Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

jellyhead

i got an email from graco just now about it, but it says the fine is only £30 fixed penalty, and up to £500 if it goes to court. i imagine everyone who doesn't already use a booster will cross their fingers and just pay the penalty if they're caught. i thought the fine for not complying with seatbelt laws was hundreds?? and i expected points on the license too, not that i know anything about it because i'm not a driver.

emmaBZ

i cant believe what i saw on the motorway the other day we passed a car that must of been going at least 60mph a convertable with the top down and theres this child of about 3-4yrs old facing kneeling on the back seat looking out the back of the car !!!! absolutley disgusting how some parents have no common sense

jellyhead

was it a lap belt? i suppose kids can wriggle around and still look out of the back without removing the harness. wouldn't like to be facing backwards in an accident though!

a child of that age really ought to be restrained physically by the parents - if they undo the restraint then something should be done, such as stopping the car. but there's a kid with adhd OCD etc. at school who crawls around the parcel shelf. he's 4 or 5 years old and his mum can't control him at all. she says there's nothing she can do or say that will make him stay in the car seat. he doesn't understand punishments much because his attention span is short and he doesn't care about things that might happen in the future, so saying you'll lose your pocket money or your favourite toy etc. doesn't work as he only cares about the immediate environment he's in. if she stops the car to tell him off etc. it escalates and she can't drive her kids to school, he holds them all up and undoes the belt as soon as she drives off again. can't think what i'd do with a kid like that, walking to school doesn't work either because he runs into roads and runs away so the other kids don't get to school.

oh, i can't find anything about measuring children barefoot - i assume you are supposed to, but does anyone actually do it?

missk_ensington

Someone told me you can buy some sort of clasp to stop children un-doing their car seats. My son is two and it is an endless fight, we've had 3 car seats in a few months and he can get out of all of them. I think I've given birth to the next Houdini!

Joking aside, what on earth am I meant to do when hurtling down the M61 in third lane at full speed, to look in my mirror and see grinning 2 year old climbing over my handbrake and into the front?!?!?

I've stopped, put him back in his seat and by the next junction he is out again...and again...and again... I've shouted, he's been smacked for it, I've calmly exlained what would happen if we crashed...I've tried just about everything! I know I ought to stop every time he does it, but I can't afford to lose my job because I'm late for work every day because I've spent 20 minutes on the hard shoulder! In the end I don't have much choice but to let him sit in the front.

If anyone has any suggestions for keeping him strapped in, please let me know!

emmaBZ

i suppose i'd rather risk losing my job than losing my child!! anyway im sure you can buy adjustments to prevent the little !!!!!!s getting out when their not supposed to ...either that or sew a bit of matterial over the clasp so they cant see it to undo it ? my youngest is 2 and luckily she hasnt figgured it out yet but i try to block her view when im getting her out so she doesnt know where to press.. i guess the makers of these seats should come up with a better solution

missk_ensington

I understand what you're saying but it is not always practical to stop every five minutes. We have often had importnant appointments, and meeting people. I'm not risking losing my job because this little swine won't do as he's told in the car, I lose my job I lose my house and everything!

He's realised two thumbs pressed down on the claps will release it. Thank God for Child locks on the doors! If I covered it up he'd still know how to undo it, he's certainly all there with his cough drops. All I can think of is handcuffing him and tying him up! :rotfl: Of couse I AM only joking!

jellyhead

would the other type of seat be okay? where they don't have a proper harness, just a slot for the adult seatbelt to be correctly positioned. i've been looking at them for a lightweight second car seat for other people's cars for short journeys to play groups etc. because our usual car seat stays in the car and isn't practical for swapping between different cars all the time.

he's 13 months and i found some seats that don't have a harness, they use the adult seat belt. they say they recommend the child is over ten months for it, and the seats are in the 9kg plus range.

there aren't many like it, but a couple here: http://www.kiddicare.com/page/navpage?No=0&N=386

maybe a 2 year old wouldn't be able to reach the fastening for the adult seat belt. don't know if they could wriggle out of it though, i haven't bought one yet.

finc

jellyhead wrote:

would the other type of seat be okay? where they don't have a proper harness, just a slot for the adult seatbelt to be correctly positioned. i've been looking at them for a lightweight second car seat for other people's cars for short journeys to play groups etc. because our usual car seat stays in the car and isn't practical for swapping between different cars all the time.

he's 13 months and i found some seats that don't have a harness, they use the adult seat belt. they say they recommend the child is over ten months for it, and the seats are in the 9kg plus range.

there aren't many like it, but a couple here: http://www.kiddicare.com/page/navpage?No=0&N=386

maybe a 2 year old wouldn't be able to reach the fastening for the adult seat belt. don't know if they could wriggle out of it though, i haven't bought one yet.

You could combine that seat with this to make it more difficult to undo the seat belt.

Personally, I would risk losing anything over the life of my child though

missk_ensington

Jellyhead- thanks, the in-laws have a seat as you describe and he can open that too. In fact this one is easier than the normal one.

I should have seen the writing on the wall when he piled his teddies up in the corner of his cot and used it as a ladder to get out, aged 10 months! :roftl:

Think that gadget finc has just shown looks pretty good, going to try that out. Bet even mini-Houdini can't escape that one!

jellyhead

ooops, well if i buy one i'll get the gadget too then, mine isn't escaping the seat yet but he hates it and he seems quite a problem solver (that's the polite name for babies like him lol!)