The cheap hand luggage that keeps my kids safe and saves me a fortune on holidays abroad
THERE'S an item of luggage that can cost as little as £10 that we've used all over the world and has been a gamechanger for travelling with little ones.
We've got car seat backpacks that can be used to carry children's snacks and toys, but also keeps the kids safe if we end up hiring a car or taking a taxi.
Given that the price of renting car seats can match the cost of hiring a rental car, it's a no-brainer to take our booster seat backpacks away with us, even if we're not sure how much we'll use them.
Most of my friends with children aged between three and eight now also have one because they've seen just how much use ours have had.
It's saved us hundreds of pounds over the years and made it easier for friends and family to give us lifts without worrying about falling foul of car safety laws.
We first started using our booster backpacks after a trip to Australia, when we hired car seats along with our rental vehicle.
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It was only when we got to a friend's house days later after travelling hundreds of miles on a road trip from Sydney, via the capital of Canberra, that she pointed out that we'd installed the seats incorrectly as Australian seats have an extra tether that we hadn't come across before.
After that experience, I decided it would be sensible to travel with our own car seats, as we would know how to install them safely and also that they hadn't been in a crash, which can make seats unsafe to use.
But obviously car seats can be very bulky and not easy to carry about, especially if you're in an airport with all your luggage and small children in tow.
So travel backpacks that doubled up as a seat were an ideal option as the boys could carry them themselves.
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They loved filling them up with all their bits and pieces for the flight and we could take them on as hand luggage in most cases.
Unfortunately some airlines have since changed their rules about the size of bags you can take into the cabin with you, so it's worth checking that out if you're flying, just so you don't end up paying extra at the airport to get them on the plane.
You also need to check car seat safety laws in the country you're visiting to make sure your booster seats comply.
Apart from flying aboard, these have also had lots of use while we've been at home.
If you've got to pick up an extra child from school or if your little ones are going out with grandparents, the booster seats are perfectly portable so you can quickly grab them on your way out of the door, with a change of clothes inside and any other bits they might need while out and about.
Travel backpacks that doubled up as a seat were an ideal option
They don't rely on isofix for installation so they work in all models of vehicles and they take less than a minute to get in place properly.
We have Boostapaks by Trunki, the firm behind the infamous kids' wheelie ride-on suitcases that you either love or hate.
They cost about £50 new, but you can pick up a secondhand one for £10.
I've even seen the occasional one for sale in charity shops.
Trunki says their seats are certified to European Union safety standards and are recommended for children under 135cm weighing between 15 and 36kg.
There's other options if you decide a booster backpack doesn't work for you.
We've also got an inflatable car seat that can squash down really small to fit inside other luggage, which we have used on occasion.
But really we're all big fans of our booster seats and now that my two older boys are too old to use them, they sometimes still look at them with longing after so many happy memories made during trips here and there.
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Meanwhile, passengers should always pack these three items in their hand luggage.
And this flight attendant revealed the versatile item she always packs for flights.
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