Buying a bigger new car for your family

If you have just decided to expand your family to include some new members, it might be time to upgrade the car. With children now needing to be in boosters seats until 7 years old in most states it can start to be a very tight squeeze once you add the 3rd child to a standard sized family car. Here are some things to consider.

Spacing of children ages

As you need to put children under 7 years old into booster seats, it's not simply a matter of having enough seats but also ensuring that you can fit and clip all of the car seats in. While baby seats tend to be installed once and left in place with a front secured harness, booster seats use the cross shoulder seatbelt. This means you need to be able to reach over and around the booster seat to secure the child. It's important to plan ahead so that you don't suddenly find you can't reach in between the car seats to do up a new booster seat, when your older children start to age out of baby carseats.  

Seating and boot capacity

If you have a larger family you might want to consider having capacity in your new car to give lifts to the children's friends for playdates and so on. This is particularly useful once the kids hit school age, as you can take turns with other parents ferrying children to and from after school activities. Remember to also check the boot capacity as some car models sacrifice boot space for more seating space, and this can be an issue if you have a lot of kids. 

Seat set-up

If you have a large family and children that tend to bicker, it can be useful to have these children separated in different rows of the car. Having a small barrier such as a seat or gap between seats can stop your children antagonising each other and make for a much more peaceful ride for all involved. 

It can also be useful to have a seat set-up that has a space for everyone to stow a drink and/or snack, as this can stop drink and food spillages in the back of the car which can be stressful for the kids and the parent who needs to clean it up. 

There are more and more attractive and functional large cars on the market that cater to larger families. Why not head into the new car yard and start looking at which model might be best for your family?


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