In October last year, I wrote about how three of the kids were involved in their first photo shoot, which was for a new child booster seat for Britax Safe-n-Sound. The lovely picture above was taken on that day.
Part of the arrangement was we would receive an Encore 10 of our own to review and one to give away on the blog. As I noted recently, one of my aims this year with the blog is to try and find more ways to give back to the community. So I asked the lovely folks at Britax if instead of giving one away on the blog, if I could give one directly to St Kilda Mums.
For those of you who may not of heard of St Kilda Mums, they are a not-for-profit organisation based in St Kilda, Melbourne, who collect donations of nursery equipment and recycle cots, prams, bassinets, clothes and other baby essentials, and make sure they meet safety requirements. Since February 2009 they have re-homed over 5500 individual items, depicted in the infographic below:
Britax were very happy for me to do this and they have previously gifted dozens of capsules and carseats free of charge to St Kilda Mums. But car safety is so important, St Kilda Mums are always in need of more, so please consider them if you no longer need car seats or other baby items which are in great condition.
Britax Safe-n-Sound The Encore 10 Expandable Booster Seat Review
It has been over 12.5 years since we have had only one car seat in our car. That is 12.5 years of squishing my hands in between car seats to do up seat belts. So the first thing I have to say about the Encore 10 is how I wish I had it years ago!
This is master six trying without success to do up his own seat belt in our old booster. He did this for the photo, but we usually don’t even get him to try as it is too hard. It is either myself of his dad that has to do him up each time.
And now we have this! The narrow base of the Encore 10, means there is now plenty of room for him to put his hand between the car seats himself. I do check that he has fastened his seat belt correctly, but he can do it up and undo his seatbelt himself.
This seat is so much safer than the previous booster we had him in. The Encore 10 has:
- SICT – Side Impact Cushion Technology. The head protection is far superior to anything else we have used. The SICT has been designed to minimise the crash energy generated from a side impact crash, diverting forces away from the child.
- SLIDEGUARD – this prevents kids from sliding under the lap-belt during an impact, which can cause serious injury if it occurs.
The Encore 10 definitely has the safety aspects covered, but it also has some fun options for the kids too:
- You can plug an iPod into the cord from the seat and there are speakers in the headrest!
- A drink holder which you can move to either side, depending on the way you have position the Encore 10 in the car.
- It is super comfortable for the kids, with great support which will be fab for our long drives to Mildura.
Current legislation has it that children must remain in an approved forward facing booster seat until the age of seven, but with the Encore 10 you can leave them comfortably in the seat for much longer. The picture on the car seat box, features our 11 year old!
EDIT: The information on the Vic Roads website is as follows:
The road rules require a child aged 7 years to under 16 years of age to travel in either an approved booster seat or an adult seatbelt. The type of restraint will depend on the child’s size. Drivers and passengers 16 years and over are required to travel in an adult seatbelt.
A child should continue using a booster seat until they have outgrown it. An adult lap-sash seatbelt is designed for people with a minimum height of about 145 cm. The average child will reach this height between 10 to 12 years of age.
The Details:
- Price: The Encore 10 has an RRP of $349 and you can find stockists using the search function on the Britax website.
- Age: It has been designed for children aged approx for 4 – 10 years old. You can use the Encore 10 once your child’s shoulder’s are in line with the mark when the headrest is in the lowest position.
- Colour options: It comes in either Black Grey or Mars Red
Connect with Britax:
- Facebook – Britax have a very active facebook page, which will keep you up to date on their products and also answer your questions. And if you take a look at the moment, you will see our second son is on the cover page photo!
- Pinterest – they have some great boards for inspiration on healthy living and their products.
Are you currently still squishing your hands between car seats to get everyone safely in the car?