About as good as it gets when it comes to child restraints in a tuk-tuk
I remember how horrified I was at the lack of child restraints in India when we first arrived.
It is normal to see entire families on a motorcycle here, so travelling in a car or rickshaw with a baby on your lap is not even eye-blink worthy. There has been a campaign in recent years to encourage people to wear seatbelts in India, but there has been no such campaign regarding the safety of children while travelling in a vehicle. An adult seatbelt is not a safe option for children under 7 years old, and even then, it’s best if they are in a booster seat.
The school run is a bit different here
I must admit after almost six months here, I have gotten used to the lack of child restraints and have relaxed quite a bit. Does that make it any less dangerous? No, I don’t think so. I’m not going to link to any crash test dummy videos to illustrate just how unsafe it really is. You don’t need to see that, it’s horrifying.
I am both looking forward to and dreading the return to Australia and our tightly anchored car seats with the nice, safe five point harnesses. I’m looking forward to the safety aspect, naturally, but also having my lap back to myself again.
Xanthe was only this big last time she was in a proper car seat.
The part I’m dreading is how the kids are going to take it. Six months of riding in cars and rickshaws without anything but my arms restraining them has given them a bit of freedom. Dangerous freedom, yes, but try explaining that to an 18month old.
I am also certain that we will be adjusting the seats quite a bit when we get home. I can’t believe how much the kids have grown since we’ve been here!
If you are in the UK, there is a great range of car seats and travel systems available at at Tesco, there are some really cute designs which is the next most important thing after safety and comfort of course!
In Australia, I recommend Target for your child restraint needs.
Don’t forget to get a second car seat if baby is travelling in more than one car regularly. It can be huge hassle to remove and reinstall the seat every time you need to switch cars. While you’re shopping, get one for Grandma’s car too!
Check out the UK car seat laws or the Australian car seat laws to make sure you are buying the correct equipment for your child.
This post was written on behalf of Tesco.com but all the words and opinions are my own.