tips for travelling with children
Make travel fun and comfortable for your children. Protect them in and out of the car and always make sure they wear their restraints.
make travel fun and relaxing:
- Take plenty of rest stops when driving for a long time. Stop at a park or playground so children can run and play safely. Have healthy snacks and drinks with you.
- Talk or sing with children, or play a music or story CD or tape to help the time pass more quickly.
- Choose comfortable clothing for a child to travel in, and make sure it is suitable for the temperature inside the car.
protect your children in and out of the car:
- Never leave children in a car without adult supervision.
- Remove or secure any loose items inside the car because these will be thrown around in a crash and can cause serious injury. Provide only soft toys to play with while travelling. Cargo barriers in station wagons, hatchbacks and vans are essential.
- Always use the Safety Door when getting children in an out of the car. This is the rear kerbside (left) door, and is away from traffic when parallel parked.
- Use child locks on back doors if these are fitted.
- Always get the least mobile child out of the car first - then your attention can be focused on the child more likely to dart out into traffic.
make sure children wear their restraint:
- Set a good example for children and always wear your own seat belt when travelling in the car.
- Explain to children that you can't go anywhere unless the seat belts are all buckled and reward them when their behaviour is good in the car.
- If a child takes their arms out of the straps of the car seat, check that the straps are adjusted firmly enough and set above the shoulder. If this problem persists then be prepared to stop the car, and put their arms back in. Stress that they must keep arms inside the straps. Safety must come first - do not allow any exceptions.
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