Graco Junior Car Seat

Shez

I've purchased one of these seats recently for my son and was wondering if anyone has heard or read any safety reviews for this seat?

I thought I heard that it had the minimum safety requirements and was not very safe - yet it seems to have good reviews from mother and baby mag??

If anyone has any thoughts, would be glad of some help.

many thanks

s@sha

This month's Which? magazine has done a stringent test on child car seats, and though all of them meet the required industry standards, some of them did not do very well in Which? 's own (stricter) tests. Maybe that's what you heard about?

I've got this month's Which, but I'm not at home right now otherwise I'd look up your car seat for you. I'm sure someone else will be able to help soon, if not I'll pop back later.
The report caught my eye because I've recently bought a mamas & papas primo viaggio seat as part of a travel system in readiness for my new baby...but that seat didn't do particularly well either.

One thing I do remember Which? saying is that even if the seat you have is not one of their own Best Buys, your child is still a lot safer in it than if you didn't use it. They only ones they really don't recommend are the carry-cot type ones (like mamas & papas Navetta) as they were awful in their tests.

Shez

Yes, that is what I heard and was worried about, but if you could let me know what they say about it in the report - especially if its "dont touch with a barge pole!" I would be most grateful.

Many Thanks

s@sha

Hi, sorry for the delay in getting back.

Right, I have the Which? mag in front of me...was it the Graco Junior Plus?

If so, I'm sorry to say that it is more or less 'Don't touch with a barge pole'. Which? say:

Ten inferior child car seats exposed by Which? in the past two years are still on sale.

Mamas & Papas supplies three of the poorest - the Navetta Carry Cot, the Elan and the Passaggio - while Britax manufactures three - Cruiser Plus, Ranger and Trio. The others to avoid are Concord Trimax X-Line, Meggy Kombi, Storchenmühle Starlight SP and Graco Junior Plus.

These seats all meet current minimum legal standards but under Which's more stringent tests, were found either to offer inadequate protection in a severe crash, or are difficult to install, which increases the risk of injury in an accident. They are better than no seat at all, but if possible buy a safer seat as soon as you can.

To meet the standard, seats must withstand a 30mph crash, without a child sustaining serious injury. Which? uses EuroNCAP crash test conditions, with a front-crash test at about 40mph and also a side-impact test.

Which editor Malcolm Coles says:

'We're very disappointed that some of the seats we exposed as inadequate as long as two years ago are still on sale.

We think simply making child car seats safe enough to pass the minimum safety test is downright irresponsible.

We asked the manufacturers why they still sell these inferior seats, but some just hid behind the regulations, while others failed to answer our questions.'

It also says that Graco declined to tell them why they are still selling the Junior Plus.

The only other Graco seat they tested was the Graco Autobaby with base, which did better.

If you want to know any more, or want to know which are the seats that did well, just let me know.

telly-addict

We have the Graco Junior Plus, which is a booster seat rather than the traditional baby seat. I work on the basis that it has passed the safety test so it must be up to a certain standard.

We use it for my 4 yo and have been using it for 12-18 months. I am constantly amazed when I go to pre-school and see the number of children in the front passenger seat of the car, restrained only by an adult seatbelt, usually across their neck! So I feel that my daughter, sitting in the back, with the seatbelt correctly positioned is safe.

We won't be changing it. How many cars are being driven around that pass the Euro NCAP rules? Child car safety has improved a lot in the last twenty years and I do sometimes wonder if magazines like Which? are causing a lot of concern for the safety conscious parents. Articles that say that 'these car seats are fine' won't sell any magazines.

s@sha

telly-addict wrote:

We have the Graco Junior Plus, which is a booster seat rather than the traditional baby seat. I work on the basis that it has passed the safety test so it must be up to a certain standard.

Well yes, it is up to a 'certain' standard- the legal UK standard- which is why they are still allowed to be sold. But that doesn't automatically mean that the standard set is adequate or that the seat is adequately safe in a real-life crash. The EuroNCAP tests accurately simulate what happens in 'extreme' front AND side crashes. The fact that the Which? test results vary so widely...from one that scored only 10% to the Best Buys that scored 72%...yet even the one that scored 10% has passed the legal minimum standard...does imply that the legal standard isn't very high.

We won't be changing it. How many cars are being driven around that pass the Euro NCAP rules? Child car safety has improved a lot in the last twenty years and I do sometimes wonder if magazines like Which? are causing a lot of concern for the safety conscious parents. Articles that say that 'these car seats are fine' won't sell any magazines.

Yes you are right about safety improving a lot over the years. I remember sitting on Mum's lap in the front seat when I was little and later sitting in the front seat myself, with no seatbelt, when I was 8, 9 10, and no-one thought anything of it. I wouldn't dream of letting a child do that nowadays.

But when it comes to products that are supposed to help us stay safe, I don't think it's scaremongering to let the public know that sometimes industry or UK standards aren't as good as they could be. In fact, I think that letting people think that all car seats are equally safe because they have all passed a test that is actually quite poor & unrealistic is lulling people into a false sense of security about that product.

At the end of the day, the more informed we are, the more choice we have. If I was happy with the seat I had I probably wouldn't change it either, but if I was going out to spend good money on a new one, I'd rather know I was getting one that passed a stringent safety test with flying colours than one that just scraped through the 'legal minimum standard'.

crutches

is the britax supercruiser an earlier version ofthe cruiser plus?

Shez

Sorry for delaying in coming back....

Many thanks S@sha for that information - I've got a Graco Junior (not Plus), although looking at the graco web site, they look the same seat only the plus have abit more padding!

I must admist it does seem abit "flimsy" (i know its supposed to be lightweight) and the weight of the child is supposed to hold it down, but I do wonder if there was a real forceful hit to the car whether my son and the childseat would go flying? my husband says that the seatbelt would do the work in the event of an accident, but do still have doubts. (Although my 3 yr old loves it as he thinks it grown up and of course the cup holders)

Of course I agree that sitting them in a seat is better and hate people that have children still sitting in no seat or seat belts!

Yes thanks I would like to know out of curiosity what toddler seats did come out best - if you could let me know sometime that would be great.

Ticklemouse

I have a Concord Lift, which I think has just been superceeded by the Lift Evo (more side impact protection) and a Britax Kid. Both these seats come out well in the Which tests. I haven't got my Which to hand, so can't tell you any others that come out well, but I am impressed by both these seats.

My sons are 6 and 3, both are very tall for their age, but they don't go anywhere unless they are in a proper child seat. I want to scream when I see kids not properly restrained - or not at all. I see parents picking up toddlers from pre-school, sitting them in the baby seat, so they can see out of the window, then not strapping them in. Duh, HELLO! :mad: My friend has problems with her kids sitting in their seats properly. Well, I can tell you, when they are in my car, they sit in the seats with the belts on properly and if they try to get out, I stop the car. I have been known to tell them off, even if their mum is in the car.

We may not have had car seats when we were kids, but the situation was different 30/40 years ago. Cars were fewer in number, ie we all walked more, they were slower and in the event of an accident, more children died or were horribly injured.

s@sha

Hi Shez,

Here's the current Which? Best Buys for older babies & children. This is quoted directly from the magazine Best Buy Guide:

Children from 9kg to 18kg (from around nine months to about four years old)

For this group of seats, it’s been more difficult choosing Best Buys, as the standards in this group are generally still not as high as for other weight groups.

The Britax Duo Plus Isofix, £180 from Mothercare and Toys R Us, is by far the best seat in this weight category when used in Isofix mode. Its performance is acceptable when fitted using belts, but not up to Best Buy standards.

So, if your car doesn’t have Isofix fittings, the Mamas & Papas Pro Tec, £130 from independent stores, is the best of the belted options in this group. It fits in most cars. Safety is on a par with the Duo Plus, but it’s not quite as easy to use.



Children from 15kg to 36kg (from about four years to 11 years)

Seats in this category don’t have integral harnesses but use the car’s own belt to secure both the seat and the child.

The Concord Lift Protect, £65 from independent stores, is easy to install and gives excellent head and leg support.

The Concord Lift Evo, £80 from independent stores, is very easy to use and gives children a good view.

The Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP, £85 from Halfords, was our best seat in this category in 2004, and is still competitive. It’s very easy to use and does well in our safety tests.

The newcomer Britax Hi-Liner, widely available at £55, is very easy to use and matches the Maxi-Cosi and Concords for safety.

The Britax Kid, £70 from Toys R Us, remains a good choice, and is the most comfortable seat in this group.

High-street prices quoted are the cheapest we found in our survey of retailers.

Hope that helps!

Shez

Many thanks for that info s@sha, I shall have to do some thinking and take a look at the other seats mentioned and decide whether to change the seat or not. I dont have isofix in my car so it will have to be a seat belted option.

Thanks also to ticklemouse about info on the concord and britax seats, shall check them out too.