Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

Mummy_Jo

Hi there -

this is a tricky situation and one that as a parent you need to be comfortable that you have made the right choice. My daughter is now 10 months too and is about to go into the next stage car seat. However, we've been through this once before a little more than 18 months ago. First time around we bought the Maxi cosi priori (has been superceded now) we were lucky and managed to get one for £60.00 as they were changing the colour.

However, now I would recommend that you do not do that!

We have just bought the Britax evolva which is a car seat that goes from 9mths to 11 years!! RRP is about £130 but kiddicare are doing them from £74.99 - £79.99. I would really advise doing this as you will save money in the long run. The car seat is really substantial and it is really safe too. There are only a few (maybe two or three) on the market that go from 9mths to 11 years and I wish that I had bought this first time round.

We have a SAAB 9-5 and it fits perfectly but I would recommend that you go to somewhere like mothercare and get them to try it in your car first in case it doesn't fit.

I really hope that you get somewhere soon and that you find your way through the maze that is car seats. The most important thing whatever you decide is to make sure that you get the car seat that fits your car the best that is the only way to make sure that it is safe.

Just a thought but could you stagger the buying of the car seats for a month or so through buying one and keeping your son in his first car seat for a little while longer then when you have a bit more money you could purchase the second one. This is what we are doing with my daughter. She is at the right weight to move up but still has a little head room left on her first car seat.

Let me know how you get on. If you have any other questions please ask again

BernadetteN

I know this doesn't sound very MSE but I would buy a seat that fits your car first, then look at the price tag. If you can afford to buy and run a car, the price of a car seat for a child is an insignificant cost.

Britax have a FitFinder part of their website where you can check if your car fits their seats. Then you go to Halfords, Mothercare etc and try the seats outm then you come home and try and get the seat cheaper from an online shop! We checked the Britax Evolva at Mothercare then bought it from Kiddicare.

lornaj1973

Thanks for all your replies. You've been very helpful! :T

I've been so worried thinking we just couldn't afford 2 new seats (a big change in circumstances recently has had a major financial impact) but you've put my mind at ease and made me realise I don't need to rush.

I checked the headroom on his current seat & he's still got space there - I didn't realise that was a factor. That gives us a bit of time and we can buy one car seat just now, and another a couple of months down the line.

Who knew car seats could be so complicated.......;)

I am off now to order a Britax Evolva from Kiddicare. Then I'm going to get some stuff on e-bay to earn some extra cash to buy another one.

Great advice - thanks! :A

bumpybecky

Mummy_Jo wrote: »

We have just bought the Britax evolva which is a car seat that goes from 9mths to 11 years!! RRP is about £130 but kiddicare are doing them from £74.99 - £79.99. I would really advise doing this as you will save money in the long run. The car seat is really substantial and it is really safe too. There are only a few (maybe two or three) on the market that go from 9mths to 11 years and I wish that I had bought this first time round.

hmmmm....

given that the recommendations are that car seats should only be used for 5-6 years before being replaced (due to the plastic degrading and becoming unsafe), how does that work with seats for 9mths - 11 years???

having said that, do you really think you'll be using a car seat until your child is 11? my eldest is above the legal height limit and she's an avergae height 9 year old. She does still use her seat, but I can't see that going on for another 2 years.

MERFE

I have thought about the car seat that last longer in the past but in reality they just don't fit the car, only been able to find one car seat that fits properly in our car and that typically is a maxi cosi toby so for 150 pounds we have a much safer child, is worth every penny, loads better than the one mothercare sold us then a year later when trying to get a car seat for ds told us didn't fit the car properly, ggggrrr! They fitted it at the time so that was 90 pounds down the drain!

zippybungle

Can anyone recommend a good car seat for a 2 year old? - one that is hard to escape from!
I have a Britax one at the moment (can't remember what model is it, but it's one which changes from a car seat into a booster seat). The Car seat is approx 5 years old and my eldest son used to use it with no problems till he was 4. My 2 year old however is very.........shall we say 'headstrong' and can escape out of the Car Sear whilst I am driving the Car :eek: - no matter how tight I try to fasten the straps, he slips one arm out, then the other, then one leg and out he gets! I have tried telling him not to do it (tried the nicely nicely approach and the firm approach) but once he gets it into his head that he wants to get out of the seat then there is no getting through to him.
It has taken me an extra 45 mins to get into work today as I have had to stop the Car 3 times to 'wrestle' him back into the seat (with him throwing a full scale tantrum :eek: ). I am 6 months Pregnant and could do without the extra stress! :mad:
I am at the end of my tether - HELP
Zippy x

tieg3

I can't recommend a car seat but have seen these :

High Performance Harness Clip
Stops your child from getting out of the car seat, Pushchair or Highchair etc.,

Patented Lock-Tite harness clip is curved for a correct infant fit yet strong enough for a 65 lb child. For all harness webbing up to 1.5”/39mm.
Made of nylon

This product has been extensively CRASH TESTED

Please note, the lock-tite will only fit harnesses that can be threaded through the clip. If buckles etc., cannot be removed then the lock-tite clip is not suitable
"Where has this super gadget been" We have hundreds of satisfied customers, this lock-tite is a must for all parents read their comments in our feedback category

HTH;)

the_other_mce

Hello Zippybungle- there was a thread on this recently but I can't find it at the moment. I will look for it for you but in my experience I had to buy both my kids a 'grown up type' car seat with a seat belt like an adults. Worth a try as it was the only thing that worked.....

anonymousie

the_other_mce wrote: »

Hello Zippybungle- there was a thread on this recently but I can't find it at the moment. I will look for it for you but in my experience I had to buy both my kids a 'grown up type' car seat with a seat belt like an adults. Worth a try as it was the only thing that worked.....

Beg to differ on this, an escapologist will be no better in a seat that fixes with the seatbelt, and will be an awful lot LESS safe as this is an inappropriate sort of seat for their age/weight/height. A 2yr old needs a 5 point harness, full stop.

Someone will no doubt direct you to the which reports and the scary videos on U tube. If a quick browse through those that show the importance of a 5 point harness seat doesn't convince you, nothing will (be prepared with hankies though, most are made by bereaved families as tributes to the children they lost because they were not in appropriate care seats).

Yes you can buy gadgets to hold the straps together and straight jacket the child in- they might help, ultimately you need to teach the child that the car doesn't move till they are safely strapped in. Harsh, but that's how it is, I value my kids lives more than getting anywhere on time, and I'm sure you do too.

The strtategy you, and your DH must adopt is that everytime dear child gets out of car seat then you stop, turn the engine off, explain and wait for the tantrum to stop and him to get back into the seat.

As with all toddler behaviour modification it will be difficult and the behaviour will get worse before it gets better, but I would bet on a week of absolute insistance you'd get the behaviour you want rather than the attention seeking he is displaying at the moment (that is what it is, it is boring sitting in a car seat and someone needs to take notice of me...). You could make being in the car seat more interesting- an in car DVD player (for what £100 maybe, invaluable if your child stays strapped in and safe) to play favourite videos (and of course to be switched off when junior gets out) would be helpful.

Keep calm but firmly insistent, it will work honest (ever read toddler taming by Dr Christopher Green- these are the strategies he employs).

Bribery for your older child to help will help too as they will have to put up with spending ages in the car going nowhere!

OK off my soapbox now! Car seats are soooo important.

alanalea

I started a thread about this about 2 weeks ago because my 2yo daughter does exactly the same!

THREAD HERE

Anyways, I was advised to use a SNUGSIT kindly provided by Suekjw . I've only had to use it once, because Tabitha was so annoyed with me for using it, she won't risk me using it again. The arms have since stayed in their straps!