Global Travel With or Without a Carseat?

Cookie Pants · Jul 29, 2012

Hi all! My husband and I are planning to take off for a year for a trip around the world covering much of Europe, parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. We figure it would fulfill a lot of our ambitions for travel and also expose our kids to other cultures and other children from other places that they could make friends (and maybe penpals) with. By then our two children will be 2 and 3. We plan on using the CARES child aviation restraint inflight but are flipflopping on the idea of taking car seats. We will be using mainly public transit (train/bus/ferry) in all countries but there are those few places where a 3-4 hour car ride would be necessary to see things. We also want to go on a jeep game reserve safari ride but worry about the kids bouncing all over with the off road ruts. I can recall being 7 and sitting in the back of the school bus without seat belts on and being bounced so high that we almost hit the roof. It was hilarious as a little kids then but as I parent I would just die. Ideas? Thoughts? Solutions? Help! Thanks!

Patriot201 · Jul 29, 2012

Welcome to car-seat.org!

This is an interesting "problem" you have. What a wonderful opportunity for your entire family to see the world! I understand your concern about transportation, though.

I wouldn't feel comfortable not having some type of restraint that you understand how to use, but you are going to run into a few possible problems.

It is illegal in most countries to use a foreign child restraint. HOWEVER, with the amount of traveling you are doing, it would not be feasible to purchase a seat in each country.
Depending on where you are going, there may not be public transportation that has a way to install a child seat.
It isn't safe to transport small children in an open jeep-like vehicle.

I am not sure what the solution is because not knowing exactly where you are going, it is hard to know if you will have safe transportation options.

I would be tempted to bring a seat (for each child) such as the Radian because it can be used without a tether if needed, but it is not easy to install in every vehicle, might not even be ABLE to be installed in some vehicles because of lack of seatbelts or lower anchors, and might be illegal to use in many places you are visiting.

I hope someone with more international experience comes along.

newyorkDOC · Jul 30, 2012

I'd bring a RSTV for the 3yo and something for the 2yo like a coccoro (has built in lock offs i think) or RDN. Or if you wait another year, then 2 RSTV. You'd need a 3-pt belt to use them but you're likely going to be in situations where you either have a 3-pt or don't and nothing in between. I don't know how many seats can be installed with lap belt only, no top tether, and are easy to travel with so I (personally) wouldn't make that a high criteria on my list.

I would not go on safari TBH. It is unlikely you will find a jeep with seat belts (they have stadium seating so everyone can see. Plus most safari companies have an age min of like 7-8. There are instances where you must be quiet (think lion next to the car or rhino looking straight at you) where an uncontrollable and excited 2yo would put everyone in danger. Also the roads are ROUGH and they drive FAST.

T4K · Jul 30, 2012

Patriot201 said:
[*]It isn't safe to transport small children in an open jeep-like vehicle.

Jeep on a safari with aftermarket seats with toddlers? No way.

Jeep in the US on a tame trail with everyone restrained...:thumbsup:

Patriot201 · Jul 30, 2012

Thirsty4Knowledge said:
Jeep on a safari with aftermarket seats with toddlers? No way.

Jeep in the US on a tame trail with everyone restrained...:thumbsup:

Exactly. I just noticed that I left out the part about unrestrained. Oops!

BananaBoat · Jul 30, 2012

Regarding the safari bit, I would REALLY look into it as I think most don't allow children under 12 due to liability & safety reasons. Now, in Africa you can probably find many people "willing" to do it, but that doesn't make it any safer. :twocents:

As for the rest of the travel I'd personally wait until the kids are older for a trip like that. I get the intention, but having done a good bit of trans-Atlantic travel with DD1 from 1 year on, it just kind of sucks when they are that little. They don't appreciate or enjoy it much & it's utterly exhausting as a parent. Especially if kids are in diapers, it requires a ton of gear to be on the go like that.
That said, if you're determined to do it, I'd do the RSTV & Cocorro as PP mentioned. The trouble is in Asia you'll be hard pressed to find a lot of cars with seat belts at all...unless they are brand new. Even in the majority of Europe, seat belts don't lock & are therefore a pain for child restraints. The Cocorro does have lock-offs which help & at 3 I would be locking the belt of an RSTV since 3 year olds are still pretty wiggly.

cantabdad · Jul 30, 2012

One thing that occurs to me is that while CARES is approved by the FAA and many foreign aviation authorities, it's still not universally known or accepted. At some point in your travels you may need to travel on an airline that doesn't permit its use. Without a carseat, you'd have to just put them in the lap belt, which may not fit very well. They'd still be relatively safe from a statistical point of view, since aviation is already so safe, but it might make you uncomfortable, and I certainly can't imagine a 2-year-old sitting still and keeping the seatbelt fastened the whole time.

Of course, some of these same airlines also won't permit you to use a carseat for a 3-year-old (or in some cases, any carseats at all) so it may be something of a moot point. But something to consider as you book your flights.

My personal opinion is that it is almost impossible to truly "travel light" with young children anyway, so I would plan on bringing a set of versatile and lightweight seats and practice means of transporting them around.

oliviacw · Jul 30, 2012

I don't think a 3 year old is likely to remember much of such a trip, or make friends who will turn in to pen pals. You may want to do it for your own benefit now, but for the kids to get much out of it I'd suggest waiting until they are at a minimum 6, or preferably 9 or 10.

At this age, carseat wise, i'd think you would want the lightest thing possible that they wouldn't be likely to grow out of halfway through the trip.

penguingrooves · Jul 31, 2012

wow, you and your husband are brave and gutsy! your kids won't remember much, if any, at ages 2 and 3. but if you want to do it for you and your hubby, i highly recommend that you at least fully potty-train both kids to make things a lot easier.

Global Travel With or Without a Carseat?

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