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Top 5 Snacks For a Long Car Trip

When we found out that we were expecting a third child we were thrilled. The final piece to our little family puzzle was soon to be complete. Towards the end of the pregnancy nesting shifted up a gear and we needed to get organised. Car seats were a top priority as we knew that fitting three car seats on the back seat was going to be a struggle.

We have a regular sized SUV and when I looked into the back seat I wondered, how we were going to fit three seats in. I wanted to continue using Brtiax seats to ensure the most comfortable seats for the kids. And most of all I really didn’t want the space of our car to interfere with safety.

Britax offered to help me fit three seats along the back of our narrow car and I started the researching process. There were a few key things that helped me achieve this:

  • Call your professional seat installer BEFORE purchasing your seats. I wish I had known this, as it would have saved me a huge amount of time and effort. I used Pearces Child Restraints and they were fantastic, knowing exactly what would work with my car. Plus they had most of the Britax branded car seats available to look at, test on the kids and even buy on the spot.
  • Educate yourself on car seat safety and get your seats professionally installed. I felt really awful when I saw the difference between how my seats were currently fitted when we arrived compared to when I left. My installer also taught me how the child should be correctly seated, how the straps work most efficiently and what might happen if they weren’t (you don’t want to hear it but you should know).
  • Choose good quality seats. Britax was my choice as they have so many different seats that can be configured to suit your car. For me, I needed a very specific middle seat for my toddler, one that sat forward and was narrow. No other seat would have safely fit the three seats in. We chose the Britax Maxi Guard PRO™ for Harry because it was slim line and has a hassle free harness (no more twisted straps!). Amelia is in the middle and we needed the Britax Millenia™ which is a perfect slim line seat that neatly fits in the middle slightly forward of the other two. And for the baby we chose the Britax Unity™ ISOFIX Compatible Baby Capsule. The capsule is so easy to put in and out, suitable to use up to 12 months (approx.) and converts to a rocker to help keep bub asleep when you transfer out of the car.
  • Choose a capsule for your baby if you have lots of pick-ups and drop-offs or other kids. I didn’t use a capsule with my first two and managed OK with the baby carrier but this time I am in and out of the car on average 6 times per day – needless to say the capsule has been a lifesaver.

TOP 5 SNACKS FOR A LONG CAR TRIP

With our three seats now fitted neatly along the back seat of our car we were set. Our little bundle Archer arrived and fit in perfectly next to Harry and Amelia. Next, I needed to figure out how to keep them all entertained for our long summer car trip we had planned. These are my 5 go-to snacks for the car, note; normally we don’t promote eating in the car but on long car trips you can be stuck somewhere during snack time and these can get you through until the next pit stop. What are your favourites?

The edible necklace: The Edible Necklace is a little length of string, with some delicious ‘beads’ that keeps a toddler occupied for long periods of time.

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Apple, pear and oat balls: A healthy homemade snack that contains the goodness of fruit, oats and nuts that takes no time at all to prepare.

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Banana apple and cinnamon muffins: These are the perfect balance of healthy meets tasty, try them in a mini muffin tin for a better bite sized snack.

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Cheesy crackers: Melt in the mouth little cheese bites that you can adapt to add different herbs and spices. Also try a dairy free version here.

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Pick n mix fritters: A savoury snack that will keep the kids tummies full but are very simple to eat and wont make a mess!

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Thank you, Allie Gaunt, for your amazing recipes.

You can see Allie’s other recipes here.

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Briar Stanley’s Precious Cargo

It’s safe to say the words ‘precious cargo’ could spring to mind when buckling up your children in to the car. I’m a stickler for safety when it comes to car seats, which is why I chose Britax for my most important passengers, Sunday and Rafferty.

A few weeks before the baby arrived we got the Britax Safe-n-Sound Platinum PRO™  installed professionally. The SICT stands for ‘Side Impact Cushion Technology’ which minimises impact  – providing the child the ultimate side impact protection. I also love that the convertible car seat is designed to grow with the baby. The Safe-n-Sound range can be used in the rear facing mode from birth to around twelve months, and then converted to forward facing mode when Rafferty is 12 months old. I chose the colour ‘Khol’ (to minimise stains), but it also comes in a sandstone and charcoal.

Big sister Sunday has also been travelling in comfort for about a year now in her Maxi Guard. We use it in toddler mode for now, using the built in harness. Once Sunday is a little older, we’ll convert the seat to Booster Seat Mode, which is for children around 4 to 6/8 and uses a standard sash seat belt. As Sunday is on the tall side, I love the size of this seat and Sunday is a big fan of her cute little arm rests and drink holder.

My happy little travellers. I’m happy too, knowing my precious cargo is in safe hands.

Thank you Briar Stanley, we are glad to hear your little ones are happy travellers.

You can read all about Briar’s journey here.

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Road Rules For Little Passengers

As ‘Safety Leaders’ we want to make the ever-so confusing topic of car seat safety as simple and as straight forward as possible so that you are free to enjoy family life the way you want.

Here’s a handy guide to Australian Road Rules for Child Car Seats and our recommendations for above and beyond safety.

GUIDE TO CHOOSING A CHILD CAR SEAT

To provide maximum protection for children travelling in vehicles, it is important to choose the right child car seat. Here’s what you need to know…

ROAD SAFETY LAWS

Refer to your State specific Road Laws Guide as there may be minor variations.

Up to 6 months

Must be secured in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rearward-facing child car seat.

BRITAX RECOMMENDS: 

‘Rear for a Year’ (at least)
0 – 12 months approx.


UNITY™ ISOFIX COMPATIBLE BABY CAPSULE

From 6 months up to 4 years

Must be secured in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, rearward-facing child car seat or a forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness.

BRITAX RECOMMENDS: 

Rearward-facing for longer
0 – 4 yrs approx.


PLATINUM PRO™ CONVERTIBLE CAR SEAT

From 4 years up to 8 years

Must be secured in an approved, properly fastened and adjusted, forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat which is properly positioned and fastened.

BRITAX RECOMMENDS: 

Harnessed for longer
6 months – 8 yrs approx. 


MAXI GUARD PRO™ HARNESSED CAR SEAT

7 years and older

From 7 years of age children can travel in a car secured in either a booster seat or the car’s adult seat belt.

BRITAX RECOMMENDS: 

Safety beyond 7yrs / 135cm
4 yrs – 10 yrs approx.


KID GUARD PRO™ BOOSTER SEAT

SHOULDER HEIGHT MARKERS, HOW DO THEY WORK?

Shoulder height markers make it easy for parents to determine if a child car seat is suitable for their child and when the child needs to move to the next child car seat.

Height Markers, located on the inner side of the seat, prompt parents and carers to ensure their child’s seats, and associated harnesses, are moved or adjusted at the right stages of the child’s development to maintain optimised safety.

Lower Shoulder Height Marker

Is my child too small for this child car seat?

Upper Shoulder Height Marker

Is my child too big for this child car seat?

Height Markers that tells you when to change

On some child car seats shoulder height markers will determine when the child needs to change position or change to the next mode.

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Grow Like A PRO!

With Our Elite Fleet

Britax understand that one of the most important safety decisions you will make for your child is choosing the right child car seat. For that reason, our safety technologies and innovations have pushed car seat development forward for 50 years. We truly lead the way in child car seat safety and deliver the safest range of child car seats in the world!

As safety leaders, we are advocates for prolonged safety, here’s how:

1) Rear Facing For Longer

We strongly recommend rear-facing for as long as possible as this form of travel supports a child’s head and neck substantially better in vehicle crashes. Even though the Australian Standards states you can forward face from 6 months, we recommend ‘Rear for a Year’ (at least) so that your most precious cargo gets the best start in life. That’s also why we design and manufacture child car seats that give you the opportunity to rear face for longer. Platinum PRO™ – our most advanced car seat yet can be used in rear-facing mode from birth to approximately 30 months and offers revolutionary dual layer head and torso Side Impact Cushion Technology (SICT™).

2) Harnessed For Longer

It is important not to move your child from a convertible car seat to a booster seat too early. Research has shown that children aged between 2 and 5 years are 3.5 times at risk of serious injury when wearing an adult seatbelt and 4.2 times at risk of a head injury than children in a proper child restraint. Here at Britax Australia, we know ‘Harnessed For Longer’ is safer. Our Maxi Guard PRO™ is great example of a car seat which is suitable for growing children from approximately 6 months to 8 years of age. This forward-facing car seats with an in-built 6-point Hassle Free Harness™ grow with your child and, keep your child securely restrained and safer for longer.
Our easy to use, Hassle Free Harness™ automatically repositions the shoulder strap height as your child grows. There is no need to rethread harness, reducing the risk of incorrect installation and harness fitment.

3) Safety For Longer

It is important not to move your child to a vehicle seat before they are physically ready. You should only move your child out of their existing seat after they have grown past the shoulder height markers on their current seat. Our Kid Guard PRO™ is the only booster of its kind in Australia providing safety all the way up to double figures = 10 years (approx.). Not to mention this booster seat includes our patented innovation – SecureGuard™. This Anti-Submarining device makes our booster seats even safer by adding a 4th attachment point to the adult seat belt. This helps to keep the lap belt in an ideal position over the pelvic bones and better distributes the impact energy involved in frontal collisions. At the same time this allows our little wrigglers freedom of movement during the journey.

Britax – keeping the adults of tomorrow safe-n-sound today!

For more information about Britax, find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or Twitter.

 

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