Got a kid who refuses to stay sitting down in shopping carts? My sister's little boy lasts about 15 seconds before he's standing -- even WITH the cart's built-in seatbelt on! And then there are the stores whose carts are notorious for missing seatbelts....
Well, I've got the solution, and all you need is one (or two, depending on the size of the child) dollar store canvas D-ring belt!
**PLEASE NOTE: Even with a seatbelt on, you should never, EVER leave your child unattended in a shopping cart. Always stay within arm's reach!!**
Well, I've got the solution, and all you need is one (or two, depending on the size of the child) dollar store canvas D-ring belt!
**PLEASE NOTE: Even with a seatbelt on, you should never, EVER leave your child unattended in a shopping cart. Always stay within arm's reach!!**
STEP ONE: Cut off a section of the belt on the non-buckle end. (To fit my 9-month-old daughter, I cut a 16" section of belt. You may need to adjust this measurement to fit your child.)
STEP TWO: On the FINISHED end of the piece you cut off (not the piece with the buckle), fold a loop wide enough to easily loop the rest of the belt through. Sew. I sewed mine twice for added security.
STEP THREE: Finish the two cut ends of your belt. I happened to have a small scrap of vinyl left over from a previous project, so that's what I used, but you could bind it with any kind of fabric.
This is what you should now have.
STEP FOUR: Attach the loop piece to the longer piece as shown. To fit my daughter, I attached the loop piece 10" in from the end of the buckle, as shown. I overlapped the two belt pieces completely and sewed three lines across for security.
You're done! This photo shows how you will buckle the seatbelt. Simply lay the loop piece from the back of the seat to the front, loop each of the two sides around a few bars of the shopping cart in the back rest of the seat, wrap them around your child's waist, through the loop, and buckle. That crotch piece should keep your child seated! D-ring belts do have a tendency to slip a little so, again, do not leave your child unattended.
**NOTE: Since I do not have a shopping cart in my home, I used a chair ONLY for the purpose of showing how to buckle the seatbelt. I would never leave my baby unattended on a chair like this!**
14 comments:
great idea! thanks for sharing that.
This is such a good idea. The belts in shopping carts and highchairs seem to ALWAYS be broken!
Such a great & simple solution!! Nice!
Those things are always broken or torn out, yay for this! Thanks so much, I'll be linking.
What a great idea!! Good thing to bring with you to the store just in case.
I featured your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-shopping-cart-seat-buckle-for-little-kids/2010/01/05/
--Anne
Oh my gosh!! This is going to solve my BIGGEST hassle when shopping. I am going to make 2. One for my daughter for the front of the cart and one for my son for the back of the cart. GENIUS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING.
What a great and easy tutorial! I could have used this when my older son was a toddler. He was an escape artist before he was one and managed to get out of the cart buckle and flip himself out of the cart headfirst onto the asphalt while I was putting another kid in the car. I'll be making this this weekend for my little ones and making some more for my sisters-in-law who have some escape artists of their own! Thanks!
I would definitely use this at the table! I have a 4 year old who gets down from the table before she is through, and a 18mo old who refuses to sit in a highchair because no one else does! She has caused more injuries falling off the kitchen chairs than falling on or off anything else I think! Add a cushion and a belt and I think that is a great alternative for them both!
This is awesome! My sister fell out of a shopping cart when she was 4 and had a major head injury. Now I'm one of those crazy people who walks up to strangers in the store and tells them to make their kids sit down. It drives me crazy when I go to a store and can't find a cart with a working belt
What a brilliant idea! I'll have to make one of these as a Christmas gift for my favorite toddler.
My sister was just talking about trying to keep her little girl in the shopping cart. She might be getting one of these for Christmas.
totally going to make one of these as my daughter refuses to sit at the store and the dinner table. I wish I hadn't gifted those other d-ring belts now.
i agree with kerry. i think that some eating establishments don't realize that there ARE little people out there - not many, but enough. this would be great for a shopping buggy or a chair - also a really light weight "high chair" for travel!! thanks for the tutorial!!
Thanks for the information and links you shared this is so should be a useful and quite informative!
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