Connor hates to go in his car seat now that he is finally learning how to walk! He will even go so far as to arch his back and try to roll into the back seat while screaming! Argh. Changing his diaper is still a hassle...he won't play with things anymore...he just wants to MOVE MOVE MOVE!
Is it the same way with you?

By Jelygu on Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 09:06 pm:

It was when Christopher was Connor's age. I dreaded going anywhere or changing his diaper. The back arching thing is what killed me, it made him impossible to control!
Now he loves to go bye-bye, so it isn't too bad. And he hates to have a dirty diaper on, so he is willing to get it changed. DOn't worry, that phase didn't last very long (for us anyways!)

By Reds9298 on Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 09:58 pm:

I have to say that Natalie still has no problems with her carseat...we'll see if that changes! Diapers are still an issue though, although I can occupy her if I give her the right thing to do! She has learned my terminology though...when she hears me say "Did you poopy?" or "Let's go change your diaper" she takes off running and I have to chase her. (Daddy has NO problems and it makes me so mad! She laughs and plays when he's changing her!)

By Kaye on Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 10:23 pm:

it is normal and it does pass. Just be consistent with the car seat, right now he is just testing boundries and options, pretty soon he will realize it isn't an option. By age 2 my middle kid started undoing his buckle, i had to offer him the option to ride or walk, twice he picked walk. Just wait, this age can be frustrating

By Jewlz on Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 10:49 pm:

i didnt fight with him ... ( always have a back up plan using this ) but i always said the car wouldnt start if u werent in the car seat. id show him and turn the key and show him ...yah a bit of a lie but it worked when we bought a new truck and the salesman said it came with all vehicles now its the law. he understood that. im not into lieing but for the protection of the child i will stretch the truth.

By Mommmie on Sunday, September 18, 2005 - 11:13 pm:

Yes, my son hated car seats when he was a toddler, too. Well, it started at about 10 months actually. He didn't like to be confined. He eventually calmed down about it.

By Coopaveryben on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 08:14 am:

All three of mine did that but then the 3rd one would go a step further and after he was latched in he would find a way out of it. They all also did it when I changed their diaper too, it was so frustrating especially when you are in a hurry. Maybe you could find a special toy that he can only have at diaper change time, the same with the car seat ("once you sit down I will give it to you".

It will pass.

By Trina~moderator on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 08:19 am:

Very normal toddler behavior. BTDT with both my kids. I remember wrestling them into their car seats. Not fun but a necessity for safety sake. Unfortunately, that's one of the biggest reasons why some kids ride unrestrained. The parents don't want the hassle of buckling them up. It helps to have toys and books in the car to keep them preoccupied. Be sure the toys and books are fairly soft and squishy. Anything hard and/or heavy will become a dangerous projectile in the event of hard braking or a crash.

The same with diaper changes. It helped to give them a forbidden toy to get them to stay still long enough. LOL! My car keys or the TV remote usually worked, but that's the ONLY time they were allowed to play them and they knew it.

This too shall pass!

By Amecmom on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 08:30 am:

Helen started to get agitated when I put her in her carseat, but I began tickling her and singing to her and playing with her to distract her. The tickling really helped! Good Luck!
Ame

By My3cuties on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 08:45 am:

I give in to Hailey, before we leave if she wants to walk up and get a toy from the floor or anything that's destracting her I let her do that and she willingly gets in her seat. Every child is different, try to find something for him to do while he is in the seat or bring a toy in the car. The girls love the mini magnadoodle. Good Luck and he will outgrow it, eventually.

By Mrsheidi on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 11:03 am:

Thanks, ladies! I noticed that singing helps! :-) I just hope none of the neighbors can hear me sing "Jesus Loves Me" through his baby monitor! LOL

Oh, and I'm going to pull his pacifier for the next 3 days and see how it goes. He, surprisingly, went to sleep right away, after our morning walk.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 03:30 pm:

My kids pretty willingly got into their car seats. If we got distracted and forgot to fasten the straps, we got told about it! Before Emily could talk, she would cry, if we forgot. This was usually before the car even moved, though! When Sarah was old enough to talk, she would tell us we forgot. (Ok. It really didn't happen all that often.)

By Kellyj on Monday, September 19, 2005 - 06:21 pm:

DD (2) went through that stage too. It's such a hassel! Yet the seat got brought into the house while the car was being cleaned and she practiced putting her dolly in the seat. After that we didn't really have any problems. DD actually refused to get into my father's truck with him to ride across the street to my uncle's house because her seat was not in the truck. Thankfully one of them was thinking straight!