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Choosing the right carseat for your child (and when they can sit in the front)

Published on May 15, 2012 in Blog

This is a sponsored post

In 2010, changes were made to the road rules for child restraints and left a lot of people confused about what is the ‘right way’.

It certainly confused the crap out of me when I need to purchase carseats, especially when I had to try and fit 3 seats in the back of my Lancer. I had to phone VicRoads and ask them what seating arrangements I could do. I really wanted to have Muffin sitting on the normal seat, no booster but with a ‘H’ harness, but this is not allowed.

Instead, I had to go out and buy new seats again so they would all fit with relative ease. And by ease I mean being able to get the door shut. Now I own about 10 different types of booster and carseats which I have been loaning out to friends to free up garage space.

My advice is to measure the car seats, and the width of your back seat (from door to door) before making any purchases, and don’t be afraid to ‘try before you buy’.

What is even more confusing is that each state and territory have there own set of rules. The rules are very similar, and from these I can give you a basic guide.

Age 0-6 months

Must be in a backward facing babyseat with built in 5-point harness. They can be in a forward facing seat with built in harness, provided they meet the weight requirements each individual carseat in use (weights can be found in the carseat manual, or sometimes on the side of the carseat itself).

A convertible carseat or capsule is suitable for this age range.

Age 6 months – 3 years (under 4)

Must be in a forward facing (or rearward, provided the child still meets the weight requirements for the seat) carseat with either a built in harness, or a booster seat with separate ‘H’ harness.

For this age range you could use a convertible carseat, a booster with a built in harness, or a separate booster and ‘H’ harness.

Age 4 years – 6 years (under 7)

Must be in a booster seat, with either a ‘H’ harness, or a regular adult seatbelt.

Age 7 years (and over)

Children seven years and are not required to use a booster seat or harness, and can safely use an adult seatbelt. If your 7yo is small you can keep them in a booster, as an adult seat belt might not sit right. It should be over their shoulder going across their chest – not their neck!

When can a child sit in the front seat?

Children who are seven and over are allowed in the front seat. But there are some circumstances where a younger child is permitted. For example, if your car has no backseat, they can be in the front passenger seat provided they are in the correct carseat/booster for their age, and the carseat is properly secured to an anchor if it requires one.

Another example is if your back seat is full of children under 7, you can seat another child under 7 in the front passenger seat (again, provided they are in the correct type of seat/booster for their age).

For more information – visit the child restraint road rules pages for your State or Territory:

VIC – QLD – NSW – ACT – SA – NT – WA – TAS

Visit BigW to view the range of Carseats. Or connect with BigW on Facebook and Twitter

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Bring on Mother’s Day!

Published on May 11, 2012 in Blog

Thanks Mum!

I am so ready. After the week I’ve had, I’m really looking forward to a PJ day.

I started the week off as a cripple after what happened last weekend, and the Dr decided to put me on stuff I’m allergic to which gave me migraines and heartburn (feeling much better now though). I had appointments out my ears, dresses to hem, trips to plan, my Mums birthday, and what seemed a million bills to pay.

Yesterday I had go over to mums and set up her new T-Box, mobile, and change her line splitter so her phone would stop crackling. Meanwhile the boys were tearing up her house. Then I went and picked up Muffin from school early to go to the dentist, got to the dentist, one child half asleep, the other having possibly soiled himself, and then they tell me the appointment is actually next week. Got home, kicked the kids out the back to blow bubbles and slunk into my computer chair with a cup of coffee.

This morning I get an email to say I didn’t even make the shortlist for the job I applied for. I forgot my headache medication last night, so now have a sore head today. None of my washing has actually been done so I’m dressed like a schlob, I have to go and hem another bridesmaid dress, my house a total disaster zone, and the inlaws arrive tomorrow.

Mother’s Day?

Bring it.

Tags: Mother's Day

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Feeling pretty chuffed with myself!

Published on May 4, 2012 in Blog

Feeling very accomplished this evening, having got my children to eat their dinner. And I did the cooking!

It’s always a great feeling when someone appreciates your cooking. Though I almost didn’t bother, because as soon as I told DP what I was making, I could literally hear his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

But what was this meal of amazeballs I was preparing? Vegetables. Yeah, pretty much just that. I went to the supermarket this arvo and picked up some carrots, cauliflower, corn on the cob and some ‘Beet – Slaw’ which is a bag of shredded carrot, beetroot and two other unidentifiable plants. The ‘slaw was more appealing than regular coleslaw (which I despise) so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

I also picked up a pack of cheap plastic disposable plates and spoons, because I knew it was unlikely that there would be any clean ones at home (and AS IF you would see me washing up when I get home). These assumptions were correct, we had no cutlery, no bowls – well, actually we did, but they were dirty and piled up on every inch of bench space. The house actually looks as though a dump truck exploded in it.

I cut up the carrot into sticks, got Monster to pull the cauliflower pieces off, as well as pulling the leaves off of the corn cobs. Wacked that into the only remaining clean pot, through a few eggs into the only remaining pan and served up the veges on separate plastic plates in the center of the table (along with some grated cheese, and that beet-slaw stuff.

I had a few “ew that’s yucky” ‘s but I put a spoonful of each food onto their plates, told them to have a taste of each and tell me which they would like more of. It went really well! Monster ate some of each thing (which is a win right there), and then thanked me and announced that scrambled eggs are the “bestest, my fave-ist, bestest ever ever” food.

When you have a kid who has a panic attack over the mere sight of some foods, you can imagine the kind of victory a comment like that is. Monster also ate nearly everything that he had requested for his plate and there wasn’t a single mention of his beloved sausages (the only food he’ll eat).

In our house, for the last 2 months we have had a reward chart for Monster, who gets a sticker every time he eats all or most of his dinner. Tonight we got to put sticker number 3 on his chart.

Number. Three.

Colour me smug.

Tags: Autism, Monster, MOTY

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Head for the Hills! + Giveaway

Published on May 1, 2012 in Blog, Giveaways

Today I am reviewing some new Hills brand products for you. There’s a great giveaway too but we’ll get to that later.

First up I’ve got the Hills ‘Orbit’ ironing board. It may shock you, but yes, I do know what and ironing board is. I wear jeans 90% of the time, so an iron is necessary for removing massive creases and crinkles. And sometimes I just iron them so they are warm before I put them on.

My original ironing board is now a rusty old piece of crap, so I was happy to test this one out. As you can see in the first photo, the Orbit is much nicer looking. It’s only a little bit taller, it folds flatter and it weighs the same as the old one.

The Orbit has a special pullout iron holder that can swivel around either side of the end of the board, so it is in easier reach. It has two levers (one either side of the board) for folding, a yellow water cup that fits into the iron holder (and clips into the legs for storage), a water sprayer holder, and a clip on cord weight to help retract the cord when you sit the iron down.

The clip on cord thing and the cord holder didn’t work very well for my iron. The weight isn’t heavy enough to pull the cord down, and the cord grabbed a little on the plastic, but it makes for a good multi holder thing. The little dents by the spray bottle holder are good for hanging coat hangers.

The other item I tested out was the Hills ‘Vogue’ clothes airer, which is part of a new range of airers that come in various sizes and shapes depending on how much room you’ve got; something for everyone.

The Vogue airer is a standard A-Frame style. I’ve had one like this before but I hated how flimsy and noisy it was. I’m glad to report that Hills Vogue is sturdy, lightweight and does not clang when you move it about. That’s another thing I like about this one, you can pick it up from the middle bar and move it around. My old one would collapse whenever I tried to move it.

It’s very generous in size, but can have either or both sides folded down if you need more space, or don’t have much to hang out. When folded down, this airer doesn’t take up much space.

Both items come with a 3 year warranty, and being a Hills product you know they are going to last. You can check out the rest of the range at www.hills.com.au .

Now for the Giveaway!

I have a Laundry Prize Pack valued at $208 up for grabs, containing both items from this review:

Orbit Ironing Board (x1) – RRP $139

The new Orbit ironing board from Hills Holdings will make even the largest and trickiest washing load a breeze with its full range of innovative features including the tangle free cord master and the world’s first fully rotating and retracting iron caddy allowing you to move the iron towards you while working or out the way for larger items.

Vogue clothes airer (x1) – RRP $69

The Vogue clothes airer from Hills Holdings offers a unique design and large wash load capacity, with hanging room and a middle tier for smaller items. The airer is easy to manoeuvre and takes up minimal floor space while making it easy to save money on expensive electric dryers.

Enter below with Rafflecopter: