Belt for child on lap

A lightweight elastic belt is threaded through the front belt loops of the parent’s trousers and serves as a safety belt for a child seated on the parent’s lap

User holds child on lap using the belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se
User holds child on lap using the belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se

The user sewed Velcro onto the ends of a 40 cm-long elastic band. The band is threaded through the two front belt loops of the user’s trousers and pulled around the baby to hold the child firmly on lap. When the baby was small and lying down on the user’s lap the band was fastened around the baby’s chest; when the baby was a little bigger and could sit the belt was placed around the baby’s waist.

Users comments
I found that it worked better to slide the belt through the front loops of my trousers and pull it around my daughter’s waist. She was more stable when sitting that way than if I had pulled a long belt around both of us. When my daughter had the belt around her I didn’t have to worry that she would fall off my lap when we rolled over bumps or curbs, or when she reached for the exciting things we rolled past. However, my daughter learned to open the belt when she was just over a year old; I could have put a buckle on the ends instead, but never got around to it. I used the belt from the time when my daughter was a few weeks old until she was about 2 years old.

Made by
Friend of the user

Paid for by
The user

Whose idea
The user

Editors comments
Other parents have used variations of this tip, such as a soft corset pulled around both the parent and the child, an airplane seat belt, an ordinary scarf or a weightlifting belt.

This tip is from mammapappalam.se (last checked December 2020).

Child on the user's lap held in place by the belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se
Child on the user’s lap held in place by the belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se
Infant on user’s lap. The belt holds the user’s knees together. Photo from mammapappalam.se
Infant on user’s lap. The belt holds the user’s knees together. Photo from mammapappalam.se
Belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se
Belt. Photo from mammapappalam.se

Tipsare: Nora

Together with her husband and children Nora lives in a house. She is working part time. Since 1991 she has a incomplete paraplegia, No assistance.