Some car questions answered…

I am not a freak out kind of mother. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have checked to see if my kids are breathing at night, I don’t lie awake worrying about them and I consider myself a pretty chilled out kind of mum. Ish. (For the record, I’m pretty sure my husband might disagree).

But there is one thing I freak about and that is car safety. I trust my own driving (another thing my husband would have a few things to say about) but it’s the others on the road. I was on the look out for a car seat that I could get that would tick every single box. I have found it, and now I want to share it with you and maybe answer some other questions you may have had about car safety.

My oldest daughter is probably the reason that I really worry, she removes her straps all the time. I was told the straps should be firm but obviously not make them uncomfortable and be too tight. I looked into the Houdini strap but was presented with a hard decision. For those of you that don’t know what that is – its a clip that you put on the straps which makes it really hard for your child to take their arms out the straps. The hard decision was presented when a fireman told me that he disliked those straps.  He told me that if they quickly need to remove a child from a car accident, its just that extra thing for them to do and that can make a massive difference in the end. In saying that, maybe it’s the thing that will keep the child in the car seat and not flying through (gd forbid) a window. As I said, it’s a really tough decision. I really thought hard about it. Eventually I helped my two year old through this phase of taking the straps off, by turning into a game. She would get a sticker if she made it to our destination without touching them at all. Now that she is 3, I have explained the importance of it and she seems to get it but it is a tricky one..

I recently had a client that had a big age gap in between both children, she wanted to know if she could use it for both kids. After a very good and thorough clean, she found out that most car seats have a lifetime of about ten years from when it is manufactured. Check under the seat for a stamp.

Here’s something else I think a lot of people don’t know.. You don’t actually need to have it fitted professionally. I have always had mine put in by someone professional because I am not confident in me or my husbands fiddling.

Another common question – when can you turn your baby around?  My younger baby Rafaella had terrible reflux and would often cry a lot when in the car seat. I often found it quite stressful driving anywhere with her crying. I was really anxious to have her turned her around so I could at least turn back and see her and know she was alright. I was told that legally, babies must be in a rear facing restraint until 6 months. But if you can, and your bub is happy then keep them in a rear facing seat for as long as possible. Their necks are so dainty and their little torsos would cope much better in a crash if they are rear facing. Once your bub reaches the shoulder height marker on the seat it is then safe to turn them around, again if they are happy – leave them!

I wanted to review a really great car seat for you… The Britax Compaq AHR. Here are the reasons why I love it:

• Its convertible – which means it can go for 0-4 years and can go from rearward facing (approx 0-12 Months) to forward facing (approx. 12 months – 4 years)
• Active Head Restraint (AHR) this means that is has deeper side wings that protect your child’s head on a side impact accident.
•  Slim design – this was really important to me as it is a little narrower. For someone that has multiple car seats in the backseat, it meant the difference in having someone fit in the middle between them. Or it also means for mothers of 3 – they will all fit in the back seat next to each other.
• Side pockets for storage. Perfect for the spare dummies and a drink bottle.
• The cover is fully machine washable. My daughters make the biggest mess in the car as they eat non-stop. Also perfect for those little toilet training accidents that children may have.
• And the last reason.. you can get it in ridiculously funky colours which is an added bonus!

Sweet and Safe Dreams..
BEC xoxo