LO HATES her car seat!

beccalee721 · March 2014

My 16 month old has fought against her car seat ever since we switched from her infant seat to a convertible 3 months ago. At first I thought she just needed to get used to the seat, and then I thought it was a phase of being bored / wanting to see (rear-facing) or something, but it still hasn't changed. Some days are better than others, but it's almost a daily guarantee. I tried searching the boards for suggestions and the only thing I found was getting a new seat. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution? I've brought toys for her and books and things she likes to play with but she gets upset and throws them. I can't think of anything else to do.

nanabanana06 · March 2014

It could be the angle of the seat. Something could be bothering her. It could also be a toddler phase. What seat do you have?

ASmallWonder · March 2014

Have you run your hands over the entire seat to make sure there's nothing sharp or rough? Could you be over tightening the harness?

LittleApple · March 2014

What seat is it?

ELF4321 · March 2014

I would strongly suspect that she is uncomfortable. Are you over-tightening? Are the straps rubbing against her neck? Is the chest clip in the right location at armpit level? Is the buckle pressing into her tummy or thighs? Have you tried her out in other car seats in a store to see if she objects to all of them or seems more comfortable in a different model? We just returned a seat because DD hated that the straps were rubbing her neck and the buckle poking into her stomach. She loves the new one we got.

If you've ruled out physical discomfort, then it probably is boredom. Do you have a big mirror on the backseat that lets her see your reflection in the rear-view mirror? We have a huge mirror with lights and music that I turn on for her (it lasts about 15 . minutes, which gets us to most places). It also lets her see the reflection of everything in front of the car - she loves to tell me when the light is red or green and when there is a stop sign! LOL

UMichGirl · March 2014

DS hated his too. It got to the point that it was becoming unsafe for us to go anywhere bc we would be so distracted from his constant screaming. Tried a couple carseats, didn't matter. We hooked up an iPad to the seat back so we can put on a Mickey Mouse or Elmo episode when we go somewhere. Not the ideal solution and I am not a fan of having to do it but it's honestly the only thing that works. We tried books, toys, snack. He'd throw them and still scream. He's always been a high maintenance kid...definitely not go with the flow AT ALL so we deal with it now and know it won't last forever. Hopefully once we forward face him that will help but we don't plan on doing that for awhile. Good luck! I know how miserable it can be.

minervacullen · March 2014

I often have to sing in the car. Poor DH has to listen to me. It works though. She loves the itsy bitsy spider and pat a cake, she does the hand gestures in the back.

emberlee3 · March 2014

DD has the advantage of a big brother to entertain her a bit, but just in the last month or so she has stopped being a fuss bucket in the car. Snacks, books, and singing songs helped a bit. Especially singing songs, because she tends to drop or throw her snack/book/toy and get even madder.

Heyjordynhey · March 2014

minervacullen said:

I often have to sing in the car. Poor DH has to listen to me. It works though. She loves the itsy bitsy spider and pat a cake, she does the hand gestures in the back.

this. i do the same thing and DH dislikes it very much

but it works!

[Deleted User] · March 2014

The user and all related content has been deleted.

momofmanyinthemitten · March 2014

DD has hated the car seat since birth, she's now 3. Singing, food, drinks, books (which lasted about 20 sec/ea) all helped. Once we turned her forward facing things got a bit better, but by then, she had a little brother to watch in the backseat with her. Now we have a DVD player in our van, so it's WAY better. Now, our active DS hates sitting in his car seat. Unfortunately, he's still rear facing, so the DVD player does nothing for him

beccalee721 · March 2014

Sorry yesterday got hectic. We have the Safety 1st Alpha Elite 65 convertible. I think I'm going to take her seat out this weekend and go over the entire thiing to make sure nothing is hurting her. I've worried that I was overtightening, but I checked her shoulders and neck and there is no sign of it. This morning it begun immediately before I even closed the door and she was reaching for me to pick her up so maybe she's just lonely / bored like you all said. I love the iPad idea for long trips! Obviously not ideal, but I'll definitely keep it in mind if we go on one in the future. @ELF4321 I think I'm going to have to find that light up mirror. We've tried the regular mirror but it doesn't work because she's in the middle and there's no headrest to attach it to. Thanks everyone!

BLPL101 · March 2014

I actually just posted this same thing on a carseat forum and everyone said it's completely normal. It's just a phase.

michelle615 · March 2014

Since we are suddenly going through this phase after probably a year or more of no crying about the car seat, I've found these posts very helpful. I will be checking the seat and making sure it's not too tight this weekend. Otherwise, I will contribute it to another phase.

ASmallWonder · March 2014

Ah, you have the Alpha :-/ That seat is probably the least recommended seat in existence. At her size, do you still have to have it at its most reclined? It's INCREDIBLY reclined so if that's how it needs to be, that very well could be part of why she hates it. Do you still have the head support in? It pushes heads very far forward and could be uncomfortable.

I'd very seriously consider buying a new seat. This seat will likely be outgrown before she's ready for a booster and this seat almost definitely can't be used safely. It only fits about 1% of all kids as a booster and for the other 99%, it's a fit that can be deadly.

Jackiemxoxo · March 2014

I would suggest buying the most annoying children's music/nursery rhymes cd you can find and putting it on repeat (or downloading songs). My kid loves it and I got tired of singing.

Want a personalized experience?

LO HATES her car seat!

Re: LO HATES her car seat!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards