In the "bad old days" parents used to happily balance their baby in a carrycot into the back of the car, unrestrained, or if the older children were lucky there might be seat belts they could use if they wanted to. Can you believe they didn't have to until 1989!
Nowadays it's very different with the law stating that all children should be restrained safely in a car seat until they are over 135cm or they reach the age of 12 - whichever comes first.
I have bought many car seats over the years as my children have moved from the carrying kind for tiny babies to the bulky five point harness models then the lighter weight "booster with back" style and finally to a simple booster seat.
Actually one of the most inconvenient styles has been the booster seat as by this age they seem to be more likely to be moving from car to car - visiting friends, off on school trips, attending sports fixtures with friends or school....
I wish I had £1 for every time I had to lug an unwieldy booster along with packed lunches, school bags and a change of clothes (party dress, sports kit, swimming kit, pyjamas for sleepover etc) along to school where you then have to find somewhere to store the flipping thing until the parent picking your child up has to get it to their car.
It's not uncommon in our playground to see a red-faced mum trying to juggle a herd of overexcited kids and an armful of boosters!
Thankfully the lovely people at Trunki have come to the rescue with the very cleverly designed Trunki BoostAPak.
It's a lightweight booster seat with 8 litres of integral storage, a hanging hook for storage and back-pack-style straps so the child can carry it and their stuff themselves. It's hand luggage approved for airlines too so you can take it on holiday to use in your hire car or on a coach or any vehicle fitted with seat belts.
The BoostAPak comes in five cool designs including a Hello Kitty and Lotus version and as you would expect from Trunki has instant kid-appeal. My children were arguing over who was going to pack it, carry it and sit on it first.
Suitable for children weighing 15-36kg which equates to around age 4-10 (or 12 if like me you have short skinny children!) the Trunki BoostAPak is slightly higher than the seats we were using which the children loved as they said they could see out of the window more easily.
My 6, 8 and 10 year old children all said the seat was more comfortable than their usual seat with my daughter describing the covering as "squishy."They all loved the gender-neutral star pattern I chose.
The BoostAPak has a strap and clip to make sure the seatbelt is guided across their shoulder and click-up seat belt guides either side, like little armrests so it sits correctly across the lap. It was easy to convert from backpack to seat and the seatbelt guide strap was simple to adjust. My daughter was not keen on the strap but it didn't bother the boys.
I am delighted with it as I know the next time the letter comes home from school with details of the next trip and the reminder to bring a car seat in I can relax knowing my child will be keen to show off their cool "transformer" style backpack which with a rip of velcro and two clicks converts into a comfy cool car-seat.
Disclaimer: I was given a star-design Trunki BoostAPak (RRP £44.99) free for the purposes of this review. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.
Nowadays it's very different with the law stating that all children should be restrained safely in a car seat until they are over 135cm or they reach the age of 12 - whichever comes first.
I have bought many car seats over the years as my children have moved from the carrying kind for tiny babies to the bulky five point harness models then the lighter weight "booster with back" style and finally to a simple booster seat.
Actually one of the most inconvenient styles has been the booster seat as by this age they seem to be more likely to be moving from car to car - visiting friends, off on school trips, attending sports fixtures with friends or school....
I wish I had £1 for every time I had to lug an unwieldy booster along with packed lunches, school bags and a change of clothes (party dress, sports kit, swimming kit, pyjamas for sleepover etc) along to school where you then have to find somewhere to store the flipping thing until the parent picking your child up has to get it to their car.
It's not uncommon in our playground to see a red-faced mum trying to juggle a herd of overexcited kids and an armful of boosters!
It's a lightweight booster seat with 8 litres of integral storage, a hanging hook for storage and back-pack-style straps so the child can carry it and their stuff themselves. It's hand luggage approved for airlines too so you can take it on holiday to use in your hire car or on a coach or any vehicle fitted with seat belts.
The BoostAPak comes in five cool designs including a Hello Kitty and Lotus version and as you would expect from Trunki has instant kid-appeal. My children were arguing over who was going to pack it, carry it and sit on it first.
Suitable for children weighing 15-36kg which equates to around age 4-10 (or 12 if like me you have short skinny children!) the Trunki BoostAPak is slightly higher than the seats we were using which the children loved as they said they could see out of the window more easily.
My 6, 8 and 10 year old children all said the seat was more comfortable than their usual seat with my daughter describing the covering as "squishy."They all loved the gender-neutral star pattern I chose.
The BoostAPak has a strap and clip to make sure the seatbelt is guided across their shoulder and click-up seat belt guides either side, like little armrests so it sits correctly across the lap. It was easy to convert from backpack to seat and the seatbelt guide strap was simple to adjust. My daughter was not keen on the strap but it didn't bother the boys.