Child Seat Advice

[boobles]

Britax & Maxi Cosi are both great at what they do. Britax has just launched it's online store aswel & definately worth a look.

[boobles]

Proper advice is welcome from anywhere.

[boobles]

Atlas 12v said:

Did I do something for my info request to be ignored?

Really sorry. Leave it with me.

[boobles]

Atlas 12v said:

Hi Boobles,

Could you please advise on the following:

I'm after our second seat following on from a Maxi Cosi Pebble and ISOFIX Base.

Our son is now 5 months and 10kg so we will soon be looking to replace the carrier above.

We need 2 seats:

1. Ideally I would like a seat that will last as long as possible, fit with ISOFIX and rotate to allow easy child placement.

2. Also a safe but good value seat(doesn't need the feature above) for my Mother to take in her car. Can be ISOFIX ideally but also a belt option.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe something like this could be the answer. It will last up until your child is approx 4yrs of age.


http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=c...


Perhaps something like this for your mothers car.. Both very good seats & could be exactly what you are looking for. The only thing you would have to check for is that they fit in both cars.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=r...

[boobles]

Big Rod said:

Hi Boobles,

Can you advise on a) the legal height whereby one doesn't have to use a booster seat and b) if your opinion concurs as to what's safe.

This should tell you everything you need to know.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=m...


As to what is safe, most high back boosters will do the job but some of them have better features than others so it really depends on your needs really.

[boobles]

tigger1 said:

Firstly, Boobles - you're a star for taking all of these questions.

So I'll throw you another. I'm looking at doing a long journey, four (and a half) up in a saloon, i.e. 4 adults, one 5 year old.

5 year old is currently using a group 2 high-backed booster seat.

It would give us a load more room if we could just use the seat without the back (i.e. a group 3 booster seat) and drop it in the middle of the rear seats (full adult belt, not roof mounted ). the seat's designed for this, although littl'un isn't as heavy as the usual guideline weight for using the seat without a back on it.

So, is it unsafe to do so? I appreciate it's less safe, in terms of side impact protection, to use the seat without a back on it, but would it be safe enough? My other worry there is that the law is quite grey around the use of a particular seat type - is it legally ok to do the above?

Thanks.

Thank you...

As you say, high back boosters do offer better side impact protection but having just the booster is better than nothing at all because atleast with the booster it raises the child up high enough for the lap belt to sit within the correct place as this is vitally important. So a booster offers the minimum protection but atleast it offers some.

[boobles]

Big Rod said:

Thanks a mill', but what I meant was, do you concur that it's safe to not use a booster once a child reaches 135cm?

[boobles]

Please lets not also forget that forward facing seats that are fitted correctly are also perfectly safe & not a danger at all.

[boobles]

SooperDan said:

Also, we shouldn't forget that rear facing seats are potentially '5 times safer' in a head on collision only.
Rear facing seats are the law in Scandinavia because the majority of their collisions are head on (icy roads and obstacles).
25% of collisions in the UK are side impact crashes. Meaning in a rear facing seat the child's head is located close to the weakest part of the car, and thus not 5 times safer.

Just some food for thought

Well said... Are you in the "industry" aswell?

[boobles]

Looks like sooperdan took notice of the training we gave him.

[boobles]

w00tman said:

boobles and SooperDan - fantastic post - thanks for taking the time & trouble to assist - if you're ever up this neck of the woods, let me buy you a beer!

You are very welcome + it's great having other "experts" on board like Lenats & SooperDan to help me out because I may not always have the answer. Everyones opinion is important & we are happy to assist when we can.

[boobles]

Great advice guys, I appreciate the support.

[boobles]

anyideas said:

Hi Boobles

Currently looking at group 1 seats for my 7 month old son, SWMBO has a family fix base in her polo so was just going to move upto the pearl in hers.

I've only got the easy fix base in my E61 5 series though so was going buy a family fix base and share the one seat.

I've also got a 2001 xc70 and a 1994 Clio Williams, neither have the isofix fitting so I need a seat for both, is there anything you'd suggest?

Thanks.

Hi,

Because both cars are so different, you may struggle to find one seat to fit both cars.

The Britax Eclipse is listed as fitting into the Clio & a Britax King Plus is listed for the XC70.
I will ofcourse look into it some more & see what we can come up with.

[boobles]

Skodaku said:

Would one of the resident experts care to recommend a child seat for following :

'06 Volvo S60, i.e. phase II
No ISOFIX fittings but could be added by dealer, (Volvo have brackets for both outer rear seats)
Child currently 2 months old. Would like seat to go to approx 4 years/18kg
We're Grandparents so not going to be daily use.
Is it possible to get a seat to fit, safely/securely, in the rear-centre position or must it always be a rear outer ?
More concerned about safety than cost.

Any guidance appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

The key factor here is that the child must remain rear facing for at least another 7 months or until he/she is 21 lbs in weight & able to support his or hers own neck (another words, able to sit up un-aided)

The majority of infant carriers will fit into this car & well worth popping along to your local Halfords or Mothercare where they are trained by a very well known child seat manufacturer where they are able to try some in the car before you commit to buying.

[boobles]

Hey guys, I can pretty much only answer questions via an email due to certain reasons.
I hope sooperdan & Lenats can continue answering most of the questions on here, but ofcourse please feel free to drop me an email & I will answer them asap.

[boobles]

Hi Adrian. If you don't mind me asking, who did you work for when you were involved in legislation/Testing?

[boobles]

Adrian E said:

DfT on policy, legislation and research management (around the end of Isofix negotiation before R44:04 and NPACS, which never happened much to my regret) before I moved on to other things. Got involved in the child safety weeks and spent time at Mothercare on Purley Way advising people on installation - always entertaining!

Before that at TRL although not directly with the CRS team - mainly accident investigation/analysis and primary safety

Fantastic... Would you have known Mark Pitcher from your time at TRL?

You may have left before he started though. We have a great working relationship with TRL.

Edited by boobles on Thursday 30th May 14:43

[boobles]

Adrian E said:

Hiya

Name doesn't ring a bell, although I was a customer of TRL for a number of years after working there! Mainly Marianne and Dinos, supported by Richard Lowne, when I was involved Saw what was at the time their new CRS rig getting commissioned and we used it for quite a lot of testing. All before they moved buildings!

Does Farid still work for Britax? Remember him from Renault days!

This is going way off topic so maybe should take up on e-mail to reminisce?

We know Marianne & Dinos very well & yes Farid does still work for Britax... Enough said I think.

[boobles]

RocketScience said:

Would a EasyFix base and Cabriofix seat go in a 2012 Passat Saloon? (The belt in base, not the isofix)

The Maxicosi website says no, but the Passat is roomy inside and I don't know why it wouldn't fix!

A speedy reply is appreciated as I am looking to pick up a bargain tomorrow.

First of all, my apologies that I can't reply to everyone... I am sure Lena & others will be along shortly...



If the MaxiCosi website says no, the best you can do is ring them up to confirm this as sometimes the websites etc can be wrong. If they still say no, I would assume it may not have anything to do with the amount of room in the car & may infact be down to the buckle length of the seat belts & this could be one reason why it doesn't fit or it could be that they have not tested & approved this certain seat in that vehicle, hence it may not be safe to put in.

[boobles]

knight said:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...


Noticed these for sale and was wondering what the general consensus was on them?

They offer minimum protection for alot of money. A high back booster for £20 is far better without question.