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Having Options To Unbuckle Your Child With Physical Limitations

October 4, 2019 by Ashley Leave a Comment

Becoming a mom is terrifying for most if not all women, but for me it was even more terrifying. I had extra fears and apprehensions about becoming a mom. I knew from the get go that it was going to be a daunting task, but the day when reality set in was the hardest. That was the day that I realized I physically would not be able to unbuckle the car seat straps without help!

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was about 6 months pregnant and we had decided it was time to look into what car seats we wanted to get for our son. We had done tons of research, but ultimately we knew that it had to be a car seat that I was able to use. We walked into Babies R Us and walked straight over to their display of car seats. This where things went wrong.

I walked up and down the aisles trying to push the harness release buttons. There wasn’t a single one in the store that I could remotely push. At this point I didn’t know about the regulations stating how much psi was required for these buttons. If I had known I never would have tried because I have never had that much strength in my hands.

That day I walked out of the store feeling defeated. I was a mess of tears convinced I’d never be able to go anywhere alone with my son because I couldn’t get him out of his car seat. I felt like a failure as a mom and for a moment I had given up.

I thought I would never be able to go anywhere with my son alone. At least not until he was out of car seats. This was devastating news to me.

Then I found the solution I was searching for!

It was just a normal day when I came across the Bucklebopper of Amazon. I started to do research and found that many other devices were starting to pop up in the market for moms and grandparents who needed assistance to press the release buttons on car seats and other Baby related items.

The Bucklebopper

BuckleBopper Unbuckle helper

The Bucklebopper was the first device that I tried using with my son. This device fits into the palm of your hand. You place one hand behind the buckle on the car seat and with your other hand you press the post that’s on the Bucklebopper into the button to allow it to release.

For me there was a learning curve with this device because my hands are pretty awkward to hold things and it took me awhile to find the way that felt the most comfortable and actually got the buckle to release. Thankfully it worked well for me for a year before the rubber was worn away and it was no longer working well for me.

The Bucklebee

Bucklebee Unbuckle helper

I was finding that traveling with the Bucklebee was becoming problematic because I liked leaving it in my car, but still needed a way to get my son in and out of his car seat when I wasn’t using my personal car. It was then that I began looking online again and found the Bucklebee.

The Bucklebee is different from the Bucklebopper because this one stays attached to the car seat. The bottom of the device clips around the tongue of the car seat buckle and will hang loosely from the tongue at all times. Again with this device you place one hand behind the car seat buckle and with the other hand you press the device/lever into the button to get it to release.

This one worked very well when my son was in his infant car seat. We didn’t feel comfortable putting it on his convertible car seat, however, due to the fact that he had begun getting curious and we didn’t want him attempting to unbuckle himself while driving. I will also admit that we did also have issues with it coming off of the buckle tongue which was an issue for me because my hands are not strong enough to get the device in place.

This particular device is something that we are interested in reintroducing when our son is old enough to understand that he needs to be buckled in safely into his car seat. I know as he gets older he will want to be more independent and this device would help him to unbuckle himself when we get to our destinations. I will admit that it might not work with all car seats due to the padding on some of the buckles. It will be a trial and error test with some buckles to see if it can reach to unbuckle the straps or not.

The UnbuckleMe

UnbuckleMe Unbuckle helper

This device I watched a million videos about for almost a year before I finally took the plunge and tried it. Watching the videos I was really unsure that my hands would grip this device well and thought it would not be something that would work well for me.

I was wrong! The UnbuckleMe is my current favorite car seat assistive device. I have found that it is easy to slide the back piece behind my son’s buckle and then press down with the palm of my hand while I pull the buckles free at the same time with my other hand. I feel like this device takes less time and is more comfortable for me to use in my hands.

I also like that I can put the device onto a key chain so that it is easier to find and grab from my bag when I need it.

The Car Seat Key

The Car Seat Key Unbuckle helper

The Car Seat Key is designed similarly to the UnbuckleMe, however, this device is much smaller and is made from a much firmer plastic. This device is perfect to keep on a key chain with your keys all the time because it is so small.

I personally do not recommend this device to other people with muscle wasting in their hands because the plastic is so hard that it actually hurts to press it into the car seat release. I wince every time I try to use The Car Seat Key because of this. I do not really have any meat to my hands so the device is pressing into fleshy tissue and bones. There is nothing to pad my hand from it.

I do however feel like it works really well for many people and would be a great option for women who get their nails done. When you have long nails it’s nearly impossible to press buttons without breaking them so if you have a device like this you can use your palm instead of your fingertips to press the release button.

If you are looking for something small and don’t have hand strength issues this would work for you. I have seen it work great for women with long nails who struggle to press the button without breaking their nails.

There are finally options to help unbuckle car seat straps!

As you can see there is quite the variety of options for people with weak hands to help them unbuckle car seats. We no longer have to rely on others to help get our children out of their car seats! These devices give us independence that we aren’t ready to lose.

Filed Under: Featured, Parenting Tagged With: Assistive Device, Baby, car seat, CMT, Parenting, Safety

Tips For Making A New Car Purchase With Multiple Car Seats

September 26, 2017 by Ashley Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post for Cars.com.

Car shopping is never easy and it doesn’t get easier when you add children into the mix.  The struggle is real.  I know that having multiple children really makes the car buying process that much more difficult because children are expected to be in some sort of a car seat or booster until they are a around 12 years old or reach 49″ tall.  This means that even if your children are spaced out you will more than likely have multiple children in car seats or boosters.  This means compact cars are out the window!  Let’s talk about shopping for a car with multiple car seats in the picture.

Sorry, bye, compact car with the great gas mileage.  We just can’t really get away with you if there are three or more kids in the home that need car seats or boosters.  There are a few car seat configurations that will get three seats across in some compact cars, but it can be difficult if you didn’t prepare ahead for it and don’t want to buy new car seats.

Multiple Car Seats in SUVs

SUV’s are wonderful vehicles and if you do your research you will be able to find one that works for you.  When you start looking for an SUV you will want to look at a few features with every car that you look at.  Let me show you an example of what someone would need to consider if they have 3 children that are 3 and under (and are thinking about baby #4).

  1. Consider your car seat layout.  How many car seats will be rear facing and how many will be forward facing?  In this example there is 1 forward facing child and two rear facing children with a third on the way.
  2. Do you want all of the car seats to use the LATCH system for installing the car seats?  If you do want this then in this instance you would want to make sure that there are four LATCH systems in the car.
  3. Where do you want the children seated in the car?  This is important if you are wanting to fit three children in the back or if you want to do two and two in the car.
  4. Test the car with your existing car seats before buying.  This is a very important step.  Each car is different as is each different car seat.  You will want to make sure that your car seats fit in the car the way you want them to be set up.  You might think there is enough room in the back for two car seats and a person to sit, but when you actually install the car seats you may come to realize that just isn’t the case.
  5. Check out Cars.com.  Cars.com is a great place to start your search and get some research done.  You can find all of the necessary information about the cars amenities without having to leave the home.  It will make it possible for you to be an informed shopper without having to speak with a sales person who may not actually know how many LATCH systems are in each of the vehicles.

Did you consider all of these options before buying your last car?

Filed Under: Family, Featured, Parenting Tagged With: car seat, Safety

Keeping Your Children Safe While on Foot: Baby Safety Month Tips

September 11, 2017 by Ashley 9 Comments

This is a sponsored post for Baby Safety Month thanks to Chicco.

I am a huge advocate for Baby Safety and thanks to Chicco I am here to talk with you about baby safety in and out of the home. September is Baby Safety Month and that means I want to help all of those parents out there who struggle with keeping their children safe. You might just not know every way to help keep your child safe. I will openly admit that there were so many things I didn’t know before having my son, but over time I have prided myself for learning as much as I can about different forms of Baby Safety.

children safe baby safety month

Child Safety Indoors and Out

I wanted to share this Inforgraphic with you even though today I will be focusing on safety while on foot. I know people tend to think about their child’s safety in the home as well as on the road, but fear that maybe people sometimes over look ways that they can help keep their children safe while out and about.

Chicco was kind enough to provide me with a Chicco BravoFor2 Stroller to help use in talking about child safety on the go.

Keeping Children Safe While on Foot

If you read the infographic above you will have found some great information, but I do want to add a few things. When it comes to hanging bags from the handles of the stroller, I would have to agree that in most instances you should not do this, but if you have a stroller that says it’s okay in the manual or has bag clips on the handles then it is safe to do. I have been noticing more strollers with this feature seeing as moms seem to prefer easy, fast access to their bags whenever possible.

children safe baby safety month

When you have your child in the stroller it is always best to have them buckled into it. The buckles are installed on the strollers for a reason. When you buckle your child in you help keep them safe for a variety of different reasons. First and foremost they won’t fall from the stroller. It also prevents them from standing on the seat in the stroller which is a fall hazard as well as puts extra stress on the seat than it was tested for. Buckling them into the stroller also makes it that much more difficult for someone to attempt to abduct your child. They have one extra step in getting them into their grasp and it gives you extra time to keep them safe if a problem like that were to arise.

One thing I have heard a lot of parents say is that they do read the car seat manual cover to cover, but they never glance at their stroller manual. This is something that bothers me because you need to know the small details with your stroller just as much as the big one. For example, the BravoFor2 is rated for up to 40 pounds on the front seat as well as the rear seat/standing board. The riding board and rear seat is also rated for ages 2 1/2 and older which means a younger child wouldn’t be safe on the back. I can understand this because my 1 1/2 year old doesn’t have the focus to staying standing properly or sitting properly in that seat. His 2 1/2 year old cousin understands the seat, but not the riding board. These are some of the small things that you need to know about your stroller to ensure that you are keeping your children safe.

children safe baby safety month

Part of me feels like I am drilling safety into you right now, but I feel like one can never be too safe. If you look at this picture you might just see two kids going for a ride in their stroller, but really this was a lesson. We were teaching my 3 1/2 year old niece how to properly stand on the foot board. Her instinct was to grab the push handle, but that isn’t how this stroller is made. We taught her where her handles were and explained to her why she needed to always be holding them when she is standing on the foot board. We want her safety to be the priority and we want her to understand that.

I am thankful that she is smart and understands these things. I personally wouldn’t let a child stand on the foot board until they understand what they need to do in order to ride on it safely.

What extra things do you do to keep your child safe while traveling on foot?

Filed Under: Family, Featured, Parenting Tagged With: Baby, Chicco, Parenting, Safety, stroller

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