Car Seat

******************Updated with new information************************

A big Thank You!  To TheCarSeatLady who left an informative comment to my blog post.  Here is the comment:

  "It is fantastic to see parents who are diligent about keeping their kids safe in taxis (I live in NYC, so taxis are a way of life for me also). However, as a pediatrician and certified child passenger safety expert I am very concerned by the fit of the seat belt on your son's body when using the Easycarseat booster. The lap belt is positioned directly across his soft, vulnerable abdomen - which is exactly where the belt should never be as it can cause serious injuries to the abdominal organs and lower spinal cord if it is there. You can see here, on the Insurance institute for Highway Safety's booster seat rankings what good and poor belt fit is - and unfortunately your son's picture is a textbook case of poor belt fit. http://iihs.org/research/topics/boosters/default.html

There are other options that give excellent belt fit - and are in fact Best Bets from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as they provide the best seat belt fit - and are even more portable than the Easycarseat (and as a bonus, also pass the US and European crash tests) - namely the Bubble Bum. 

Please see this post regarding significant concerns abou the safety of the Easycarseat booster that you are using for your son. http://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/easycarseatfailscrashtests/ ."

Needless to say, my goal is to keep my kids safe while we occasionally ride in taxis.  The Easy Car Seat was not achieving that goal.  I have 3 Bubble Bums on order.  I am happy because they are smaller and lighter (so easier to carry around!) and I can fit 3 across, so Lily can have one too.  There is a distributor in Singapore, so I should have all 3 in hand soon.  I will write another car seat post once I have them in hand.  

I'm so sorry to have shared poor information.  It was not my intention...

*************************************************************************** 

So this is a post that I'm not sure my American friends will be able to relate to...  in fact, I think you might be appalled!  I was.  In Asia, there are no car seat laws or requirements.  None.  We are living here without a car.  Mostly, I love it.  There's a freedom that comes with having a fabulous public transit system.  I can get most anywhere just by walking out the front door.  The subway and the buses are clean and reliable and safe.  It's cheap too.  So, mostly, we are riding the MRT or a bus to get to where we need to be.  For the bus and the subway, there is no need for a car seat.  I'm happy when my kids get to sit down, but sometimes we are all standing.  It's okay.  We're fine and it seems pretty safe.

However, occasionally, we need to take a Taxi.  On Tuesday's after school, all 3 of my kids have gymnastics.  There is just barely enough time between when school gets out and when gymnastics start to get them changed and have a snack and then hop in a taxi for the 5 to 7 minute ride.  Gymnastics is very close, but it's too far to walk and there isn't a great bus route.  So this is one example of when a taxi is needed.  Taxi's are easy to get.  I have a couple of different apps on my iphone that use GPS and order up a taxi.  They give me a 2 minute window of when to expect the taxi and they are usually on time.  Awesome.

It's not awesome to have my sweet little children in a car using only the provided seat belts.  When we first arrived, I would just hold my breath the whole time we were driving in a taxi.  In the US, I was the mom who followed the car seat recommendations precisely.  I got out my ruler and made sure there wasn't too much slack in the 5 point harness.  Scott took our car to the fire station to have the firemen check that we installed the car seats correctly.  I was very cautious about who could drive my kids and I preferred they be in their own seats in my car if possible.  This was one area where I would not compromise.

So, who am I now...?  This crazy mom living is Asia allowing my kids to ride in a taxi with any random driver without a car seat?!

It felt like too big of a departure from who I am and what's important to me.  I have to make compromises here.  I have to let go of some things but it's also important that I hold on to some things too.

Imagine my relief when I found the Easy Car Seat!  It's an inflatable booster seat that complies with US and UK car seat laws.  It's rated for children 15kg and larger.  Wyatt is exactly 15kg!  If we were still living in the states, he would still be in his Britax 5 point harness seat.  This is basically a high back booster, so it's not as good, but it's WAY better than nothing.  It lifts him up high enough and pulls the seat belt down just enough so that it's not on his neck.  It is made from a durable vinyl.  It's pretty light.  It inflates in about 12 breaths and deflates in less than 1 minute.  

I got one for Madeline too.

I can fit the two seats in my backpack.  I book my cab and then inflate them.  We are ready to go!  And I can relax a little bit more.

Lily is still riding with only the seat belts provided in the car.  I think she is technically tall enough to do so.  She's nearly 7 and tall for her age.  I know she'd still be riding in a booster at home, but I can't quite manage having 3 of these things in my bag or 3 across the backseat of a car.  The seat belts seem to fit her comfortably.   The best I can do is to stay out of taxis as much as I can.  It's a big change!

Anyway...  I think these seats are great.  I think they'd be good to use when traveling or for the grandparents to keep.  They'd be a great extra booster to keep in the car for friends or if you are using a city "Go Car" program.  They are a good option for those of us that are not regularly using cars and cannot lug around big boosters all of the time.