Car Free Parenting

Elizabeth Ford talks about her decision to be green by using her local transport from the train to a car sharing scheme she’ll be reviewing how each option works for her and her family.

Although we both hold driving licences, my husband and I have never owned a car. This is because we’ve always lived in cities and managed with walking and public transport. When we had our daughter, we did consider the possibility we would need a car but decided we would wait and see how we got on. Our little girl is now 21 months and we still don’t own a car, by choice. We’ve managed well by hiring cars for occasions when luggage was an issue (Christmas, summer holidays) and using the train the rest of the time. Here are my hints and tips on managing train journeys with little ones.

The main issue is the size of your pram and the fact that many stations still have steps. This is manageable if you’re with someone else and fairly strong, my husband and I have lugged our heavy “Loola Up” up and down station steps together on several occasions. We now use a Maclaren Techno XT which is much lighter but also lies flat for small babies or daytime naps. When I’ve travelled on my own through London, especially on the tube, I’ve very rarely had to bump a pushchair up or down steps on my own. Almost invariably a passerby has stopped to help. However, on a recent journey, I decided to do away with the pushchair altogether. I was going to stay with my parents and I knew they had a cot, highchair, carseat and buggy all ready for me at the other end. So I took my toddler in a patapum toddler carrier. This goes on your front or your back and is high backed to support the spine of a toddler. I managed to get all the way from Brighton to Suffolk, crossing London, with my daughter on my front and with a back pack on my back. The drawback with this was there was nowhere for her to sleep. On the way up she managed to sleep for about 50 minutes lying on my tummy but woke up as soon as I had to change trains.

As mentioned above, the real key to train travel is having as much as possible there for you at the other end. If you’re staying with family members they may be able to borrow all the baby equipment you need. If you’re staying in a hotel or B&B, check they supply cots and highchairs. And don’t forget a carseat if you’re being picked up by someone at the other end or are hiring a car. We got an extended infant carseat (0+ category) and our daughter fitted into it until 19 months (11kg). When we travelled to the south of France by Eurostar and TGV, we took it with us and it was light and small enough to hang over the handle of the Maclaren. Now she needs a category 1 carseat (9-25kg) we won’t be able to do this anymore so it means either stumping up for hiring one with the hire car or borrowing one somehow at our destination. Legally, you don’t need a carseat in taxis but whether you want to risk your child being unrestrained in one is up to you.

Lastly, how can you entertain your child on the train? In my experience this is much easier than in a car. The child can move around, you can walk up and down the aisle with them, and have them on your lap to read stories or play games. IPads and smartphones are invaluable with baby friendly apps, or you can download favourite cbeebies programmes onto a laptop and play them in the train for some downtime. Take plenty of books, and favourite toys. I also find having a succession of snacks takes up plenty of time, for example, my daughter will spend ages nibbling away at a whole apple quite happily. Other passengers are a good resource, older people especially are often willing to make conversation and entertain your little one. Once they get to a certain age, trains are very exciting for little ones and they should enjoy the journey.

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