Parent hack: Seat belt cover

As all baby cubs do, Quinn has outgrown her car seat and is now ready for a booster seat. She loves the booster seat! I imagine it’s more comfortable for her bigger size. But above all, she loves how she can unbuckle herself! This is great… until it’s not! That’s when I discovered this tool!

We were pleasantly surprised when we first discovered her ability to unbuckle. We had arrived home, parked, and waited in the car for some reason. All of a sudden, the back door of the minivan opened. There was Quinn, smiling and proud of her newfound independence.

For the most part, we are excited about her independence too.

• She knows to stay buckled during the drive, probably because none of us have ever unbuckled ourselves en route. 
• If her seat belt is ever unbuckled while we start driving, she will tell us before we leave our driveway by saying “On! On! On!” while tugging her belt.
• If we arrive somewhere and we want her to stay seated, we just say “Wait!  I’ll be right back.” and she’ll remain seated!!

Because of these points, we love that she can unbuckle herself. However, when she is mad, watch out! Little Miss Independent is not above screaming, taking off her socks and shoes to throw them outside (as the door closes), and worst of all, unbuckling herself. It wave clear I have to find a solution if I want to keep her in a booster.

After many weeks of experimental rigging and research, I discover this tool. And people!! It’s awesome. You basically place it over the seat belt holder and insert the buckle into the first slot.

The only way to unbuckle her is to slip a slim tool into the second slot and push the seat belt release. For us, this is a spare key or a nearby seat belt buckle.

Since my car uses a keyless fob, I keep a spare key chain with old keys in the side pocket of the minivan. When not in use, I keep both the seat belt cover and keys in there. Pro tip: keep a big key chain with toys or other clunky keys. Why? Because a big keychain is harder to lose than one single key. This is especially helpful when you live with other handsy kids.

Pro tip: engage the reverse lock in the seat belt so she can’t pull the seat belt slack and climb out. Have you ever tried to lean forward while braking in the car, only to be stopped by your seat belt being locked in place? That’s the reverse lock kicking in. Ty, my oldest, actually discovered how to enable it for me without requiring the vehicle to be in motion. You have to slowly pull the seat belt completely out of the holder. Once you get to the end, let the belt retract back into the holder. As it retracts, give the seat belt a tug to make sure the reverse lock is enabled. If you pull the seat belt out too quickly, the reverse lock will enable immediately but it won’t stay locked. So it’s important to pull it out slowly and completely. NOTE: I have only tested this on my two 2012+ Toyota vehicles so this trick might not be the case for older cars. It’s best to test it on your car or Google it.

That’s it! With the seat belt cover AND seat belt reverse lock feature, I am able to keep her safe and secure when I don’t trust her to stay buckled. Because Quinn is generally well behaved in the car, I only use this tool when I know she’s about to get upset (i.e. when we take a drive while Daddy stays home).

Seat belt cover on Amazon

I know what you’re thinking. What if we got into an accident? How will anyone know how to get her out? That is true and is a risk you should decide for your family. Most emergency services have seat belt cutters. For the other scary scenarios, we have decided this set up is worth the risk. As I said, we don’t use the seat belt cover on every ride. And when she’s having a meltdown in the car, it’s far better that she is locked in place than not.

I follow an Autism family on YouTube who use a racing car seat belt in addition to the car’s seat belt to keep their autistic daughter safe. That could be an option for you if you don’t like this seat belt cover.

This post is not sponsored. I am writing this on my own accord. I honestly find this tool essential for our family and want to share it to those who need it. I hope you find it helpful and it gives you peace of mind during your drive again! If you have another car tip, please share in the comments below!

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