S/o terrible twos - fighting getting in car seat

[vtdiamond]

My DD is fighting hard against getting in her car seat when I pick her and her twin brother up from day care. She does the stiff as a board routine and I can't physically get her to sit down. I've tried walking away but that just starts a game of climbing back and forth across the car. I've tried bribing her to sit down and get a snack but that doesn't work.

They are currently RF in Chicco nextfits, would flipping them FF help at all? I was thinking if she was FF it would be more difficult to do the stiff as a board thing. Any other ideas?

[fortnightlily]

I flipped FF at 23 months because of this. He was much happier and so curious about the new things he could see that he didn't really fight it any more.

I figured frazzled me driving with him screaming wasn't any safer

[jeaniebueller]

This is why I turned DD FFing.

[whattheheck]

Tickle her.

[VillainV]

Does she understand counting? I count backward from 10 while letting C get himself into his seat, and C knows that if I get to 0, I'm going to help him the rest of the way. He's pretty good at getting his butt in the seat, and no longer resists if I have to help him after the 10 seconds is up. He's older though (3 in April) and I don't remember if this would have worked for a new 2yo.

[rbp]

Jan 25, 2017 3:47:19 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Does she understand counting? I count backward from 10 while letting C get himself into his seat, and C knows that if I get to 0, I'm going to help him the rest of the way. He's pretty good at getting his butt in the seat, and no longer resists if I have to help him after the 10 seconds is up. He's older though (3 in April) and I don't remember if this would have worked for a new 2yo.

Ooh, this might work for M. I basically say "do you want to get in your carseat, or do you want me to put you in your carseat?" and he always says "I do it all by self!" then proceeds to act a fool and do anything BUT get in his carseat. Then he loses his mind when I do it for him. Maybe counting would help!

[vtdiamond]

Thanks ladies, sounds like it might be time to flip them around.

[magpie]

Jan 25, 2017 6:31:21 GMT -5 rbp said:

Jan 25, 2017 3:47:19 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Does she understand counting? I count backward from 10 while letting C get himself into his seat, and C knows that if I get to 0, I'm going to help him the rest of the way. He's pretty good at getting his butt in the seat, and no longer resists if I have to help him after the 10 seconds is up. He's older though (3 in April) and I don't remember if this would have worked for a new 2yo.

Ooh, this might work for M. I basically say "do you want to get in your carseat, or do you want me to put you in your carseat?" and he always says "I do it all by self!" then proceeds to act a fool and do anything BUT get in his carseat. Then he loses his mind when I do it for him. Maybe counting would help!

I did this plus added a count to make it a game. "Okay, let's see if you can do it yourself be the time I count to ten..."


Sent from my MotoG3 using proboards

[cricketwife]

I used several of the tricks above - tickling, brute force, counting down (from 5 for us) and just rode out this stage. I'm against making decisions about RF/FF based on a phase.

[cricketwife]

Oh, I also used milk as a bribe . I got that trick from
Here and it worked best for us. Can't believe I forgot that one!

[mekia]

I give them "choices" as stated by PPs. I also have to use the jack knife motion by their hips to get them buckled up.

I gave up when DS was 2.5. DD is only 16 months old though.

ETA: I also tried to make it fun. Like "let's see how fast you can get in and buckled up!" "Wow! Look at you! Faster than mom!". Or bribing, of course.

[namasteak]

I remember DS1 did this around 18 months and we flipped him. Ds2 is doing this at 16 months and I hope it stops soon since I'm not ready to turn him.

[JayhawkGirl]

We flipped DD at 2.5 and struggled with this FF for a while. Tickling sometimes works. Other times I get parts buckled in as I can and it just takes time. Which sucks when you're in a hurry, it's cold, etc.

[jsillyfun]

Also worth mentioning: with dd1 I would say "oh no a monster is after us! Get in the at quick!" She knew it was a game (and you could do anything, a giant marshmallow whatever) and she would get all excited and laugh and play along and get in her seat.

[MadamePresident]

Sometimes I'd kind of fold my kid in half, before putting him into the car, then immediately putting a strap on his arm. He didn't have a chance to stiffen and straighten his body. It is a phase, but even to this day getting my 2.5 year old into his carseat is a pain. Sometimes, I give my kids a snack or treat (like a jellybean) after they are all buckled.

Having a newborn again, I forgot just how much I LOVE the bucket seat.

[lauren170]

At one point I had a treasure chest full of trinkets that she got a reward from when she sat. Also she loved yogurt melts and those sometimes worked. Even with these it was very hit or miss and sucked when I was trying to get to work on time.

[Queen Mamadala]

This is my two year old, too. It's a hit or miss, oftentimes miss, and even when she does go in without struggle, within minutes she's having a fit and crying. She doesn't like traveling, but I wonder if turning her FF will improve the rides. It's something we've started to consider. My older kids did fine in the car as toddlers.

[gerberdaisy]

This is when we flipped frontwards. Now occasionally she'll do it, but now nearly as bad She just wants to get in "all by myself"