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Refusing to get into car seat

Shann50952Shann50952
in Toddlers: 24 Months+

Lately my DD is refusing to get into her car seat.  It has taken me up to 20 minutes at times to get her in.  She clingys to me, or screams and arches her back when we try to get her in.  At first we thought it was because she was still rear facing and she had a taste of forward facing in my in-laws car.  We have recently switched her forward facing in our car thinking that would help, but NOPE.  I try to tell her what we are going home to do, Itry offering toys and even food...but she wants nothign to do with this.  Does anyone have any tricks they could offer. 

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Re: Refusing to get into car seat

  • MrsT1209MrsT1209 member
    What works for us is letting her get into it by herself and letting her clip herself in.  If she feels she has the control, it's much easier.
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  • goodgolliegoodgollie member
    Get a headrest-mounted dvd player and turn on some cartoons.  That usually works for us.  We are bad parents!!!
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  • howleyshellhowleyshell member

    Giving them control does help but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.  When you've got an older child to pick up from school you don't have the luxury of time and you just have to get them into the car and safe.

    Put them in and when they arch their backs you put your shoulder into their chest and your elbow in their lap.  Move fast.  Strap them down.  The screaming usually stops about 5 minutes into the drive for us.

    Not fun.

    But not negotiable. 

    Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
    Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
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  • roseroseroseroseroseroseroseroseroserose member
    I'd let Katie have the choice to do it herself. I'd say you can do it or I can do it. If she did not get right in, I'd just PUT her in. Not ideal, but like Shel said, nonnegotiable.
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  • mrstarawalshmrstarawalsh member
    imageStacieErin:
    I'd let Katie have the choice to do it herself. I'd say you can do it or I can do it. If she did not get right in, I'd just PUT her in. Not ideal, but like Shel said, nonnegotiable.
    this. Either he does it or I do it by force. Got to show them who is in charge sometimes.
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  • Temp700366562504480Temp700366562504480
    Same...DS has started to try to sit in the seats themselves since we were on an airplane and he sat without a seat.  I give him a choice.  If he chooses to not sit in the carseat, I force him.  Sometimes I try to find something in my purse to play with and tell him he can have it if he gets in his carseat.  That sometimes works.
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  • jen5-03jen5-03 member

    Oh, those are fun times, aren't they?

    DD does this sometimes. I usually bribe her. I ask her if she wants X. She says yes, then I tell her she can have it when she's buckled in. X can be some stickers, a toy, a drink, a snack.

    I also let her do the chest clip which she loves to make it 'click' into place.

    When we're getting into the minivan, I put her in the van first but not in her seat. Then she is allowed to play in the 3rd row while I buckle in DS and then she climbs up between the seats into her seat - or as she calls it she "climbs carseat mountain" (she's a Dora fan).

    And despite these tricks there are still times when I just have to wrestle her in. The older and more verbal she gets the easier it is because if I can get her to calm down for a second to tell me what is wrong it's often something easy to fix like she wants a certain toy or something. If she's doing it because she doesn't want to leave where we are though, those times are still tough.

    (And since FFing didn't help, did you turn her back RFing?)

    - Jena
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