Seatbelts?

[forjpj]

My son stopped wanting to wear his seatbelt a couple of months ago. It makes him "sticky" along with most everything else. I reluctantly relented out of desperation. It drives me crazy,and I feel bad for not enforcing it, just hope nothing happens. Last night while we were riding with my friend, I let her make the call since she was driving. She eventually got it on him, but then we paid for it later at bedtime with a full-blown tantrum. If I hadn't with been with him, I'm sure he would have done whatever my friend asked him to do. Anybody else have seatbelt problems?

[thereishope]

I had seat belt problems, but the opposite. At the time, he was in preschool and getting ready for kindergarten and we had to prep him for the school bus that does not have seat belts. The thought caused such anxiety in him. In his mind how could he need a seatbelt so bad in the family car but not on the bus. Thank God, he was out of his exacerbation by the time kindergarten strated and we had no issues. But, boy, was I a nervous wreck. All I kept thinking is how is he goign to commute to and from school.

 

He also had OCD related to his seatbelt. It needed to be on a certain way, when he took it off, he fussed with it over and over until it was just right. It took a very long time to get in and out of the car. That one I had to eventually address with ERP. That one did not go away on its own.

[Megs_Mom]

It sounds like it is not a seat belt issue, it's a "contamination issue" in this case (sticky or germs or getting sick). We had this as well, and had to do ERP for it - we had quite a few rages in our car, and a number of times that I had to pull over until we got through it. I know how tough contamination OCD can be and would encourage you to find a qualified Pediatric OCD therapist to help him learn ERP (Exposure & Ritual Prevention Therapy). I think that if OCD is causing a serious safety issue for a child, then they need to learn coping tools to use for the period of the illness. A good starting place to talk about this is "What to do when Your Brain Gets Stuck" - it's a workbook about OCD and is very helpful for young kids.

 

Good luck - now that you have seen him put it on once, you know he can do it. We've all lasted through some major meltdowns afterwards - it will be worth it when he is safely riding around again.

 

I apologize that I am not very familiar with your family - is your son on antibiotics right now?