group 1 car seat connundrum and query!

dizziblonde

Probably worth saying what kind of car it's to go in since some cars can be more irritating to get car seats that fit in (cough... Vauxhalls... cough) than others.

For what it's worth we have a couple of Britaxes - First Class Plus and an Eclipse... both can recline with the child in them but the First Class one obviously has the rear facing option on it that the other doesn't... finding them less good now with a long legged 2 year old in them and the recline on them even sat fully vertical is a bit more than my youngest would like for long but they do the job.

I think the cheapest Britax is a one where you have to choose how reclined you want it before you fit it in the car though (Prince?) from when I was looking at them - but having said that - I rarely, if ever, fiddle with the recline on ours, and the other car we use for shorter local journeys has really basic seats in which don't recline at all - and I've never missed not having it there. Depends on your kid though - neither of mine will sleep if a pushchair's reclined either - so they're odd kids.

Gillyx

xyz123 wrote: »

Thanks. Where did u buy it from? Doesn't seem to be widely available.

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk

As far as I know they are the only place to stock it

Which aren't the best for reviews for car seats as it's not only safety they base it on, they also base it on silly things like how easy the cover is to get off and on. If you can get to Milton Keynes I'd recommend in car safety centre, they won't sell you anything that doesn't fit and safety is there upmost priority. I live in Scotland so couldn't get there but had a great chat over the phone with them

Ms_Chocaholic

We bought a Kiddy car seat for our grandson when he grew too big for the car seat.

Why did we buy it. It was top rated by Which and many other reviews. Would we buy again, definitely, so easy to use and most importantly our grandson will be safe in it. You can't always trust a brand name (Britax etc).

I'm a Which member, if you want any details from their reviews, please PM me. There might be a slight delay in replying however as I'm away for a few days.

Ms C x

Sagaris

xyz123 wrote: »

Thanks for replies. Little one is 14 months old and is rear facing in group 0+ car seat.

We don't seem to have a car seat fitting centre run by our council (hillingdon council in lindon).

Will look at which reports if I can get gold of them, but u never know what to make of it E. G. One of the few rear facing group 1seat joie stages is a don't buy. Don't know exact reason someone said due to poor side safety protection and some said just for being awkward to fit.

Enfield have a car seat fitting service I believe? Also the In Car Safety Centre in Milton Keynes is well worth a visit.

Which? do not like extended rear facing seats for some reason - probably because the major manufacturers do not promote them in this country, they have too much money to lose! The argument about them being difficult to fit is a bit strange as so many of them are ISOFIX. Even with belt fitting they are not awkward, as they suggest, I have fitted quite a few!

As a road safety officer, I would be keeping a child rear facing for as long as possible - but it's down to individual choice. If you are on Facebook there are a couple of interesting groups to look at, one is Car Seat Advice for Mummies and Daddies, the other is The ERF Mission.

xyz123

Thanks. Car is Honda civic hatchback 2002.

Will look at those Facebook pages.

I looked at joie stages and based on YouTube video the rear facing mode had such an extreme reclining position that child would be almost sleeping! Silly but rear facing and not able to see outs ide window just looks like a nightmare on long journeys . also in forward position reclininghas to be done before ssetting off! Sounds silly problems but just adds to the conundrum!

GracieP

There is no rear facing debate as debate implies that it's a subjective issue open to opinion. However the difference in safety between forward facing and rear facing is a scientifically objective fact. You can no more debate it than you can debate the issue of rocks being a nutritious meal. Rear facing is at least 5 times safer than forward facing for young children. Forward facing seats do not offer any protection when it comes to the internal effects of momentum following a crash. The body proportions of a young child mean that their head is a lot bigger on their frame than an adults and a crash that would cause us to suffer whiplash could cause permanent brain or spinal damage to a younger child and in many recorded cases, internal decapitation, ie the spinal cord snaps at the neck, causing instant death. If the child is rear facing, the issue of internal momentum is immediately and safely dealt with.

Why the law still allows for forward facing seats can be debated and my opinion is that the law moves slowly behind scientific knowledge. It always has done and will continue to do for the foreseeable. Look how long it took for rear seatbelts to become required by law for example. In time I don't doubt that forward facing seats will be illegal to forward face a child before the weigh 25kg. But just because it is still legal to expose our children to unnecessary risk doesn't mean that we should. Get a seat that rear faces until 25kg. Yes they are so much more expensive, and they really shouldn't be. Yes they take up more space in the car but car accidents are much bigger cause of serious injury and fatality than, for example, abduction. We as a society take all manner of stupid, damaging precautions against the infinitesimal risk of our children being abducted but don't make a small sacrifice to ensure the most safety possible when it comes to the very real risk of a car accident. We're doing it backwards for emotional reasons and it's time to look at the facts and get it right.

GobbledyGook

xyz123 wrote: »

Thanks. Car is Honda civic hatchback 2002.

Will look at those Facebook pages.

I looked at joie stages and based on YouTube video the rear facing mode had such an extreme reclining position that child would be almost sleeping! Silly but rear facing and not able to see outs ide window just looks like a nightmare on long journeys . also in forward position reclininghas to be done before ssetting off! Sounds silly problems but just adds to the conundrum!

Just to give a perspective on rear facing (my nearly 4yo still rear faces and my older 2 did until 3 and 5 respectively). They can see out the back window and side window. Plus if they go from rear-facing infant carrier to RF bigger seat they don't know any different. The only people I know who had huge issues with their child hating RF were one whose child is incredibly car sick and hates their car seat if it's RF, FF, strapped to the roof or locked in the boot and a couple of people who had a RF seat for the 'main' car and then the child was FF when being ferried around by childminder or grandparents so developed a preference.

Also with regards to the safety. Yes, they are all tested to a base standard so the law allows it. However the law is a base level. A cheap car, poor rated seat which is correctly fitted and the correct stage is going to be a better bet than a poorly fitted seat with all the bells and whistles that the child is too small for (which happens when people seem, for some reason, super eager to move their child out of the carrier style seats). It's just about the level of safety. Much like cars themselves - some are rated as 'ok' in terms of safety features and some, usually more expensive, have a lot more safety features and are safer.

The most basic thing though is that the car seat fits your vehicle properly, is fitted to the vehicle properly, that your child is the right size for it and is strapped in correctly (and is not wearing bulky coats or jumpers etc - the amount of times I want to lean into a strangers car and tighten the belts is unreal). Something around 6 out of 10 car seats are not fitted correctly.

GobbledyGook

GracieP wrote: »

Why the law still allows for forward facing seats can be debated and my opinion is that the law moves slowly behind scientific knowledge. Look how long it took for rear seatbelts to become required by law for example. It always has done and will continue to do for the foreseeable. In time I don't doubt that forward facing seats will be illegal to forward face a child before the weigh 25kg. But just because it is still legal to expose our children to unnecessary risk doesn't mean that we should.

Personally I think the law still allows for forward facing seats because they are better than no seat (now that they are starting to catch up with science). There are still a huge amount of people who don't take car seats seriously (the 'we had 12 of us sat on the back seat when I was a child and it did no harm' crew). It has taken years to make it a fact that when you leave hospital with your child that child will have a car seat.

Rear facing seats are more expensive and there are people who whilst they'll spent £50 on a car seat because it saves hassle and is less than the fine for not having a seat simply wouldn't (or couldn't) spend the extra that it would cost if only the RF seats were available. I know there is an argument that the RF seats would become cheaper if they were more common however.

GwylimT

We rear face until at least three years of age.

The most important things for us are rear facing, the seat has been crash tested in that model with the same seating, and it fits the car well. You can have a seat that has been crashed tested in your car and is sold as fitting, but it doesn't, so always try before you buy.

mogwai

We have the britax dualfix which is rearfacing to 4 years and also swivels to make it easy to put the child in the seat. It's expensive but my little one (14 mths) seems to find it quite comfortable.

We're thinking of getting a cheaper rear facing belt and isofix seat for my dhs car, the joie I-anchor seems quite good and has got good reviews and you can buy the base for £100 otherwise it's about £160 which would fit
Your budget.

Agree with others though that you should try a fitting in your car before you buy..