Grandparent’s guide to driving young children safely

We know cars have changed since you were parents of young children and maybe child seats weren’t even available, let alone mandatory!

It’s really exciting to be looking after your grandchildren but travelling with them in your car – and knowing how to do it safely in a modern one – can be a bit daunting.

It may have been many years since you have driven small children around in your car and it may come with some unexpected considerations. Cars have changed a lot and so have the laws.

You may not be aware of some of the features your car has to help you with moving children around safely.

If child seats weren’t even a thing when you had children, then the thought of knowing which one to buy and how to install can be stressful and you might not even know where to start!

The best place to start is talking to your grandchildren’s parents or guardians as they have likely recently gone through the same learning process and should have enough knowledge to get you started.

It is also worth having a look at what they have in their car. Often getting identical child seats to the one the child spends most of their time in will help because it will feel familiar to them.

And talk to parents about what their children are like in the car, whether they have tips for things that help keep the kids calm or if they have routines already like going to the toilet before they get in, rules about eating or not eating in the car, etc.

Keeping consistent can help with transporting kids – although we all know there are different dynamics with grandparents and that kids can behave very differently!

There are some fantastic cars and SUVs out there that I have tested with my family over the past seven years as a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au.

So here’s my guide for grandparents, covering some of the key with transporting young children as well as naming cars that do particularly well in each area…

It is mandatory to use an approved and suitable child seat from birth until a child reaches seven years of age. It is also recommended that they keep using a booster seat until they are at least 145cm in height. So if you are going to be driving your grandchildren around in the car, then getting this right is critical.

All child seats have to be attached to the car with a top tether anchorage and either ISOFIX points or the seat belt. This means making sure the rear seats of your car have enough top tether anchorage points and either ISOFIX or seat belts to carry the tribe you want.

Even if you only have the grandchildren once a week, it is worth having your own child seats for them permanently installed in your car. It may seem like a big expense but most mistakes installing child seats are made when people are rushing. So moving the child seats from the parent’s car and into yours when they drop them off (then back again at pick-up time) multiplies the risk of mistakes being made, resulting in potentially unsafe, incorrectly installed child seats.

I’d recommend having a local child seat fitter install them for you (the first time at least) and ask them to take their time teaching you how to use each seat. That way you’ll be able to understand what you are doing if you need to take them out for any reason and reinstall them in future, such as when the car is cleaned, serviced or a child seat needs turning from rear- to forward-facing.

It’s also important to ensure the child seats are the right ones for the age and size of the child, as well as being correctly adjusted as they grow.

Elsewhere, wide-opening rear doors will make it much easier for the passengers to get in and also for you to lean in and fasten the kids’ harnesses. If the rear footwell is flat then it’s much easier for the kids to move around in the back and climb into their child seats.

Some cars that do rear seats well include:

The rear doors of the five-seat Honda CR-V mid-size SUV open really nice and wide and the rear footwell is almost flat so there’s lots of space to reach in to do up child seat harnesses and it’s very spacious so legroom in the front is good when bulky rear-facing child seats are installed. Three Infasecure child seats will fit across the rear seats and the ceiling is high so you shouldn’t bang your head.

The GWM Haval Jolion is an affordable and spacious five-seater small SUV with room for three Infasecure child seats comfortably across the back. The footwell is flat so the grandkids can easily walk across to their child seats. The rear doors open wide so you can easily get child seats in and out of the back, and with a high ceiling too you can comfortably reach in to secure seat belts and harnesses.

Where you position the child seat in the back of your car can be important. If you have one grandchild, install their child seat in the middle or on the kerb side of the car so that when street parked you are always taking them in and out from the kerb rather than the side with traffic whizzing past.

If front legroom is restricted with a child seat installed, putting it behind the front passenger seat usually causes fewer problems too.

If you have more than one grandchild, once they are old enough to climb in and out of their car seats you can load them all in from the kerbside door and they can climb into their seats. You can then go around to the roadside door to do up their harness.

In some large seven-seat SUVs, the second-row seats are split 60/40 and the single seat for third-row access is on the road side of the car. It’s a good idea to check if the third-row access is on the kerb side of the car, to make loading children in and out safer.

If your grandchildren are small enough to be in prams or bring their bikes and scooters then loading the children into the car first, ensuring they are securely fastened into their child seats before putting their pram, bike or scooter into the boot is the safest way, rather than having them running around at the back of the car while you load everything into the boot.

Simple routines like this can reduce your stress and keep the children safe.

A good tip when getting children in and out of the car is to ask them to put their hands on a certain area such as the rear lights; then they stand still and aren’t running around onto the road. You can also get handprint stickers to put on the car for them to put their hands on.

Some cars that have good rear seat access include:

The Mitsubishi Outlander rates highly for ease of access, general roominess and good child seat amenities across the second row. In seven-seater models, the third row goes without child seat anchorage points, but might still be suitable for older children in a booster seat.

The seven-seater Hyundai Santa Fe second-row seats are split 60/40 and the single seat is on the kerb side of the car so you can load your rear passengers in and out safely. Three Infasecure child seats can be installed across the second row of seats but, as with the Outlander, there are no top tether or ISOFIX anchorage points in the third row.

You may not be aware there are child locks on all rear car doors. Situated on the edge of the door near the latch, they are often a switch you flick up or down to lock (a diagram shows you which way is which), or in some cases they are something you turn with a key.

Once you switch these on, your grandkids can’t open the rear car doors from the inside, eliminating the worry of them opening doors while you are driving along or at an inopportune moment while stopped. You can only open them from the outside.

Some cars also have child lock buttons on the driver’s door control panel, which you can press to lock the rear doors. It can be hard to remember to do this on every journey so having them locked using the physical switches on the rear doors is safer.

The door lock button on the driver’s door is often accompanied by a window lock button. It is a good idea to lock these too so the grandkids aren’t opening and closing the windows constantly and distracting you while you are driving or throwing things out of the window.

Some cars that have good child locks include:

The Tesla Model Y child and window locks are controlled through the media screen by simply pressing a button. I particularly like them because you can turn on just one side or both for the rear doors, which is useful if you just want to lock the side where the youngest grandchild sits.

The Kia Niro has a single button on the driver’s door control panel so you can easily lock both the rear windows and doors at the same time, so the grandkids can’t open them while you’re driving.

A lot of new cars now have seat belt removal alert sounds and visual warnings. These are especially useful as the grandkids get a little older and move to child seats that use the belt to fasten the child rather than a harness.

The alert will sound if they undo their seat belt and a visual will light up to show you which position has unbuckled its belt. The visual is often in the driver’s display, central dash or near the sunglasses’ holder in the ceiling.

A new safety feature in most new cars is a rear seat reminder. If you are not used to having little ones on board and you don’t do it often, this feature can help you remember to take them out of the car with you and not leave them in the car by accident. It may sound silly but children and pets die every year after being left in hot cars.

On a similar note, things have changed a little since your kids were young and you can no longer leave children in the car unattended, so if you go into the service station to pay for your fuel or pop into the shop for a loaf of bread and litre of milk you shouldn’t leave your grandchildren in the car.

It may have done your kids no harm back in the day but things are different now and there are new safety rules! One very good reason is that most new cars have touch buttons to turn the engine on and off or to change gear, which could make it easy for fiddly-fingered little kids to pop it into drive or reverse by accident.

Some cars that have good rear seat alerts include:

The Ford Everest seven-seat SUV can fit Infasecure child seats in all five of its rear seats. It has a clear visual in the driver’s display screen that alerts you if any one of those undoes their seat belt while you are driving.

If you want a ute for towing caravans then the Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab is a good one for transporting children as it has a clear visual in the driver’s display screen that alerts you if a child takes off their seat belt while you are driving.

Check your airbags! Most five-seat cars have airbags that extend to the rear seats, however, if you are driving a very old or classic car then they may not, so your grandchildren will not have that protection in the event of an accident.

If you have a choice of your old classic car or a modern vehicle then you will be safer to transport your grandchildren in the newer, even though they may not think you’re as cool doing it!

If you have a seven- or eight-seater car then the kids often want to sit in the third row or “back-back” as my kids call it. Some three-row cars do not have side airbags that extend all the way back to give protection to passengers in the third-row seats, so check that before letting the grandkids charm you into letting them sit in the “back-back”!

Also, if you are in a rear-end collision then the third-row seats are most vulnerable to the impact so if you don’t need to sit the grandkids back there for the sake of space, then don’t let them talk you into it!

Some practical cars that have airbags all the way to the third-row seats include:

The Nissan Pathfinder is a great seven- or eight-seater SUV for carrying children in the back. It has seven airbags including side airbags that extend right back to protect the third-row passengers. Four Infasecure child seats can fit in the back of the Nissan Pathfinder, three in the second-row seats and one in the third row.

The Hyundai Palisade can also fit four Infasecure child seats. It has seven airbags, including side curtain airbags that extend to all three rows of seats, which gives you peace of mind.

Australia’s extreme weather can play havoc with small children as they can’t regulate their body temperature as effectively as older kids and adults, so keeping them the right temperature in the back while driving is important and may eliminate any distress.

As well as being upsetting for them, it is distracting for you as the driver!

Having air vents in the back of the car is really important for keeping children the right temperature all year round. If you are driving them in a seven- or eight-seater car, make sure there are air vents in both rear rows of seats.

Some car brands have an app you can put on your smartphone that means you can set the climate running remotely so the car is the right temperature before you load the children into it.

Similarly, if your grandchild has the sun shining in on them through the window, they are going to get too hot and dehydrated, so having window shades will help to stop this. Some cars come with in-built window shades or you can buy aftermarket ones.

Some cars that have good climate control include:

The Nissan X-TRAIL is one of few five-seater SUVs with built-in rear window blinds. You can fit three Infasecure child seats in the back and there are air-con vents in the back of the centre console box to keep rear passengers comfortable and the right temperature.

The five-seater Volkswagen Touareg can fit three Infasecure child seats in the back seats and has built-in window blinds and rear air vents to keep rear passengers comfortable while you are driving.

If you are looking after young grandchildren that are rear-facing in child seats then you may suffer the same anxiety that parents do when transporting them in the car because you can’t see them.

Having a mirror behind them on the head restraint and/or a conversation mirror in the front means you can keep an eye on them while you are driving.

You may also find that when children talk to you in the car, you are not as able hear as well or to turn as freely as you did when you were younger, so having a conversation mirror – or nowadays, a camera – can really help.

Some cars that have conversation mirrors or cameras include:

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a large SUV that, in the seven-seat L version, fits five child seats in the rear rows of seats. This model goes one better than a conversation mirror and has a rear seat camera – the image shows on the media screen and you can zoom in on individuals too so you can check on them or see their faces to more clearly understand what they are saying.

The Toyota Prado has a conversation mirror within the sunglasses’ holder in the ceiling, allowing you to see in the rear without having to turn your head or shoulders. The Prado fits three Infasecure child seats in the second row and, being a high vehicle, you won’t have to lean down to put children into their seats.