We were worried about how we would manage moving about in cars in Singapore.

Owning a car is very expensive which is how Singapore keeps it's traffic reasonable. We are happy using public transit and have no intent to get a car ourselves, but sometimes a ride is required.

In Singapore only 6% of children are restrained properly in a car. The law is basically the same as in Canada - if you are under 1.35 m (4.43 ft) you need to be in a car seat (or booster seat). You are exempt if you are in a cab, shuttle, or bus. Even in those I'd rather the kids be in car seats. We usually use Grab, and car seats are mandatory in that mode of transport.

This is when we took a shuttle back from a day at the zoo, before we figured out car seats.

Of course our Canadian car seats weren't legal here in Singapore either. Many cars don't have the top anchor they needed. So what to do? We got rid of 2 of our 3 car seats before we came and brought only one for the plane trip. We used it on our first few car trips, like from the airport and to our permanent home, but we knew it wasn't installed properly. After we moved we left the car seat in the unairconditioned room off the Yard and it molded - so that's gone now. We got a few rides that had 6 seats in the back so 3 seats were rear face and we put the kids on that side. In Canada we would leave Ms.I rear-facing for while more, but here that's almost impossible.

Our car seat solution is the Mifold. We got 2 as they are for ages 4 and up. The Mifold works by using a strap to bring the car's seat belt down to the right level at the shoulder and the sides holds the belt out at the bottom so it sits properly across the child's hips instead of cutting them across the belly because they are too small. The Mifold collapses down to almost nothing (just over a hand wide and about an inch thick). I toss them in the bottom of the stroller or in my backpack and don't even notice they are there. That's 2 kids taken care of; then I call Grab Family (age 1-3) to accommodate Ms.I.

Grab Family arrives with one carseat. Urban Kanga seems to be the carseat of choice in these. It's quick to install. I hate that the carseats here only have a 3 point harness. It doesn't look safe to me; It's a 5 point harness in Canada.

The Driver usually has to get the carseat out of the trunk. I always check it's properly installed. The drivers insist on buckling Ms.I in, but they never do it tight enough. They're always shocked that Ms.I is excited be buckled in. All our kids love the car.

Usually the Grab Family vehicles are a van, but occasionally we get to squish into a car. The Drivers look a little panicked when they pull up and see 3 kids and a double stroller. It often takes us close to 10 minutes to get us all settled into the car. I should really tip these drivers.

Getting out doesn't take us long, but the Drivers always seem to unbuckle Ms.I and release her on the car side of the road while I'm busy getting out the 2 bigger kids, unlatching the 2 Mifolds from the seatbelts, and get the stroller opened up. People are used to there being only one child and just don't realize the logistics of managing 3 on the side of the road. At that point the Drivers realize what they've done, and panic a little trying to regain control of the 2 year old they have released.