So. I travel probably 2-3 times a week alone in a grab (private home vehicle) with J who is now 17 months old. I don’t bring along a car seat. We never bought a travel system and clearly a car seat is too much for me to lug around when I’m alone with him. I’ll be carrying him, my work bag, and his school bag.
I’ve recently resorted to taking grabfamily (what was formerly uberfamily) 1-3 years old that comes equipped with an immi-go. It’s for kids aged between 1-3. It’s immensely useful because at least I’m more comfortable that he’s in some form of a restraint. However. The service costs $5 extra per trip. And that adds up. And more importantly, it’s crazy difficult to get a grabfamily car. What I’ve been told was that since Uber left the market, many drivers (including uberfamily drivers) quit. And grab isn’t actually rolling out more grabfamily cars. It’s a problem. The wait time is an average of 10 mins, with the occasional total lack of cars. This means I end up booking a cab, holding onto J and hoping nothing happens.
Guys. A baby carrier isn’t safe for car use. I know. It’s disappointing. I used to use one for all my grab trips with J. But really. It’s not good. Go Google it.
So. My question is, what am I supposed to do with a 18 month old who is too small for a ridesafer vest (which I will probably purchase when he’s bigger) and too big for even a Doona if I had considered getting on.
I spent 4 hours online yesterday googling and the only good answer I found was the Urban Kanga. Even then, it was 3Kg and folded up into probably another bag sized object. Objectively speaking, it isn’t exactly easy for a lone parent. Trust me I’ve seen the pitying looks I get already.
To add into the conundrum, we’re travelling a fair bit at the end of this year and beginning of next year. We already have plans for 3 trips. We were considering getting something for our carrides abroad. But any parent can tell you the amount of stuff we already have to lug along. Do we want to lug along another minimally 3kg car seat.
I understand that people say that safety is Paramount and I agree. I won’t even be talking about this if I didn’t think so. J has an amazing permanent car seat in our family car. And another in my parents for the odd trip in the grandparents car. But at what point does it become impratical ?
Does anyone have any magical suggestions that I might have overlooked ? I know websites like taxibaby.com recommend a backward facing Cosco Seneca. And while it might make a lot of sense for some people, without belabouring the point, it’s simply not practical for us. How now brown cow ?
On a Crazy Adventure 