I guess the trick is to introduce the car seat as early as possible, like as early as on your way back from the hospital after delivery. Cause if they don’t have a choice, they can’t complain. Also babies are creatures of habit and once they are use to it, they’ll be fine. - Suet

Like Suet, we introduced the car seat right from the begining. We had no choice though as it is a requirement that babies/children must travel in car seats. We did have some tough spells with Suraiya as we use take her out on long journeys and that kinda spoilt all our good intentions …… as you do with the first borns! She too use to howl when she was strapped in for too long but we bit the bullet and on one journey let her howl for a long time without giving in to her. After that she was ok about it. Zulaikhas has been the total opposite. It’s been a breeze with her. She’s not fussed at all but that’s becuase we didn’t (even once) get her out of her car seat - these little beings are very clever and know just how to manipulate their parents! - Nazreen (Malaysian in UK)

If the Government made car seat compulsory, a lot of people will have to change their cars or forget about going out at all! Our cars are not even made to fit car seats. I drive a Kancil and my rear seat belts are definitely not made to strap in car seats. That reminds me that I’ll have to go to an accessory shop to fit proper seat belts for car seats. I am definitely all for car seats and seat belts. An average of RM500 is a small price to pay for a child’s safety. Sometimes, it is worth going to Singapore for a holiday (especially if you have friends or relatives staying there) and getting baby stuff there. - Min