Sorry you were never a child---or perhaps you were and had crumby parents. Either way you have my pity and I will ask the universe to give you a heart.

My daughter started unbucking her car seat when she only a year old. Nearly caused me to wreck more than once by reaching around the driver's seat and grabbing me while I was driving. I went through 4 car seats before I finally found one with a 5-point harness that, after I reinforced it with extra bungee cords, could keep her in.

It has nothing to do with "smarts" - some kids are just more adventurous and wiggly than others.

Ah the memories of playing with my brothers in the back of a station wagon on trips back and forth across the country...

I just wanted to say "duh!" I think all mothers of small children have known this since the 90's. However, we do need to be able to quickly get a child out of the car in case of emergency. Its all a balancing act like everything else in life.

The one thing I would like to see is there be a visible indicator when the infant carrier is completely snapped onto the base properly. I was in a minor accident and my son and his carrier landed on the floor. I had no idea it wasn't all the way snapped in. He fine--a very bright sweet six year old now.

Ok...everyone here voting to encourage Soothfast never to reproduce vote aye...

Nay? The aye's have it.

Soothfast: back to your basement now.

The vote is unnecessary. To not have children is the single greatest act of environmentalism there is, and overpopulation the single greatest threat to us all. I can fantasize about people giving a damn, gettin' educated, and subsequently producing fewer future consumers, but I know it isn't going to happen. But this is a digression that removes us too far from the topic at hand.

I have to wonder how the hell I managed to survive childhood without all these helmets, restraints, harnesses, ropes, pulleys, bungee cords, straitjackets, bubbles, foams, pads, inertial dampeners, blinking buses with stop signs, school zones, etc. etc. etc. I must be pure hell being a kid these days. No wonder so many of them are becoming neurotic.

Seriously? That was a VERY hateful thing to say!

@ Soothfast

Soothfast is right in many ways about how our children are over protected. I just bought a vintage Pin the Tail on the Donkey game that you actually had to use pins to pin the tail... no warnings to parents about pins in the eyes or blood borne pathogens... some things make huge amounts of sense, helmets for bike riding and in line skating (when we roller skated the not in line skates couldn't go nearly as fast so if you crashed you got road rash not brain injuries), and car seats 9 but not sure about car seat til they are 8 thing) , but other things like removing swings, slides, teeter totters, and monkey bars, makes me shake my head. I almost wrecked my car one day when I saw three kids playing outside in their front yard. I was so astonished. When we were kids we were literally pushed out the side door as soon as the dew was off the grass and only allowed back in to eat lunch and dinner, then back out until the lightning bugs were exhausted from being chased and the mosquitoes were full...

Big deal, Houdini could get out of his kiddy seat at 6 months old.

(sorry, mistake)

Its not in anyway about children, face it they charge hundreds of dollars, for what amounts to a hunk of plastic with straps, because lobbyist convinced lawmakers of the necessity of a product that has been proven to not actually increase survival rates. They are only useful in low impact crashes, for slightly reducing injury. If safety was the true goal, seat belts may be the best method, because, studies have repeatedly shown that when safety checks occur, the majority of child safety seats are not installed correctly and could put children at further risk, thus, a seat belt may actually be a better way of providing safety to children, but then, safety seat manufacturers wouldn't get paid.

Actually I could have saved "them" lots of $$$$.

My son was perpetually out of his car seat. He hated the restraints.

My daughter on the other hand didn't care and so was generally in them until the car stopped.

Her infant at 2 months has learned to get her little hands under the straps. She hates her car seat. I have no doubt she will be escaping as soon as she can move her whole body.

Solar,

Some kids are more trying and curious than others. Quite frankly, I had no problems with my two when they were little, but I had a friend, who was a great parent with three kids. Two were little angels, but one of them was such a handful. An unbelievably strong-willed child, he could )(and did) undo his seatbelt, too. Don't be so judgmental, good parents can have kids who are discipline problems.

My son is an escape artist. At a year, he was climbing out of his own crib consistently. He can open and escape from any door lock that we ever bought. He could get in and out of his own car seat before he could walk. He's a very smart and strong-willed child that does not understand safety or what a car accident is. Your daughter does not begin to understand safety either but chooses not to struggle because of her temperament and personality.

Don't give yourself so much credit. I discipline my son very well and often but that doesn't mean that he is going to never disobey again. Again, he's a stubborn and strong-willed kid.

Try disciplining a 12-month old? Yeah, that will be really successful. They are too young to understand the "need" for seatbelts. At 12-months, they are not even misbehaving, just being curious and tackling a "problem". I have two children, 4 1/2 and 2 1/2, and they are both obsessed with being buckled in and never attempt to get free of the carseat. But I also know that all children are different and if one gets a little bee in their pants to try and undo that buckle, they will try and try and try till they succeed. You are obviously one of those parents who just thinks you are this perfect parent because your kid is doing what you want. Some kids just have more energy, spark, and individuality. It is challenging early on, but a gift later.

If a child is unbuckling their car seat, that IS misbehaving. And Anne, disciplining a 12 month old isn't any harder than disciplining a 2 or 3 year old.

Disgruntled, my daughter is a VERY strong willed and highly energetic child, and she still knows better.

My Niece bailed from not only her car seat but from a MOVING CAR a few years back. Why? Because her parents DO NOT DISCIPLINE HER! They have even been in a roll over accident, so you'd think that they would understand how important it is. Now, rather than trying to keep her in her car seat, they don't even use one!

Better to blame someone else than to blame yourself for poor parenting. Shame on you parents.

You discipline a 1 year old? Your more of a concern to me than a parent that just uses a seat belt and not a safety seat.

Um... Yes disciplining a 1 year old is significantly different than disciplining a 3 year old. 1 year olds do not understand consequences, or what they have done wrong. If your 1 year old is sitting in his seat and not unbuckling him/herself its because that child is docile, not because they are obeying you, unless you "discipline" the child in such a way that it is terrified to move without you initiating it, in which case, your absolutely right, fear of everything will cause a child to sit still at all times like a stuffed animal.

He can open and escape from any door lock that we ever bought.

Disgruntled American Man - perhaps you weren't buying the right door lock. How could any child open and escape from a deadbolt lock that requires a key to open?

they can---they watch and learn

@uniquelyununique---You are so right and a lot of people mistake terror / fear for discipline

It's actually quite easy - they simply get the key, insert it, and turn. :) My daughter, at 2, is a glorious handful. She takes baby gates down, undoes seatbelts, opens, closes, and locks doors. She gets herself dressed and undressed. Changing her own diaper is a very, very big thing. She climbs in and out of cribs and play pens.

Children, especially young children, do not stretch limits and "misbehave" because they are intentionally bad children, and parents who have such children are not necessarily neglectful. I would never profess to be an excellent parent, but I am a very good one, and I love my children to death. I am incredibly - and increasingly - aware of my daughter's every move, yet she still managed to drink the Clorox Anywhere Spray AND a small bottle of bubbles in one afternoon. We all have bad days. ;)

What I don't understand is why child seats aren't designed to have covered clasps, like my Combi stroller does. That's one latch/buckle, that my Houdini can't get out of, no matter how many times she sees me do it.

Oh -- and to the parent whose child wiggles his/her arms out of the chest straps of the car seat? Mine did that too. It's a sign that the straps are too loose. Tighten it up, and you should have no more problems!

solarpower, you came across as so self-righteous and "superior" that I actually pity you. It must be so difficult for you to live in this world, together with all these people who are all inferior to you :)

I have four children. The first two (a boy and a girl) sat obediently in the car. The two youngest are twin boys. They egg each other on, and guess what? it's the first time my husband and I have ever seen a child unbuckle a seat belt while a car is moving.

Get a clue, solarpower - either before your precious daughter gets old enough to find out what a prig you are, or you have a second child (a boy, perhaps) who turns this notion of yours upside-down that it is your "fabulous" parenting that prevented this behavior. Each child is different.

I want to play this game too!

Ok, how's this? All children who don't get out of car seats or get into other things at home are obviously angels with perfect parents! Sanctimony for everyone!

No? Ok, all children who get out of car seats are obviously demons from the left side of hell sent here for the specific purpose of punishing unfit, uncaring parents. Yes? No?

Maybe this one. Even when we're young, our personality shows itself in surprising ways including eluding all attempts at safety or not even attempting to push the boundaries or even somewhere in the middle of the extremes because, after all, we're all different even when young so passing judgement on others is a ridiculous thing since there's no way to have experienced the "other side". I mean, really. If you've experienced several personality types you wouldn't be so ready to condemn those that don't conform to your perfect little reality.

How's this... grow up.

Aww solarpower should get the parent of the year award now shouldn't s/he? I mean s/he's obviously a perfect parent in every way. *eyeroll* You're not a perfect parent, and your sh*t does in fact stink. You might want to get over yourself and stop thinking your child is infallible.

I don't discipline my 3 kids any differently from each other, and I have 1 who was perfectly content to sit in her carseat and 2 who were escape artists.

It's not parenting, it's personality.

Some kids just don't want to sit still, and that's the truth. My son stayed in his car seat, but at every opportunity, while we were in stores, he would dart off from my side. I had to keep a really close eye on him. He could not hear at all well as a toddler, due to terrible ear infections, so trying to explain to him why he couldn't run off was a waste of breath. (And so would it be trying to explain about safety to a 12 month old, by the way). I used to look at other parents, who had kids that did not run off, and wonder what I was doing wrong. My second child (who was actually much more likely to undo her car seat) never left my side when in a store. She just did not feel the urge.

They both grew up into productive adults.

So Solarpower, I wouldn't pat myself on the back too much, if I were you. You just have a docile kid. For the moment. Wait till she's six....

AngelaK - That's kind of my point. If the lock requires a key, then put it in a place where a child can't find it, even if it means carrying the key in your pocket. Now, if you have a child who can pick a deadbolt lock, then you really do have a little genius, but kids are not going to be able to unlock locks that require keys if the key is kept away from them. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me, just good planning.

It's really amazing how parents with very docile children think they are perfect parents....and never think their child is just docile.... Just wait until you have one that is the opposite! So big suggestion from a grandparent, speak softly and kindly now and be careful what you say. You will have to eat those words and they do not taste good second time around! Some children inherit a tremendous ability and curiosity about taking the world apart and they start early. Others wait or never develop that desire. But if you have disciplined a 12 month old into sitting still in a car seat, I would worry!

Back in the "old" days, we had to worry more about car seats that fit. I had three sons and they didn't fit in the car seats available then so they were in booster seats by the time they were a year old. Maybe not as safe but at least they were not all scrunched up. Things change. You need to worry a lot more about how the government is stepping in and taking away all your rights to think and do what you think is right for your children and your family.

So, how's this for a take on solarpower's missive. Only those who have never had kids are perfect at raising them. Personally, I think solarpower is either lying, or misrepresenting the truth. Either way he's a self righteous prig.

Oh hell, Solar is all arrogant, self-righteous, and possibly an abuser of infants. Pretty much exactly the sort of person I really wish would choose to not be a breeder. I'd like to joke that Solar's kids need to go play in traffic or something for the good of the rest of us, but the reality is I just feel for them.

Solar is going to eat those words. My perfectly behaved daughter turned into a holy terror in her teens. Her very naughty little brother is probably one of the easiest teens to raise. The bottom line is children are born with a personality and what seems like such a great thing in a toddler can totally backfire later in life. See my daughter will do whatever anyone tells her to do, even the wrong people. My son is his own person and isn't easily influenced by others. So congratulations on your perfect 3 year old. You have only begun the process of raising her and you have no idea what the future holds.

More money for the safety belt coalition, now they can charge an extra 200 dollars for child proof car seats which will be installed even more incorrectly leading to more deaths not less, just like safety seats do.

I actually had to insist on non-childproof caps after my last one left home. With my arthritic fingers, the only way I could get the damned things open was with a hammer.

As for car seats....I used them with my kids, two of whom are now in their late 30's, long before they were required. My kids weren't "bad", but they WERE busy. Additionally, I was not going to settle the "she touched me, I did it because he was looking at me" routine while trying to drive. I've also been known to put a barrier between them LOL.

My son completely disassembled his crib one night, and lined all the screws up on the windowsill of his room. He was 18 months old, and there were no tools in his room or within his reach. I still haven't figured out how he managed it, and he's almost 40. His older sister was similarly "talented".

What they did NOT do was unbuckle their car seats, or slip out of them, because I was not in the least afraid to say, "You do NOT want me to have to pull this car over." Now, I can't tell you what I would have done if they had persisted in whatever behavior prompted this uttering, because they never continued to act out.

Were they afraid of me? Trust me, they were not in the least afraid of me LOL. However, my dad taught me that anticipation is often far, far worse than the actual act and if you can bluff well, you'll rarely if ever have to fold your hand.

Retired,

I love the story about your son, I read it to my fiancee (who is a carpenter) and he's like, "Yep, thats what our kids will do."

I also should have wrote that if a straight jacket is not soon mandated, the Feds will force Ritalin or some other dumbing down pill to pacify the overseers.

Interesting to see what articles will be writen then.

ok, take a breath. It's a simple study warning about the ease of getting out of car seats. Relax. Your constitutional rights stand.

Here is a simple study for you.................................Simple enough for you?

Let's do a study on those who need simple studies like this because they need simple studies to look for help because they are too simple to see how idiotic these simple studies are.

Fail

they wouldnt have qualified for obama money without the study.

Ummmmm... That is what they did. What do you think the researchers did, sat down with babies to ask them how many times in the past month they had unbuckled their carseats? My guess is that one of the researchers had a child that did it, and wondered how many other children did it. The purpose is most likely to initiate the development of better restraints.

Also, I just need to say that I work as a grant administrator for a medical research non-profit, and it would be shocking to me if this was a huge grant. More likely than not it was a very small grant, $50-75k. It would have probably been for a short duration, and possibly conducted through something along the lines of questionnaires distributed by pediatricians who had agreed to participate in the collection of data. The greatest expense would have probably been paying a research coordinator to compile the data.

This kind of research, as ridiculous as it may seem, is often the catalyst for greater review of and eventually the change of safety standards. But in order for that to happen, silly little studies like these need to be done so that the results can be published in peer-reviewed industry journals so that a dialogue can be started with people who have the power to make the changes.

And what do you suggest if the car is on fire and rescuers cannot get the seat unbuckled? Not everyone carries a knife that will cut seatbelts. There comes a point when it is safer to hope that they can and will get out of the things if necessary.

I remember when a friend of my parents had a car with a rumble seat. I thought that was the neatest place I'd ever ridden. (For those of you who are too young to know what a rumble seat is, there's Google LOL!) Now, this was MANY years before seatbelts, much less car seats, and yet I survived.

whoa...what does a spilled sippy cup get in your house...the death penalty?

"There are probably some kids who would delight in unbuckling just to hear the alarm sound!"

That would be my 2nd child.

Why do you think this study cost "millions"? It was just some questionaires for crying out loud, questionnaires that were given to parents by pediatricians. So in fact pediatricians and parents did tell "them" that.

Armed with the quantifiable data gleaned from this study, researchers can now call for better latches on car seats. And -- here's a happy thought--maybe it won't take some kid dying to make lawmakers and manufacturers decide, yeah, better latches would be a good idea, here's this study that says 40% of one-year-olds can unhook the current models. That's what studies like this are for. Otherwise, how could we have known that 40% figure? Chain emails on the internet?

I swear, it's like people don't really understand what science is for at all. If you don't have data like this, than you are just making decisions using anecdotes, and that's no good. Looking at the posts on this article for instance; some people had kids that could undo those latches, some didn't, but we don't have a clear picture of what kind of percentage of kids can undo those latches just by reading everyone's stories about their kids. In contrast, by tabulating those questionaires, we have a much clearer picture of just how easy those latches are for little kids to undo. Someday that may save a kid's life.