Keeping toddler in car seat

Deja, I have an old Safeway, the only one they made that I know of that could go rear facing. I have turned her around now, because she is to tall to fit in this particular seat safely, so I had to get a new seat.

Her feet could go all the way to the top of the back seat, and still she was happy to sit that way. She wasn't aware of any other option, even with her older brother being forward facing. I know most parents thinks that its uncomfortable to sit with the legs "crushed" like that, but just look at how kids sit anywhere, they hardly ever sit with straight legs. They are very comfortable sitting with their legs pulled up.

The deciding factor for me is: life or death. Life with legs up, or comfortable in a coffin...

Huggles,

I remember when my LG was that age. I remember being torn in two because I wanted to enforce a boundary (everyone must be strapped in while driving) but I also knew that if we make a big hoo-haa and stop the car every time this happened it will happen more often. In the end distraction works best. Always have a bag of surprises with you while driving!! State the limit clearly but offer a distraction too.
At that age they just cannot grasp what you are fussing about. It is impossible for them to understand. And we tried stopping every time and putting her back behind the straps but it is futile - rather go with distractions. I also found that the few times we did stop and make a big fuss about it, worsened the situation as children LOVE reaction. It did happen that a few times she was not perfectly behind the straps for a few minutes and I kind of turned a blind eye (and I prayed for safety in those minutes!!).

Luckily by the time my LG was 3 she would be the one reminding us to fasten her!

Glad you managed to find a solution with the 4akid strap!

Well out of desperation I was going to tie some string around the arm straps on Friday to keep him from pulling his arms out. I ran inside to get the string and dh asked me what it was for. I told him and he suggested simply turning the 4akid strap backwards, so the clasps open/close against his body, rather than in front. It was like a lightbulb moment - why didn't I think of that?! LoL
So I did that. And Logan spent a fair part of the trip to creche trying to undo it, and then trying to get his arms out with it still done up. He got one out but the second arm got a bit tangled and hte landed up having to put them back where they belonged.
He hasn't tried again

Think my problem is solved.... for now....

I am also not a big fan of the rear facing seats - From 3 / 4 months onwards i my little one was in a front facing seat. Some time ago she managed to open the seat completely. I stopped, made a big fuss and told her no... She never did it again.

Haven't been on this forum in about a year:). I agree about keeping a child rearfacing as long as possible. It's physics - young children have large heads comparative to their bodies. A small collision that causes whiplash in a adult will break a small child's neck. That said climbing out a seat is complicated. I also don't like those chest clips because when my now three year old started climbing out his seat I did some research. Chest clips do not come standard on European car seats because they are considered unsafe. Car seats should be one clip release in an emergency(also in South Africa I would suggest one clip insertion due to hijack concerns), if positioned incorrectly they can choke or cause abdominal or rib injury. I trust the European safety standards...
What I did was installed a mirror that allowed me to see my child. If at anytime he pulled his arms out I would pull over and say the car won't go until everyone is strapped in properly. Every time I got into the car I made a point of saying look mommy is strapped in, daddy is strapped in etc(I even on acre occasions strapped in stuffed toys. I also made a point of commenting in storybooks etc about safe driving. It took about 3 weeks and he stopped doing it. Now at three he tells is all to put our seatbelts on before we drive:) another thing make sure the straps are tight enough and take off all bulky jerseys etc before putting into a carseat as this can make the straps loose.

This was taken about 3 months ago. It's from the reflection in the mirror on the head rest so that I can see him while driving. But you can see how much leg room he still has.

With the bambino roadster there is loads of leg room. He is definitely still comfy rear-facing and not squashed at all. It fits on a base when rear-facing so that puts the chair at a bit of an angle and leaves loads of room for the legs.

I haven't turned the seat yet. Ran out of time to find the manual. So this morning i ran back inside to grab the string to tie the straps together and dh asked what on earth for. Told him about logan undoing the strap etc and he suggested just turning the 4akid strap around, so it's basically on backwards. Did it and logan couldn't get it undone! He tried his hardest, even got one arm out and the other all tangled up in an attempt to get it out but couldn't get them out fully, nor could he undo the clip, so that's at least a solution for now.

Hasie, I'll pm you my details, curious to see this other strap. Is it a hard one? I'm not keen on a hard one as I think it can cause a lot of organ damage during an accident but definitely curious to have a look.