Patiently navigating the incessant ‘How many sleeps?’ and ‘Are we there yet?’ questions from little ones – before or during a road trip – is not as important as making sure your vehicle is child-proof. Getting there safely (and with your sanity intact) requires a few kid-friendly tips to save the day.
So, before you head for the hills, the bush or the beach, make sure you can sleep soundly the night before you travel, knowing that you have done all you can to keep your family safe. (Selling your car to buy a safer alternative may be keeping you awake at night – but that hurdle is easily overcome).
#1 Car seat etiquette
No matter what car you buy, baby car seats and child booster seats are non-negotiables if you are travelling with younger children. Although South Africa tends to be laxer in the scope and enforcement of rules, the National Road Traffic Act does stipulate that “children under the age of 3 must be in a car seat.”
Where rules are a bit sketchy, best practice dictates the following guidelines as part of your duty of care:
- Baby or infant seats should be rear-facing up until a weight of 13kg or an age of 15 months.
- The front passenger airbag must be turned off if a baby car seat is correctly installed in the front passenger seat.
- If a 3-point safety belt is available, then the middle seat at the back is the safest place to install your baby’s car seat.
- If a rear middle seat belt is not installed, then the second safest option is for the smallest child to be in a car seat behind the front passenger seat.
- As far as possible, it is advised that children under the age of 14 do not sit in the front passenger seat.
- Wearing a seatbelt is required by law and seatbelt heights must be adjusted for children so they do not go across the face or the neck. (You may need to consider purchasing a seat belt adjuster).
#2 (Child) lock & go
Curiosity is a wonderful part of a busy toddler’s growth and development, but not when they are bored and start fiddling with knobs and buttons in the car. (Never underestimate the intelligence of a 2 or 3-year-old!). Even if you have central locking, little hands will find ways to unlock the door and you do not want said doors flying open while driving!
Enabling the child safety lock on the rear passenger doors is worth getting out your car’s manual for before a road trip. It is also worth locking the automatic window controls at the back for safety and security reasons.
#3 The sun-block factor
Unless you buy a car with legally-tinted windows, window mesh sun shades – that fit over the rear doors with a snug fit – are a great invention and a wise investment. The harsh South African sun can make any road trip unpleasant for kids in the back seats.
The easy installation of a mesh sun shade in the back windows offers parental peace of mind at various levels:
- Blocks the sunlight; preventing glare and sunburn
- Lowers the indoor temperature
- Allows ventilation to flow through when the windows are open and also prevents insects from flying in
- Allows privacy, discourages outsiders from glancing in and is a deterrent to opportunistic nefarious activity when the car is stopped.
#4 Fun times
Let’s face it, on a trip, you can only play ‘I spy with my little eye’ and ‘Car cricket’ for so long. To protect your sanity and mitigate any sibling rivalry, a road trip is probably not the best time to limit screen time. This is where a technologically savvy generation can be entertained and make the travel time seem to go faster by mitigating boredom on a long road trip.
So download child-appropriate movies on the I-pad or Tablet, or their favourite game apps on your phone before you hit the road. With their attention focused on the screen, they are unlikely to ask ‘Are we there yet?’ and pretty soon their eyes will close. By the time you arrive at your destination, they will be refreshed and eager to explore their surroundings. (Selling your car to buy a car with upgraded headrest screen inserts may be worth the long-term investment if your kids are little).
Here’s the bottom line: Once you have children, keeping them safe becomes a natural instinct. And if you count up the number of hours you and your kids spend travelling in a vehicle, the extra money spent buying a car that has as many safety features as possible is always worth the investment.
This will probably keep you up at night scouring the market to determine the safety ratings of cars. That’s okay. The decision to sell your car and upgrade to a vehicle with rear curtain airbags will always make sense the minute little ones become part of your life.
Now that your kids are sorted, here’s the lowdown on pet-friendly travel tips.