I will be traveling to Hong Kong and Taiwan later on this year with my husband and son. My son will be 3 1/2 y.o. at the time of travel. We've been told we don't need a car seat for him since it is not require by law there (although I thought I read it was required in HK). We won't be renting a car but we might have to take cabs or shuttle buses. We don't feel comfortable just holding him or putting him in a regular car safety belt (although something tells me not all cabs will have safety belts). Does anyone have any recommendations on portable travel car seats/boosters that is compact enough to take with us while we sitesee and travel? Has anyone traveled to HK and/or Taiwan with similiar issues and what did you do to keep your little one safe while in a car. Thanks!
If you are concerned about being able to restrain him, would he go for something like a sling. You could tie him into you then without worrying about him getting loose from you. Not sure what else would work as I am thinking most forms of travel over there aren't going to have a way to tie a car seat in anyways. So he would be more at risk than not having him in a carseat.
Ok... so the carseat tech in me is going to suggest this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KCV61U/ref=pd_cp_ba_...
It would be the easiest thing to use and it's fairly small, so if you have a bag with you, you can just take it off him while out and about.
There's no way I wouldn't use a carseat of some sort with a 3 year old. I understand the travel inconvience factor... BUT - it would be a really horrible thing if you got in an accident and had to deal with serious injuries or death in another country...
just my 2 cents!
For the plane - you can always get the CARES harness - but they are not for car rides.
Hate to say it, but I really wouldn't bother. We travel ALOT, most recently to Thailand. You would be way more bogged down by dealing with a car seat than necessary. Think of it like this, would you lug a portable car seat around NYC using taxis & buses? Probably not. Take turns with your husband and enjoy the site seeing!
My daughter was just that age when we moved to Taiwan and traveled to Hong Kong many times. We didn't use a car seat and looking back I don't see how we could have. You're right that cabs don't always have seat belts (in fact seldom), and even with taking cabs, one does a lot of walking in both Hong Kong and Taiwan (or use public transportation). Car seats just aren't practical all the time. It would be very heavy to carry around when you are walking. Good luck in finding a solution that works for you. We just had to keep hold of our daughter in the cabs etc. and pray for the best.
E.
I love the RideSafer vest that Kate O linked too, but I wouldn't choose it as a travel seat because it needs a specific combination of things to be usesable. The seat must have a head rest or high seat back. It also must have either a lap shoulder belt OR a lap belt that also has a top tether anchor. A lap belt alone, which is quite possibly what you would get in many taxis, would render the seat useless to you. Also it's not approved for aircraft, so you would have to get a CARES harness.
Personally, if your 3.5 year old is on the small side, I would get a Cosco Scenera (harnesses to 40 lbs and fits most kids to around three height wise). It weighs only 9 pounds and is easy to install.
