As a mum of two children living in Spain, and frequently flying back to the UK, I was delighted when Cheeky Rascals asked us to review the BubbleBum booster seat. We have said adios to our two car seats many times at the large luggage desk at the airport, and I cannot complain as they have so far always found their way back to us.  However, I do anticipate the day when we go our separate ways, never to be reunited again.  And, I’ve never been tempted to hire booster seats along with the car hire as you cannot guarantee quality or availability.

And so, the idea of an inflatable booster seat that we can pack up securely in our bags is ideal, but does the BubbleBum work?  Here’s our BubbleBum review….

The Bubblebum is super lightweight.

I know the blurb said it was less than a half a kilo, but to be honest, I was never good at judging weights.  But once I had the booster seat in my hands, I was really surprised at just how light it was.  I imagined that the tough fabric would be heavy, but my three year old could easily add the BubbleBum to her aeroplane hand luggage and carry it herself.

Inflating the BubbleBum.

It took me a few seconds to work out how to stop the air coming out of the valve, but only because I hadn’t seen one like it before.  The valve has a twist mechanism which you can lock while still blowing (try it and then you’ll understand what I mean!).  Some Amazon customers commented that it was difficult to put back into the orginal bag, but you just have to roll it to deflate, and close the valve to stop it reinflating itself.

Is the BubbleBum booster seat is safe?

OK, so I can’t test this to the extent of a reconstructed car accident of course and to be honest I had my doubts, so I took a look at what BubbleBum had to say about car safety and the use of child booster seats.  The BubbleBum booster is ECE regulation R44/04 approved (click on the link for more technical information on the regulation).  BubbleBum explain that a child booster seat is designed so that basically, the 3 point seat belt is in the correct position for the child.  One of the aspects of the 3 point belt is in protecting the abdominal area, and as such, the seat belt should sit on the child’s lap and not across their belly.  On both my 7 and almost 4 year old, the BubbleBum did indeed keep the seat belt on the lap. I have read some reviews that say the seat belt cuts across the neck area, but I don’t see that there is any difference between the Bubblebum and other boosters without seatbelt adjusters in this respect.  If this is the case with your child, you’ll need a seperate seat adjuster anyway. In other safety aspects, I obviously can’t add any more, and have to rely on the fact that it complies with the necessary regulation.

Bum comfort; it’s important right?

Both my children agreed that the BubbleBum booster was much more comfortable than the hard rigid boosters.  I had thought they might wriggle around on it too much, but if anything, it slips less than the plastic seats.  As extra security, I would like to see the bottom of the seat made of rubber or with rubber patches to prevent any slippage at all.  Both my girls loved the purple design, but perhaps a boy might prefer a different colour?

More than just a holiday gadget:

My oldest daughter is often asked back to friends houses after school and usually we have to coordinate a meet up to handover booster seats, but she can easily fit the BubbleBum into her school bag.  Perfect.  Alternatively we can keep it in the car in case we unexpectedly have extra children in the car, which has been known from time to time.

And, when we have visitors and have to have 3 in the back of the car, it’s not always comfortable to sit inbetween two booster seats.  However, the BubbleBums, when inflated, take up less room than the plastic boosters and are a lot comfier to sit against.  It’s an extra bonus for us.

All in all, we think the BubbleBum is an excellent solution for taking on holiday and, far from being flung in the cupboard with the bucket and spade until next year’s holiday, we’ll be using it many many times over.

Source: BabyAbroad