Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

Becles

Would this sort of booster seat fit?



My sons have used them since about 4-5 years old.

Can I just ask, what's the comment regarding the law in May about? My 9 year old doesn't have a car seat and just uses the adult belts. He's nearly 5' tall, so I didn't think a car seat was necessary anymore?

gingefam

- Congratulations hope all goes well for you.

When I first told my husband that no 3 was on the way, his very first comment was "we will have to sell the focus - get a bigger car". DS1 7, DD1 6, DD2 now 6 months and we all fit in. Use a "rock a tot" type car seat in the centre back for the baby, and two highline/highback booster seats each side for the other two. Bit of a squash but the baby also acts as a fight free zone between the other two.

The rockatot will be outgrown by the time we head to France in the summer so the great car debate has started again. I have found on the Britax website a good car seat tool which will tell you which seats will fit where in specific car models - if using a car seat in the centre section it will also tell you if other seats can be used either side. (dont know the website url tho' sorry).

The problem with 3 seats is doing up the belts ech time - If you go for the more expensive car seat option which fasten the seats to the car on a more permanent basis (with a 3 or 5 point harness done attached which does up each journey) it is possible to squeeze 3 in - and is cheaper than buying a new car.

On the new car front though I would like a car with 3 equal size seats in the back for 3 equal sized car seats (rather than the 2.5 that you get with a standard car) - but DH - and finances - rule out an MPV. Any ideas ?

HTH

Lorian

Becles wrote:

Can I just ask, what's the comment regarding the law in May about? My 9 year old doesn't have a car seat and just uses the adult belts. He's nearly 5' tall, so I didn't think a car seat was necessary anymore?

From September. See FAQ and Summary. Looks like he's OK in the back seats, and borderline in the front one, due to height.

I see there is a note about not being able to get three seats in the back too:

10. What if I can't fit 3 child seats in the back of my car?
If a car has 3 seat belts in the rear, and 2 occupied child seats or boosters prevent the fitting of a third, a third child 3 years or over may then use an adult belt. If there is room, it would be safer for the third child to travel in the front seat and use the correct child seat or booster.

Becles

Thanks.
My Mam was saying I should try and get my 7 year old off the booster seat as he's too old for it, but he likes it as he can't see out the back window without it (daft back windows - more like tiny port holes!) Will have the law to back us up now

troll35

I would take your car to a specialized baby shop and explain your problem. They should be willing to experiment with you on fitting the various seats into your car so that all your children are suitably restrained and protected.
Thankfully my astra has ample room for 3 seats in the back, currently 1 2nd/3rd stage seat, 1 booster and either a rock a tot or a booster with back depending on the children I am looking after on any given day.
Good luck

brummiebabe

Thanks for all the replies -I think we're going to wait until a bit closer to the time to decide what to do! I've been looking at the Ford Focus c-Max - this looks ideal!!!!!

The maddening thing is that we only changed the car in December - previously had a Citroen Xzara Picasso (an MPV) which would have done the job perfectly!!!!!:p

code-a-holic

I know exactly what you are going through!
I have a 4 yr old, 1 yr old and 4 mth old and had a peugout 306 and hubby a mondeo. There was no chance of getting 3 in the back.
My son was on the graco booseter mentioned above and my toddler in a standard seat. Only just enough room for someone to sit in the middle. So i got a scenic....thinking the 3 back seats were all full size - on testing after buying - the graco booster is wider than the middle seat.(didnt want baby next to toddler - to risky!). Baby was born and only way to do it was to put baby in the front seat - when we went on family outings hubby sat in the middle in the back!(he cant drive manual on his licence so i had to drive evrywhere!)
Have now bought a 7 seater Sharan, only way i could find it posible!
Have found out that the citroen picasso has full size seats in the back so could fit 3 child seats in the back...although you may still be a bit of a squeze!
Good luck!

mercman_3

Once again we require your combined knowledge & wisdom to try and help us with this problem

We currently use a bebe confort Cretis car seat. This seat has been really very good and were really pleased with it. Trouble is it was sold & advertised as being between 0 - 9 months or upto 13Kg!

our DD is now 6 months old and 19 lbs +, and she is uncomfortable in the seat

She really looks wedged into it and you can almost hear the 'pop' as you get her out! now, naturally she has NOt exceeded ANY of the criteria of the seat and yet we are going to have to replace it with something she fits into!

Our problem is that she has also recently started nursery. this on its own does not cause any problems, but with both Wife & I working it is going to be a case of whoever is free to pick her up goes for her

Well, here now is the problem. 2 cars, 1 baby.....what to do about a child seat?

Our solution i think would be to buy 2 seats, how expensive is that though! I do not want to buy 2 cheap seats and compromise on safety. we were looking at the baby confort iesis (think thats how its spelt). trouble is at over £100 each makes it really really expensive

What views have you got out there regarding differing seats, where is the best place to research their safety records and quality of manufacture

Would be prepared to pay upto £150 for 2 seats, unless somebody has any other options we can consider?

thanks for your time in reading a long winded post. just wanted to give as much info as possible


Regards

Pete

black-saturn

Always go by weight with car seats, not by age. Have you thought about buying a couple of booster seats? They sell them in Argos for a reasonable price and they are much more comfortable for the child without compromising on safety.

purplepurple

Have a look at Kiddicare on most of their car seats you'll get a slight discount if you buy more than one... having a quick look, these ones could do your daughter up to 6 years old (depending on weight and height of course) and are only £42 each if you buy 2 of them....