The Most Useful Baby & Toddler Gear for Your Family Car

The Most Useful Baby & Toddler Gear for Your Family Car

Having children changes a lot about your life and something that definitely is useful when you have kids, is to kit out your car to make car journeys as smooth and easy as possible.

Of course, you need to have safe and comfortable car seats for your little ones and this is the only thing that’s absolutely essential. We have the Kiddy Evoluna Infant Carrier with Lie-Flat Technology for our baby (full review here) and the Koochi Kickstart Group 1 Car Seat for our eldest. We’re really happy with these car seats and you can change the angle on both which is great for naps in the car. Both girls are growing out of their car seats now though so it’s almost time to upgrade!

Other things that are useful for kids of all ages is to have a good quality universal boot liner to protect the boot from dirty pram wheels or boots and also rubber floor mats that can easily be cleaned. Kids often manage to make a mess and it’s good to be prepared.

More Baby & Toddler Car Accessories

• If your baby or toddler is sat in a rear-facing car seat (which is recommended for as long as possible), it’s so useful to have a large baby car mirror on the headrest in front of them so that you can easily check on them to see that they’re okay.
• Whether you’re going for a long drive or a shorter one, having some entertainment for your toddler is a good idea. Just some small toys or books that they can easily reach and play with. Keeping things organised makes life easier and you can get car seat organisers to keep everything together. This one has lots of pockets and even holds four drinks! It could also be used in the boot to keep a spare change of clothes (always a good idea), a first aid kit, cleaning wipes and other essentials — emergency snacks maybe!
• If you’re going on a longer car journey, a travel play tray is great for toddlers and older children. I remember seeing these on Pinterest and thinking they’re a great idea. It means your child has a surface to play on or snack on and it keeps small items from falling down too.
• If you have children in nappies, always keep a travel changing mat stocked with a few nappies, baby wipes, hand sanitiser and nappy bags. It’s great to not have to take a full changing bag for every car journey or to just have it in the car for if you ever forget your changing bag or stay out longer than planned and need more supplies. We have this blue one from Bibetta. Read my full review here.
• Window sun shades are so important in the car. They help keep your children cool, protect them from the sun and help them stay asleep. We have some Peppa Pig ones that we got with a Mother & Baby magazine years ago but are looking to get some new ones with more coverage.
• If there’s no room for a car seat organiser, a small snack holder can be a great solution if your little one is a snacker. My eldest always wants her water bottle so the Munchkin Deluxe Snack and Drink Pod that you just attach to the car seat would be great for her. It’s got two compartments to hold a drink and a snack pot. You get the snack pot with it too.
• Car seat protectors are also very handy when you have children and not only to protect your seats from kicking feet! They usually come with pockets to store little things and help keep the car tidy. We have the Summer Infant Car Seat Back Protector* on our baby’s side which looks great as it’s clear. It’s got pockets to hold toys or snacks etc. and the plastic is so easy to wipe clean. On the three-year-old’s side, we have a Peppa Pig car seat organiser because she loves Peppa Pig. I also bought this one because it has a pocket to hold an iPad which is amazing (and essential) on long journeys!
• We also have the Diono Ultra Mat Deluxe Seat Protector that protects the seat the car seat is on, has handy pockets (you can never have too many pockets!) and an integrated car seat sun shade to keep the car seat cool on sunny days. Read my full review here.

* Sample for review for this post.