Ryan and I love to go all in, and yes, we avoid casinos. This attitude toward life led to the start and continued passion for Revolution Law. This all-in attitude toward growing our firm translated into our personal lives, and we quickly (like super duper quickly) found ourselves with three young children.

Ryan has been in Personal Injury for longer than we have been married. A massive part of his job is helping clients obtain compensation after a car accident. He is hypervigilant that car accidents happen anywhere at any time. Naturally, this makes us feel pretty strongly about our children travelling safely. We confirm our credentials on this topic through the following reasons;

• Have suffered through ENDLESS backseat bickering
• Extensive knowledge of the abbess between seat and console (and its ability to swallow not only our phones but also hairclips, socks and lollipop sticks)
• Our cars have wrappers, and rice crackers smooshed into every crevice
• We understand the embarrassment of giving someone a lift at the last minute when the car is in all its glory.

Child Seats 

All car seats you purchase in Australia must meet an Australian standard. However, this standard is just the minimum. Government agencies and motorist organisations run the Child Restraint Evaluation Program (CREP) with the common goal of children travelling safely in vehicles. CREP conducts testing and provides information to help you compare and choose the best car seat for your child. It is overwhelming when you’re faced with the choice of fifty car seats at the baby shop. Click this independent website to help narrow down your choice of picking the safest seat.

Child Seat Installation

Don’t get it installed! Learn how to install a car seat correctly yourself! Why? Because you will do this a lot, even if just for the mere task of vacuuming up all the biscuit crumbs. It is worth investing in an easy-to-install seat. 

You can check out the website Kidsafe Queensland; they provide information on where you can book a car seat installation. During this installation, you will also learn how to do it correctly yourself.  

Using the Car Seats Correctly

The Child Car Seat Safety website has videos showing how to fasten children into correctly rear-facing or front-facing, convertible and booster seats. Check out this link

Not only do I want my kids fastened into their seats correctly, but I also want them to travel safely. I also want them to make good choices, which means I have to teach them what this looks like and set firm boundaries regarding seatbelt safety. I think most parents can relate to the stress of their children unbuckling themselves and the frustration of repeatedly removing their arm belts. It’s lucky they’re cute! 

Sizing Up & Exiting Booster Seats

There has always been a strong association of age determining which car seat is correct and whether or not they need it. However, what is more, important than age is the child’s height. Fortunately, car seats have height marking that we can use to determine if our children are the correct size for their seats. If you decide to rent a car with a baby seat for your next holiday, check that they fit the height guidelines BEFORE leaving! 

Kidsafeqld.com.au

Adult seat belts are designed for a minimum height of 145cm. So while the general guide is seven years old for moving your child out of a booster seat, they may still not be tall enough to sit safely in a standard car seat. My daughter didn’t get out of her booster until she was 7 1/2. I used the Britax 5 Step Safety Test to help me determine if she could travel safely without the booster. 

Preparing for each car trip

My kids are pretty good travellers that eventually got into the groove that works for us as a family. Things we do include;

• Providing one of my car-sick-prone kids with travel medication for long or windy car trips. I’m not keen on unwanted vomit on a busy stretch of road.  
• My kids ready themselves before I start the car. They need to organise everything they want to access, so it is on hand and within reach! I used to do this for them when they were little. Now, if they want something that cannot be accessed safely, it’s too bad, so sad. 
• We don’t use technology on any car trip that is less than an hour. To avoid fighting, we chat, listen to kid-friendly music and occasionally a children’s podcast. Sometimes they just fight, because they’re kids!

I only have a few more years left of car seats, and I can confirm that I won’t miss them. However, I am grateful for the safety they have provided my kids and the relative protection they have delivered my seats from Poonarmi’s and yoghurt-spills. Ultimately, you never know when a car accident will occur; too often, it will be out of your control. What is in our control is ensuring that our kids are travelling safely.