Cara is 9 years old and she still gets strapped into her booster seat every time we get into the car. This practice seems to be an exception instead of the rule when I look at other kids Cara’s age. Is my child too old for a booster seat? NO! A big fat N O.

Is my child too old for a booster seat?

Cara has never complained about being strapped in. Not that it would make a difference though. My child’s safety is top priority and that is the rule. She will be safely strapped into her RECARO Monza Nova Seatfix booster seat till the day that she is old enough (and big enough) to use only the seat belt.

If you are unsure about why using only the seat belt to secure your child is not adequate, please listen up…

Seat belts are designed for adults!

A booster seat will position the seat belt in the correct places on a child’s growing body. The seat belt should fit solidly over the shoulder and chest and low on the hips. An ill-fitting seat belt can cut into your child’s throat, cause serious injuries to internal organs, damage the spine… I think you get the gist.

I’ve noticed that most kids Cara’s age are not in booster seats. I’ve heard kids proclaiming very proudly that they don’t have to sit in a booster seat anymore, that they can sit in the front seat or (even worse) feeling very chuffed that they didn’t have to put on their safety belt when driving with so-and-so. Kids have also asked Cara why she has to sit in a seat that’s meant for ‘babies’. Dear parents, what are you teaching your kids? And why are you putting them in danger?

Here are the facts (courtesy of #CarseatFullstop):

The full back seat belt positioning booster seat

Your child needs a full back seat belt positioning booster seat from the time they outgrow their toddler seat and harness until they are 1.5m tall (between 4 and 10/12 years old). The seat is always forward facing. You should only ever purchase a high-backed booster seat. The back rest should provide “wings” that offer side impact protection, protecting the child’s head and neck. The high-back booster will have guides to direct your car’s three-point seat belt through. This positions the seat belt safely over the strongest points on your child – the shoulder, chest and upper thighs – as opposed to their vulnerable neck and stomach.

DID YOU KNOW?

A car seat belt is designed to be used for an adult male over 1.5m tall. Its job is to distribute the force of a crash to the body’s strongest points – mid-shoulder, chest and pelvis. On a child, a seat belt sits over their 2 most vulnerable points – the neck/throat and the belly area containing all the vital organs. The seat belt becomes a definitive danger to a child who isn’t using a booster seat.

“Every child. Every time. No matter what.” – #CarseatFullstop

This year’s Spring school holiday was going to be extra special. We were going to spend 3 days in Gariep for a family reunion. I was going to see family that I haven’t seen in 30 years! The reunion was of family on my dad’s side. I think we were 43 people in total (if everybody could make it, I think we would have been over 70!) and it was decided that Gariep would be a nice central point as the family is scattered all over the country. There was quite a build-up to this holiday and everyone was so excited. But I was anxious.

Planning our road trip and why it left me in a panic #CarseatFullstop

Road trip Orange River Free State Pretty Please Charlie

The thought of the road trip to and from Gariep left me in a panic. The main reason was the fact that a family we know recently went through the most devastating thing that could ever happen to a parent… they lost their kids. I still get this nauseating pain in the pit of my stomach every time I think about it. This poor family was in a horrific car accident and both the kids passed away. The little girl was the same age as Cara and her cousin. My heart goes out to the mom and dad. How do you ever recover from something like this? I can’t even fathom the pain and heartache. Please note that I don’t know the details of the accident! But their pain and loss spurred me to take action to make 100% sure that our girls would be as safe as possible on our trip.

Cara and her cousin both have car seats. We know how important it is to have them strapped in. We hardly ever drive very far with the girls so we were content with what we were using. But 9 hours at a time? That’s a different story. The problem with Cara’s seat was the fact that the seat belt didn’t fit properly over her shoulder and it would dig into her neck. We also realised that Mieke’s seat would not be suitable for this long trip. What now? I was having nightmares about a trip that was supposed to be an amazing experience. That’s when I reached out to #CarseatFullstop for advice.

I knew #CarseatFullstop would be the right people to talk to. I told Mandy (the AMAZING woman behind the cause) about my concerns and our needs and I pitched my idea about an article around this. They then pitched to Sproutability who was proud to get involved.

The moment I heard that we would be able to use Recaro Monza Nova seats for this trip, it felt like a HUGE weight was lifted. And I could finally get excited about our family reunion!

I wasn’t the only one! Cara couldn’t believe her eyes when she first saw this gorgeous pink seat!

Recaro Monza Nova 2 Seatfix Pretty Please Charlie

My brother-in-law organised a mini bus for us to use for the trip and the RECARO Monza Nova 2 Seatfix booster seats were a perfect fit. The minibus had seats with Isofix and without. In case you don’t know what Isofix means (like i did!)… “ISOFIX is the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars. The system has other regional names including LATCH (“Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children”) in the United States and UAS (“Universal Anchorage System”) or Canfix in Canada.” Thanks Wikipedia. The RECARO Monza Nova Seatfix booster seats has integrated Seatfix arms which can be anchored securely and easily to isofix mounting points but the seats can also be used in cars without isofix. Huge plus point I think (especially if you often have to move seats from one vehicle to another).

Recaro Monza Nova

The headrests have 11 different positions which meant that we could adjust them to perfectly suit each girl. This also meant that the seat belt could be perfectly positioned to sit solid over the shoulder and chest. We had no complaints (okay minimal complaints) about the seat belt and the resulting let’s-try-to-slip-the-belt-under-the-arm-without-mom-seeing scenario. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

Another awesome feature is that the headrest is depth-adjustable! This enables a safe and comfy sleeping position so sleeping beauty’s head doesn’t fall forward and leave the protective headrest area. The girls were able to take many naps during the trip which made it a lot easier on them (and on us!).

Recaro Monza Nova 2 #CarSeatFullStop

Another super cool feature kept the girls entertained and happy… there are speakers in the head rest!! So Cara’s tablet kept her busy whilst Mieke fell asleep to the sounds of Taylor Swift’s Welcome to New York.

Cara enjoying her tunes whilst safely strapped into her #RecaroMonzaNova seat from @sproutability. It has speakers in the headrest! How awesome is that?! #CarseatFullstop #SproutAbility #RecaroSA #PrettyPleaseCarseatFullstop #ChildSafety #roadtrip

A post shared by Pretty Please Charlie (@pretty_please_charlie) on Oct 4, 2017 at 10:34pm PDT

Our girls were so happy during the trip. Nine hours is a long time, but they were so good. It really helped that they were so comfortable in their chairs. But most importantly, they were safe!!! That made me feel so much more at ease.

A HUGE thank you to SproutAbility, Recaro SA and #CarseatFullstop.

And we had a wonderful holiday! Just a shame it was so short. We stayed at the Gariep Forever Resort and it was absolutely lovely!

Gariep Forever Resort Pretty Please Charlie

xoxo