph carseat.

TIA

Message edited 6/12/2011 9:40:56 PM.

Re: two year old and carseat issue

does the seat have the piece that clicks by her chest?? that piece is supposed to be lined up by her armpits. Does she know how to push it down to get her arms out??

Re: two year old and carseat issue

My DD has been doing this since about 2 also.. she is now 3 1/2.. it drives me nuts!!!! I have not found a solution yet.. all i do is try to reinforce it but it never works.. I hope someone has an answer for you and it can help me too

Re: two year old and carseat issue

My son has started to do the same thing. I found out the hard way when I decided to pull the plug on his DVD player one day. By day 2 of no tv, he had learned to pull the strap down and pull his arms out!!! Now I try and keep him occupied with soft toys or books when the tv isn't on..

My cousin use to do the same thing. (she is now 17) and her mom took a diaper pin, the ones with the safety latch on them and pinned it under one side of the clip to keep it from sliding down.. Not the safest thing to do, but it worked...

Re: two year old and carseat issue

Re: two year old and carseat issue

DS can get the clip down from the correct position. I have watched him do it! They are contortionists!!!!

Re: two year old and carseat issue

Reinforcement is all you can really do. Explain the dangers in terms they understand (for example a 2 year old, you use a stern voice and explain about boo boos and stuff.). If you were on your way somewhere that they want to go (let's use the park) then you stop once, fix it and tell them if they do it again, no park. If any threats of punishment are doled out, then follow through. Just like any other behavior you need to find what works for your DC

If the retainer clip is in the proper position (Nipple line/armpit) and the harness is in the correct spot (just above the shoulders FF, below the shoulders RF) and tightened appropriately (should not be able to pinch the harness at the collar bone, make sure when you tighten that you pull it from the hip area to get rid of any slack there too) most children can't Houdini their way out.

I'm surprised she is able to get the Marathon straps off her shoulders. With the rubber HUGS and appropriate tightness of the straps that should be very difficult to do. My guess based on the description of the issue and my knowledge of both seats is that the rubber HUGS combined with the Britax ratcheting type adjuster are tricking you into thinking it is tight enough, but it really isn't. It sound like you're getting the harness tight enough in the Triumph advance because she is unable to do it.

As far as pushing the chest clip down, if the harness is appropriately tightened, this is more of a non issue from a safety standpoint. If you've ever seen a European seat, you'd see that they don't even have chest clips on their seats. It is a pre crash positioner which holds the harness straps on the shoulders. It is not designed to withstand crash forces like the c.rotch buckle is, sometimes they break in a crash.

ETA:

If she is unbuckling the chest clip, try putting the rough side of velcro tape on the little piece that you have to press. Most kids fingers are too sensitive and it bothers them.

Message edited 6/13/2011 10:12:11 PM.

Re: two year old and carseat issue