Anyone else's kid refuse the car seat?

Dec 261 min read

My 7-month-old has suddenly decided car seats are torture devices. He was fine for the first few months and now screams the entire time. We're not doing anything different. We've tried straps, toys, music, having someone sit next to him... nothing works. Getting groceries is now a nightmare because I can't even handle the drive back without him losing his mind.

Should I just accept this is a phase or is there something I'm missing? Other parents in the minivan next to me at stoplights must think I'm a monster.

11 comments186 views

Comments(11)

SSam Y.RegularDec 27

The screaming is brutal but don't give in on the car seat obviously. What worked for us was narrating everything during the drive in a really upbeat way—like sports commentary lol. 'And NOW we're turning left! WHOOOOSH!' Made it less boring for our son.

GGreg M.RegularDec 27

Have you tried letting him pick a special 'car seat toy' that only comes out during drives? Our daughter has this stuffed narwhal that makes crinkly sounds and it genuinely helped break the cycle. Gave her something to focus on besides the straps.

MMatt J.RegularDec 29

crying rn because I read your post as 'straps, toys, m' and I was like 'm what??? MILK??? MEDITATION????' but yeah this phase sucks. mine lasted about 2 months and then just... stopped. No rhyme or reason.

TTerrence M.RegularDec 27

Same thing happened to us at 6 months. Pediatrician said it's totally normal - they develop object permanence and realize they're trapped lol. We switched to a different car seat brand and it helped, but honestly the screaming phase lasted like 3 weeks and then he moved on to something else to be mad about

MMike T.RegularDec 27

The straps thing might actually be it - at 7 months some kids get way more aware of being constrained. Worth checking if you can loosen them slightly without compromising safety? Our girl was the same and we realized we had them snug for a smaller baby

HHank W.RegularDec 27

We went through this and eventually just accepted 20 mins of screaming as the cost of driving. It DOES pass. Around 10-11 months ours got distracted by actual objects and it got way better. Hang in there

IIsaac T.RegularDec 27

lol torture devices is exactly what my 8mo thinks. I started singing really badly on purpose to distract him and now he gets mad at my singing instead of the seat. Progress?

EEric V.RegularDec 27

Same exact thing happened to us around 6-7 months. Pediatrician said it's totally normal—they develop object permanence and suddenly realize they're strapped in a metal box lol. We just powered through it, didn't change anything, and by month 9 he was fine again. Hang in there.

DDan W.RegularDec 28

Have you tried letting him pick out a special toy that ONLY goes in the car seat? Like make it exclusive. My son had this ratty stuffed dog that lived in his seat and it became this whole thing. Didn't stop the crying but he was more distracted

RRussell D.RegularDec 28

This is the worst phase honestly. One thing that worked - sunshade on the window so he couldn't see out and get overstimulated? Sounds counterintuitive but the chaos outside was making ours angrier

GGreg W.RegularDec 29

This is the worst phase. We did white noise from a speaker (literally just YouTube white noise videos) and it helped enough that my wife could actually think during drives instead of white-knuckling the steering wheel. Not a cure but made it bearable.