T is for travelling with kids – in the car with the Kiddy Guardian Fix Pro 2

It’s time to go out in the car.

As a single adult, this is usually a quick and painless process.

Open the door, keys in ignition, put on seatbelt, start car, lurch forwards (grr who left the car in gear), check no-one noticed, re-start car, exit parking space, begin driving.

Now add a toddler and a pre-schooler into the mix.

‘Mummy, I don’ttttt wanttttt to get in the back, I want to get in from THE FRONT’ declares the Wee Man, loudly and vehemently, staring at me with an insolent look which dares me to try objecting.

‘No, no, no, no, noooooo’ wails Bubby D, thrashing her head around and assuming ‘the plank’ position – leaving her with an amazingly unbending middle which is entirely un-conducive to getting her effectively strapped in to her car seat.

Realising that the Wee Man is attempting to jam three cd’s into the car stereo at once, I am forced to abandon the square-peg-into-a-round-hole toddler securing experiment and dive into the front, narrowly avoiding a music disaster.

‘GET…IN…THE BACK’ I command, using my best stern and insistent Mummy tone.

‘Wheee, flippers’, responds the Wee Man, simultaneously flicking the windscreen wipers switch whilst making the hazard lights tick on and off in a strangely soothing yet mildly irritating complimentary rhythm.

That’s before I even get to try and wrestle him into his seat, contorting my hands into all sorts of painful positions to try and buckle him in before he bursts free of his restraints again.

Which is why I decided it was time for the next stage car seat.

Up until now, the Wee Man has still been rearfacing, and although it’s safest to keep him that way as long as possible it was clear from the trouble I’ve been having actually getting the harness on him that he’s outgrown his seat.

And I also thought…perhaps the novelty of being forward facing might just be enough inspiration to avoid the many-minuted rigmarole of actually trying to go anywhere in a reasonable amount of time?

Time to give the Kiddy Guardianfix Pro 2 a try!

It’s a group 1,2,3 car seat which means that at 16kg, the Wee Man is still able to use it with the impact shield in place – something that I was pleased about as he’s only just on the threshold of the next car seat stage and I was feeling slightly panicky about the safety of a ‘big boys’ seat. Having removed Bubby D’s car seat (it’s much easier to get a planky toddler into the Wee Man’s vacated rearfacing seat, it turns out!) I took the plunge and decided to give installing the Kiddy seat a go with no assistance from another adult. Lifting it was no problem on my own (it’s a lot lighter than his old seat) and much to my surprise, 5 minutes later, we were ready to go. A simple pull on a handle at the top to adjust the height, a flick of a switch in the middle to ping out the isofix bits, and a bit of aligning and pushing and it was in – and even better, the Wee Man so was the Wee Man! Without even a glimmer of a complaint.

There was a moment of trepidation as the impact shield loomed into view, and initially he resisted, but once I’d explained it was like a special little table just for him he decided to give it a go and I slotted it in with no problems. Pulling the seatbelt round, and back round again, I was amazed at the simplicity compared to my previous wrestlings with a five point harness. So much easier! And the Wee Man looks snug and secure.

If I’d been worried about his comfort, I needn’t have been – five minutes after setting off he demonstrated just how comfortable he was by falling into a lovely relaxed sleep.

Bubby D was pleased with her new spacious vantage point too – happily squealing at all the passing cars, and pointing at birds, aeroplanes and diggers that were previously hidden from view.

And so began one of the most relaxing car-journey-with-kids experiences I have ever been a part of.

Of course, all things new and novelty-full do eventually wear off, and I did wonder if after a few journeys things might change…

…and we have had some plank incidents from Bubby D, and the Wee Man has done a bit of wriggling. But I’ve found that the impact shield works remarkably well at combating these – once wedged in place it’s always very easy for me to get the seatbelt on and get going, with no painful hand contortions required. The Wee Man loves being forward facing, his ‘special little table’, the ‘orangeyness’ of the seat, and the new found ability to see traffic lights (‘My seat is orange, and sometimes traffic lights are too, Mummy!’). In fact, he’s made up a song about it.

A really quite annoying song.

Well, I couldn’t expect the peaceful journeys to last for ever. But at least they’re only painful for my ears – and my hands are very thankful.