car seats in taxis

I'm intrigued to find out how people travel in taxis with babies. I cant say I've ever seen anyone get in or out of a taxi in HK with a car seat. I'm trying to decide what to buy to travel around HK (by taxi) and want to know how others do it, or do people just not use car seats and put baby on the knee etc??? I'm making decisions about buying stroller etc and know that car seats come with some models but want to know what others do.

Thanks Cara, you always have very practical and useful advice - i do love reading your replies. One more question on this "sit n stroll' is can it be used for a newborn as whilst i watched the advert, they dont show it flat lying for a newborn? Do you suggest to use it for a newborn or do you think generally people in HK dont use car seats that much or at all - i know overseas people would not dream about taking a baby out in a car without a car seat but it seems to me that people dont think its so important in HK?? I do see kids sitting on the amah's lap on the bus and i hate to think what would happen if the bus stopped suddenly.

"I cant say I've ever seen anyone get in or out of a taxi in HK with a car seat. "


Haven't seen us then. ;)


For 2+, Compass makes a great foldable booster. ( http://www.amazon.com/Compass-Premier-Folding-Adjustable-Booster/dp/B000HHYJKS ). Don't know if they sell it in HK. For under two, we use our cast-iron US seat and deal with the hassle.


I have seen quite a few kids with harnesses of various kinds.



"I do see kids sitting on the amah's lap on the bus and i hate to think what would happen if the bus stopped suddenly."


For all but the most extreme of braking, holding the baby on the bus works. And even in an accident, a bus has so much more inertia than a car. You simply don't get the kind of deceleration forces you get in a car. That's why in the US and most Western European countries, seatbelts and carseats are mandated for cars but not buses.


We have no problem taking my kids on the bus without a carseat. Conversely we always use carseats in taxis.

axptguy38 - do you have any experience of the seatbelt not being big enough to fit round the car seat? We are currently choosing pushchair etc and someone mentioned a carseat being a waste of time for this reason? Thanks.

I have also used a sit-n-stroll in taxis here. I would say it's OK for about 4 months plus and I definitely would not put a newborn in one, the are very upright and there is a no way a newborn could hold his/her head up adequately. They are also very heavy (around 10-12kgs). They are designed so that you supposedly take it out of the car, with the child still strapped in, hold it with one hand, pop the wheels down and away you go. In reality you'd need to be very strong to do that given the combined weight of a 6 month+ baby and a sit-n-stroll could be 20kgs or more!! For what it's worth, I've found the taxi drivers are usually somewhat perplexed with my messing around trying to get the seat in, however will always wait patiently for me to get it sorted out.


I have always been able to fit the taxi seatbelts around the sit-n-stroll which is pretty sizeable, in some cases only just. A seat or capsule where you loop the belt through the back definitely wouldn't have that problem.


I agonised over the car seat issue before I moved to HK with my then 4 month old. What I found is that a) after seeing the way some people, including some taxi drivers, drive here I wouldn't dream of taking my son in one without a seat, full stop and b) because of the hassle I've tended to stick to driving myself or using public transport whereever possible, or I leave my son with my helper when I need to go out. PT can be a bit of a hassle sometimes but much, much safer than taxis without carseats.

"axptguy38 - do you have any experience of the seatbelt not being big enough to fit round the car seat? We are currently choosing pushchair etc and someone mentioned a carseat being a waste of time for this reason? Thanks."


Never a problem for us, but of course I don't know every make of carseat. Our seats use a bit less belt than a person. When you get the seat, look in the manual and on the seat at the attachment method. This should give you some idea.


We used a Graco Snugride for 0-6 months. Britax Marathon for 6-24 months. Compass Bosster for 24+. Even on the Snugride, which requries the belt to go over the child, it wasn't an issue.


Carseats are never a waste of time. They have saved countless lives and prevented countless injuries. Sure, it's a hassle, but life with kids will never be as easy as without. All things considered, this is not a lot more extra work.



If I may give a suggestion about pushchairs: get two. One battleship that you can use for walking (Bugaboo, Phil and Ted or similar) and one lightweight for public transport and so forth (MacLaren, Quinny or similar). In the US we used just the battleship since parking is easy and there's lots of space. Here we use both in equal measure.


Also note that horizontal and flat is the recommended position up to 6 months. So a MacLaren is not really perfect for all applications. Here in HK, I would say that you can use the MacLaren when you need the light weight and small size (no way around it), but for walking the baby a lie flat horizontal bed is a must (Bugaboo, Phil and Ted's, etc...)