By Harry Loney.
The one thing most people absolutely, definitely must have before they leave the hospital with their newborn is a baby car seat. Unless you live close enough to walk home, or are crazy enough to go on some public transport, you’re going to need a way to get the little ‘un home.
There are so many different styles, makes and models. Picking the right one for you is a personal decision. However there’s something all car seats have in common – they are a pain in the bloody arse!
Here are our 4 top tips for making life with a baby car seat easier.
4. The handle can also be used as a floor stabiliser
You know when you take the car seat out and put it on the livingroom floor and it wobbles? Annoying, right? It’s useful as a rocking chair, but that’s not always what you want.
If you want the seat to stay stable on the floor so it won’t wobble if knocked, you can flip the handle up and over so that it sits behind your baby’s head on the floor, keeping it all nice and steady.
3. Loosening straps
After making sure the straps are nice and tight for the journey, you’ll need to loosen them again at the other end. Easier said than done, right? How are you meant to do that? Here’s how to loosen baby car seat straps!
Well actually, it took us longer than it probably should have to realise that there is a button to push under the long bit of strap that you use to tighten it. Push it, and pull on one of the arm straps to make it loose.
Note that I said “one” of the arm straps. You just need to pull on one to make them both looser. I’ve just halved your workload!
2. Getting in is the main battle
Actually getting your child into the seat can be a battle of wills. This is especially true when they realise they have wild flailing arms and legs and can employ them to make your life awkward. If this is happening to you, I’ve got one word for you that will change your life:
Distract!
A banana, a toy car, the only Wiggles song you can remember, it doesn’t matter. Whatever works. Something to take their mind off the fact they are going into a child car seat which is obviously the Worst Thing Ever.
1. Park(ing) life
You know that old riddle about the group of foxes and babies on one side of a river, or something? And you have to figure out a way to get everyone across with the foxes eating the babies? Well it can sometimes feel like that at supermarkets, especially getting your kids into their car seats and getting the trolley back to the trolley park but not leaving them in the car alone…it’s exhausting!
This is especially true when it comes to child parking spaces at supermarkets. Sure, the spaces are larger with more room to get in and out, but jeez, do they have to be half a mile away from the trolleys? Sometimes you need a map to the nearest trolley park, and along the road you’re asked to return some ring to a volcano by a wizard seeing as it’s on your way back.
But here you go. Here’s the tip:
Forget about the kids spaces – park next to the trolley bit. There is space to get your baby out, and also you can slide them from the trolley to the car, and just push the trolley into the bay in a matter of seconds. Life, I believe, has just got easier.
So there you have it, our four big tips for making life with your baby car seat a million times easier. What tips do you have?