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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,451
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

God love my niece.  She and her hubby have 13 yr. and a 14 yr. boys.  They adopted a 2 1/2 girl and 4 1/2 boy, brother and sister.  They had the kids as foster children since the girl was 5 months old. 

 

Oh my, the girl is going to be a handful.  She is the cutest little thing and has the most beautiful head full of naturally curly hair I've ever seen.  She is also the most stubborn little kid I've ever seen. lol  She holds her own with 3 brothers.

 

She has figured out how to unhook her car seat and get out.  She also likes to take her clothes off.  She thinks it's funny.  Not while Mom's driving.  Is there something that keep kids from getting out of car seats?

 

My niece woke up in the middle of the night last week to a little voice yelling "Hey, Hey".  She got up, opened the bedroom door and found her daughter in the hall. with a world class case of bedhead.  DD looked up "Hi, Mommy!".  It was 3:30 am.

 

Life is going to be interesting with this little bundle of energy.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 761
Registered: ‎06-01-2010

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

There are several items on Ama$on that may be helpful. Search for "clip guard for car seat." Your niece is wonderful for adopting two children. I'm sure they will always be grateful that they weren't separated. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,742
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

One of my sons kept unbuckling his seatbelt once he figured out how to do it.  I would pull over and just sit there until he put it back on.  He quickly learned that we weren't going to do anything fun until it was on.  

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,220
Registered: ‎10-14-2016

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

@CrazyKittyLvr2  asked  "Is there something that keep kids from getting out of car seats?"

 

A good spanking will work wonders.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,924
Registered: ‎06-09-2014

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

My niece was horrible about being out of bed in the middle of the night.  I believe my sister used a reward system with pretty decent success. 

 

If she stayed in bed throughout the night, they did something special the next day and that doesn't have to be anything epic.  It could just be having her favorite meal for breakfast or simply praising her for being a "big girl." 

 

I also think my sister was getting ready to redo her room from baby to little girl and told her daughter that wasn't happening until she was sure the kid would stay in it to appreciate the effort. 

 

If she could trust her to be a "big girl", they could go shopping together to pick out her new room.  It took some effort over several weeks but it did pass.   

 

 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,620
Registered: ‎05-22-2014

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

[ Edited ]

How wonderful that your niece has such a loving heart.  Giving those little children such a good home - well, it really has made my day!  My GD does have some spunk, and it really can be funny at 6 years old.  I am sure your niece will bring it under control, and that spunk will be a great asset to this little girl.  Women with spunk are unstoppable.  

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,451
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

@Travone  They don't spank/hit the kids.  The adopted kids were removed from their biological parents for a reason, abuse.

 

Someome may not see spaking as abuse, but my niece and her husband don't spank.  At their young ages the little kids see hitting as hitting.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,325
Registered: ‎03-08-2014

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

[ Edited ]

I was just like your niece's daughter when I was a little girl.  I was out of bed and down the stairs before my mother got to the bottom of the steps...over & over and night after night.  I am old and was raised in a different time, so my mother tied me to my bed, and/or spanked me with the wooden back of a wire hairbrush, and/or slapped me across the face (I think because I would giggle at the fun of getting out of the puzzle and being free).  Now-a-days my mother would be in prison for child abuse and I would likely have been re-homed.  At the time it was the norm for many parents.  So glad the times have changed!  I have no helpful tips, but I do clearly remember delighting in outsmarting the challenge - it was like a game to me - so the bigger the deal was made of it...the more fun it was to have accomplished getting free. 

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,451
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

@Havarti  Both she and her brother are smart.  With her you can see the wheels turning and figuring things out.

 

He is a talker, I mean he never stops talking, ever.  She doesn't talk like he does but she has a mind of her own.  

 

If she's mad she has a frown and a look that can lay you out on the floor.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,330
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Keeping A Houdini In A Car Seat.

My grandkids started unhooking themselves from their car seats when they pulled in the driveway.  We got them to stop doing that as it's not a good idea.

 

I've seen mothers get straight in the driver's seat and starting the car letting their little ones hook themselves up.

 

I would NEVER do that. 

 

I have the doors open and am in the backseat and hook them up myself and then pull the tightening strap before I get in my seat.  Or my husband does it as I usually do the driving.

 

You can't trust a kid to properly click themselves in a car seat.  And an alarm won't go off if they aren't secured properly like it does for a seat belt.