jbtcole

Does anyone have little kids that put their feet on the back of your front seats? You can tell them NO several times, but that has not been fullproof. It's especially concerning now that it's winter with the salt/slush on their shoes. I love my kids dearly and they're good kids... but they are messing with my new 05 NBP TL with parchment leather.

I'm looking for ideas to prevent scuff marks to the back of my seats. Any creative suggestions that will prevent the marks but won't take away from the aestetics? Thanks!

J RIDE 81

Need to start punishing for wrong doings. What do I know, I don't have kids. G'luck!

RJPoteet

The only surefire things I can think of:

1. Amputation of their feet. Tried this with my kids, but my wife stopped me - she's kind of narrow minded.
2. Let them ride in the trunk. Tried this also - but still have the same wife.
3. Never let them ride in the car.

I used to be irritated by such things - now I kind of miss the days when the kids kicked the back of my car seat. At least then I knew right where they were.

Seriously - you need to decide what your priorities are. Kind of like when the grass in your yard looks bad from all the baseball, football soccer games are played on it - keeping the kids off of it will make it look better, but I was never raising grass - I was raising kids. They will get better with age - and we have to pick our fights, and I don't know that this one is a fight worth winning.

ric

Encourage them to do it, in fact, insist. Force them to. Eventually they will stop out of rebelliousness.............

JRC3904

Same problem with my Son, almost 3 years old…It will drive you crazy!

I got a rubber mat to place under his car seat. It protects against spills and reduces those dents that stay in the leather once you remove the child car seat. I have toyed with the idea of placing a second rubber mat in the rear pocket of the front seat. I’ll let you know how it works.

MikeekiM

No good solution here... Same issue...

I tell them "no"...and it stops...for about 2 minutes... Then the cycle repeats itself...

iambgood

it would be a pain in the @$$ but you could have them take off their shoes when they get in the car. If that dosent work just tie their feet down ... haha

Good Luck

~ B.Good

JSK22

I was just about to say that, you could have them take off their shoes. but I don't have kids and am not sure how hard this is, if the shoes are velcro it might not be too bad.

Novice

I know this won't prevent getting your seat back dirty, but try Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser to clean shoe prints, etc. You will be amazed!

@cUr@-TL

awww kids, kids..


you should try hanging some kind of carpet or protector from the pocket of the seat.. that could work..

rontatuaf

Take a bath towel and hang it over the back of the seat. Put the headrest post through the towel to hold it in place. Towels come in thousands of colors so you should be able to find one thats a close match to your interior. Just remove the towel when you go out with "big people".
Good God. I almost said "and the towels are easy to wash so they'll stay clean". I really need to get a life.

cM3go

get little booties to cover their shoes!

TBone2004

They sell protectors that you can put on the back of the seat. Check like onestepahead.com or something. We get their catalog all the time and they have things for under car seats and things for the back of front seats.Have not seen or tried them - we are just getting to that stage - oh joy - with the 2 year old.....

Update - check this out - this in particular may look like crap - but if it saves the seat and would only be temp. until kids are older....

http://www.onestepahead.com/product/33179/778/117.html

r10apple

Funny stuff!
My three normally ride in the Toyota and they did the same thing as with you. I cleaned the seats and used a good leather conditioner everytime I clean the car which helps with the lighter interior.
I also watched Dr. Phil. and after I told them more than twice to stop, I started taking away the Gameboy, turning off the DVD and restricting them when we got home or the proverbial time out. They are to the point that they say sorry for doing it before I can even catch them (it's now by accident then by habit).

kelnshe

This one's easy:

1) Find straight, open road.
2) With child in rear seat, floor accelerator to 100+ MPH.
3) Slam on brake.
4) Repeat steps 1-3 until child has no desire to kick seat.

TBone2004

Hey - does that work on the wife too?

IndyTypeS

Your kids are doing that as payback to you since you probably did it when you were their age.

My neighbor bought a roll of thick felt that is close to the color of his interior. He put velcro squares at the bottom to attach to the carpet and just cut loops in the top to have the headrest fit through...it's not the prettiest, but it's washable and it's a cheap quick fix for the winter months.

If you don't like that, reconsider a heated trunk...

SouthernBoy

Discipline.

RJPoteet writes a humerous response and makes some good points to boot. Priorities. Priorities and concessions and discipline. My wife and I raised two daughters and I know your concerns. There were certain ground rules in our house regarding such things and my car was off limits to any form of abuse or such. Which meant no eating of ice cream cones in my car. No sticky hands. No eating of any kind unless carefully and strictly supervised by their mother while I drove. They got this from birth, so it's what they knew when they reached an age where there were aware of things.

But not only was I trying to protect my car. I was trying to teach them to respect other people's property and with that.. other people. Guess what.. it worked!

So yeah, you will have to make a few concessions along the way, but why make them with your car? Your kids are not going to love you any less for your efforts; believe me.

r10apple

This is soooo true. My kidlets aren't mine: I inherited all three! Call me crazy, I know. Anyway, their father had so much $$$ he didn't care what they did. Mom just kinda went along with the program because it was easier since she had to deal with everything herself. I might have some $$$, but I pride myself on taking care of things and doing what is right. I have taught them more in two years than what they have learned in their lives. And the funny thing is, the discipline draws them to me far more than their own father. It's weird how well kids respond to some structure and a little discipline and weirds me out that they pay more attention to me than their own father...

jbtcole

Thanks for all the responses, a little humor, and some great suggestions. Have considered a few of the "out of the box" ideas, but my wife would put me in the trunk with them.... she doesn't need any help... that way she could drive my TL (which she really likes to do!).

I like the "booties" over the shoes, the towel/cloth, the cleaner, or The One Step Ahead seatback cover recommendations. The last one doesn't look too hot (thanks for the website reference), but it's functional and not too expensive. I will try them. Hope y'all found some helpful hints as well.

At least, it's good to know that I'm not alone on this one.

Nanda66

I have a 3 year old and had the same problem. what i do is, whenever he has to get into the car, i make him sit in the rear passenger seat and take his shoes or boots off, and then he goes and sit in his car seat. in the same way when we are about to get down, i make him sit in the passenger seat and put his shoes on. The process of taking off his shoes and putting it back dont take more than 3 to 4 minutes. Maybe u can try that too.

jbtcole

I would try the shoe removal exercise but unfortunately I have "two" little ones (ages 3 and 6). It would take too long to take on/off shoes and buckle/unbuckle seat belts, especially when it's cccccccoooooooolllllllllllllllllllddddddd outside. Thanks for the suggestion.

SouthernBoy

When I was in college, I wrote a paper on the topic of discipline. I think it was entitled, "Physical Discipline for the Young Child". Since I went to college some ten + years after most people in my high school class, this turned out to be in the "age of enlightenment" when it came to disciplining children. I have very set opinions about how to raise children and I know they work because I've used them and have seen the results of others who have not and have chosen the more "enlightened" path. Without getting into a VERY emotional topic, the only thing I would suggest is not to discard any method of discipline simply because you don't believe in using it. All children are different and all require differing methods and intensities of discipline.

Good luck and hope you keep your sanity.

NFLblitze1

lol i can't believe you just compared our beautiful TL's to grass...thats an insult to the industry

lol j/p

terse

sock them in the face..it'll teach them..

avs007

I don't have kids yet, (various siblings have kids of assorted age), but I still have strong memories when I was in pre-school, and we went to a pumpkin patch, and I got mud on my shoes... And I was going to get mud all over the car. My parents were into the "old-school" disciplining methods.. (none of that, timeout, sit in the corner stuff). Anyways, I also vividly remember them threatening to leave me at the pumpkin patch, if I got mud anywhere in the car.

Needless to say, I took my shoes off....

Personally I think it's all in how you disclipline kids. I'm not saying you need to spank them or anything, I think you just need to be consistent in how you discipline them. I use my friends/sibling 's kids as examples. One day they scold them for doing something, the next day, they don't bother. Kid figures that out, (they are quite smart about stuff like that), and next thing you know, you have little rascals that always get their way Yet, I also know of parents, that may seem like "control freeks", that always seem mean. (though they don't necessarily spank or anything. They just never get "soft". Their kids are always the most darling kids, in that when I had dinner with them, they were all nice and polite, and sitting straight, etc. My other cousin's kids were standing on the table, playing with food, needed attention, etc.

But what do I know, I don't have my own kids... Maybe I'll bump this thread in a few years

MR1

I also watched Dr. Phil. and after I told them more than twice to stop, I started taking away the Gameboy, turning off the DVD and restricting them when we got home or the proverbial time out. They are to the point that they say sorry for doing it before I can even catch them (it's now by accident then by habit). r10apple

Props to you and Southernboy

Yes, chose your battles but decide who is in charge. Those of you who compensate for misbehavior unleash your unruly children on the rest of us.

They need to learn to respect things even though they are just things. Yes I helped to raise a child. One that we could take anywhere and who would not disturb anything or anybody most of the time. Kicking the seat is not acceptable behavior. Just like walking on furniture or putting your fingers all over things not yours. As stated, they grow up fast, mines now 32 and still likes and respects us, other people, and their things.

Do everybody a favor and teach them not to kick your seats.

A-TLvic882

I was leafing too.

SouthernBoy

Amen.

I'm constantly amazed at people who think you shouldn't spank your kids because it might turn them into violent adults. BS. Looking back, I'm thankful for every spanking I ever got because I know it helped to keep me on the right path. No harm was done and I learned my lesson quickly.

Point is, a parent should never just arbitrarily discard a certain form of discipline because that might just be the one that works best.

Today, my girls are grown and our family is as close as can be. We were very close when they were growing up as well.. even as teenagers. Hell, for a while, most of my wife's and my friends were teenages. Not because we set out to try to be cool with kids, but it's just the way it happened.

The keys to discipline are not all that difficult. Always be onsistent. Both parents must present a united front and be in full support of one another. Never make idle threats or commands you know you are not willing to see through. Never play all your cards up front.. keep them guessing and keep a little fear going. Show love whenever you can and discipline when necessary. Be a parent and confident.. don't try to be your childrens' friend. Don't drag on the discipline (women do this a lot). Do it quickly and right away.. don't harp on it. Set limitations and stick to them.. control them. Know the company they keep. Be nosey and listen, but do it sensibly. Don't let them retreat from the family. And be a family. Have dinner every night possible.. with the family at the table, talking about things. Get involved with them, their school, their interests (sports, etc.), and let them have their friends over. Insist they show respect for their parents and others, and other people's property.

I could go on, but y'all get the picture.

04AcuraTL

ok this may sound crazy n ghettoish...but heres what i did..buy some cheap floor mats from walmart...cut to fit the floor, then get som 2x T-shirts n put en over ur seats for those wintery days...i may not have kids..but i have lil brothers that ride in my car n i live in NY where we get a good amount of snow....hope this helps

jbtcole

Yeah, the T-shirt idea was creative but kinda Ghetto... with a capital "G"

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

When the wife is not in the car, which is offen, I move the passenger seat forward so it can't be kicked by little feet.

narnia

Wait until they're old enough to drive and never let you get behind the wheel again. You'll be wishing they were still in the back seat.

RJPoteet

I'm glad some of you enjoyed my post - it was meant to be humorous.

Just for clarification - my children did not kick the seats much after they were 3, I didn't much fight them over it before then as there were so many other fights that had to be waged in those days. I too believe in a good quick swat, but in those days the cars we could afford weren't that new and I didn't feel it was worth the fight. Having said that - they were always welcome in anyones house - respected other peoples property, and behaved in school. I owe a lot to their mother for their civilization. Today - one graduated from college last Friday, the other is a sophomore (In theatre - his mother and I are so proud ), and by all signs they aren't on drugs or do any drinking. Mostly it's luck as I'm sure I've done nothing special. They do however spend hours upon hours in front of Xbox - but their grades are good so I don't worry about it.

Still - the days when the biggest worry is whether or not they kick the seat were in a lot of ways much better days.

Dobber

I have a 5 year old daughter and she never kicks the back of the seats because she always sits in middle raised part of the rear seat. She can see outside better from there and no foot prints. She did ride in the front seat once and put footprints on the glovebox though.