First, what I need to say: I’m excited to be back in the saddle with Britax, the superior maker of car seats and strollers with this new post on tips to teach your kid how to buckle their car seats properly. I’m a proud Britax Latina Ambassador, have been using their products since before this blog existed and this post is being sponsored by them.
Second, what a responsible writer/blogger/mother should say before publishing a how-to post on car seat safety: I’m not a car seat installation professional. I am, however, an over-protective Latina mom who researched high and low – as well as emailed the professionals that I trust – for the best practice in teaching 4-5 year old kids how to buckle their own car seat buckles, gain independence and not jeopardize any of the amazing safety features that our Britax ClickTight car seat comes equipped with. I’m good at knowing what I don’t know, and my girl’s safety is always the #1 priority.
Here are 5 tips that worked best for me in teaching my four and a half year old daughter how to buckle herself into her Britax Frontier 90 Combination Harness-2-Booster.
Teaching Kids How To Buckle Themselves Into Car Seat
1. Asses your child’s maturity level: I wasn’t in a rush to teach Alina how to buckle herself into her car seat. After realizing she could physically clip all the parts of the car seat and conscientiously changing my parenting style to allow for more independence, I decided it was time to teach her the right way to buckle her seat versus assuming she was doing it properly without formally teaching her.
2. Straight Straps: This was perhaps one of the harder things for Alina to figure out. And I’m still correcting her sometimes, but it’s not a factor that can be compromised. Straps have to be straight.
3. Hear the Clip Latch: Alina knows that her chest clip is not latched unless she hears it click! I made this into a silly game, like the clip was clicking! at her. She thinks its hilarious.
4. Clip at chest: The chest clip belongs at chest level – not below, not above, at the chest. To remember this, we played around with the phrase clicking clip at the chest! until it was ingrained in her head. Sounds silly, but she automatically understands what to do when I remind her. Have your little one practice, and don’t be afraid to get a silly too!
5. Permission to freak out: I don’t tolerate a lot of back talk from my girl, but when it comes to keeping her safe, she has complete permission to freak out if I get in the driver’s seat before she’s secured in her seat. I’ve made it a routine to “check her work”, but I’m human and make mistakes (especially since I’m buckling two kids into seats) as she becomes more independent. In those cases, Alina goes crazy if I jump into my seat without looking at her first. This is a good thing.
Little girls (especially Latinas) are often urged to stay quiet and polite. I do expect a level of this behavior from my kids at times, but by voicing the importance of her safety, and her holding her responsible for it too, she is learning that every girl has a right to freak out to protect themselves.
Everyday I’m more in awe of how big my first born has become. My parenting continues to evolve and allow for the type of woman I wish her to be. Teaching kids to buckle their car seat by themselves seems to be one of the tricky areas in parenting. I want her to feel independent and capable, but I won’t compromise her safety that Britax establishes with their quality products.
Hopefully these tips help another mama teaching her babies how to buckle up, too!
