Baby Car Seats.....
Discussion
These ones can be forward or backward facing. There is a law which now requires backward facing until 15 mths of age I think.
These also swivel round so you have it facing the open door to put child into it hopefully more easily rather than having to lean in and turn into a contortionist.
These also swivel round so you have it facing the open door to put child into it hopefully more easily rather than having to lean in and turn into a contortionist.
Didn't know about the law changes was quite a while since mine was that small.
I get the swivel thing, seems like a nice thing to have but honestly, its not difficult or uncomfortable to strap a normal one in after the initial couple of days getting used to it.
Out of your 3, id go with the Britax, I haven't had that one (obviously, as you can tell) but we've had other Britax gear and its all been excellent and lasted/washed/worn well.
ETA; I have a Recaro seat for her now, and I can't confirm that baby sick washes out of Britax much, much easier.
I get the swivel thing, seems like a nice thing to have but honestly, its not difficult or uncomfortable to strap a normal one in after the initial couple of days getting used to it.
Out of your 3, id go with the Britax, I haven't had that one (obviously, as you can tell) but we've had other Britax gear and its all been excellent and lasted/washed/worn well.
ETA; I have a Recaro seat for her now, and I can't confirm that baby sick washes out of Britax much, much easier.
Edited by justanother5tar on Friday 31st July 20:34
I have the Sirona and it's very good and of the rear facing (although it does front too, and points to the door to load the kid in) was by far the best we looked at. The material is tough and hasn't marked although you do have to clean it on the frame. You won't go wrong with it.
My only issue is that it's rear facing so it can impact on the passenger seat meaning it needs to be more forward - annoying if you're tall like me. We ended up buying a 3.0 Outback which was a better fit.
Any questions from me a DM and I'll take you around it.
My only issue is that it's rear facing so it can impact on the passenger seat meaning it needs to be more forward - annoying if you're tall like me. We ended up buying a 3.0 Outback which was a better fit.
Any questions from me a DM and I'll take you around it.
Jasandjules said:
These ones can be forward or backward facing. There is a law which now requires backward facing until 15 mths of age I think.
Only if they're the 'i-Size' type seats: https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-ruleslegless said:
Only if they're the 'i-Size' type seats: https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules
Or up to 9kg if not I Size, which I suspect will be at least 12 mths old in any event!?The biggest problems are size and weight. These take up more physical space in the car and many regular 0/0+ seats need the seat in front quite far forward. They're designed to stay in the car and are a faff to move between.
I've been totally happy with our Recaro Privia, much easier to put her in it and get her settled indoors then carry to the car (one hand needed) and plonk on the isofix base. Then the reverse when you get home - much better than faffing with straps in the rain. You get the option of just sticking it on many pushchair bases too, which can be a godsend when they're asleep in the car but you just need to nip to the shops.
They seem to make more sense once they outgrow a newborn seat. The other aspect is that unless you're planning only one (or a 4+ year gap) then you'll need another seat anyway so no real cost saving.
I've been totally happy with our Recaro Privia, much easier to put her in it and get her settled indoors then carry to the car (one hand needed) and plonk on the isofix base. Then the reverse when you get home - much better than faffing with straps in the rain. You get the option of just sticking it on many pushchair bases too, which can be a godsend when they're asleep in the car but you just need to nip to the shops.
They seem to make more sense once they outgrow a newborn seat. The other aspect is that unless you're planning only one (or a 4+ year gap) then you'll need another seat anyway so no real cost saving.
I thought it seemed strange that rear facing was 15 months and i'd never heard!
Ours have all been weight based, which I guess is why I never read/saw/heard about it. Mine was in a front facer (Recaro Young Sport) from 11 months (just over 9kg) as she was too big for her first car seat. All the rear facing at a bigger age/weight ones took up far too much space to even be a consideration for us, I'm quite tall so there would be no chance of her fitting behind me if she ever has to, which can be quite often. She's usually behind the passenger seat to allow her more room, but if we ever have to have 4 adults plus kid seat in, she goes behind me cause legroom is tight behind my seat.
My best advice would be to find a store that has them in, and try them out. Both you and your Mrs go, so you can both try each out. It'll be used everyday so you both need to be happy with whatever you buy IMO.
Ours have all been weight based, which I guess is why I never read/saw/heard about it. Mine was in a front facer (Recaro Young Sport) from 11 months (just over 9kg) as she was too big for her first car seat. All the rear facing at a bigger age/weight ones took up far too much space to even be a consideration for us, I'm quite tall so there would be no chance of her fitting behind me if she ever has to, which can be quite often. She's usually behind the passenger seat to allow her more room, but if we ever have to have 4 adults plus kid seat in, she goes behind me cause legroom is tight behind my seat.
My best advice would be to find a store that has them in, and try them out. Both you and your Mrs go, so you can both try each out. It'll be used everyday so you both need to be happy with whatever you buy IMO.
Jasandjules said:
Or up to 9kg if not I Size, which I suspect will be at least 12 mths old in any event!?
My 22 month old son was 9KG by 18 weeks old, having checked his growth chart. He's tracked pretty close to the 99.6th centile growth line though for both height and weight since he was born. At 8 months old, he'd completely outgrown his baby seat, and since then he's been in a Recaro Young Expert Plus. I checked out the rear-facing seats at the time but for one reason or another they were all pretty much unsuitable.
legless said:
At 8 months old, he'd completely outgrown his baby seat, and since then he's been in a Recaro Young Expert Plus. I checked out the rear-facing seats at the time but for one reason or another they were all pretty much unsuitable.
We are all ears as to reasons! Any ideas and things we've not thought about welcome...Jasandjules said:
We are all ears as to reasons! Any ideas and things we've not thought about welcome...
The main issue seems to be that fundamentally, most cars just aren't set up with the right packaging to properly accommodate a larger rear-facing seat. We took both cars (my C7 A6 estate and my wife's mk7 Golf) to one of Kiddicare's stores (most have since closed) and tried a few out for practicality. In the case of both cars, we seemed to keep having the same issues - to make my son fit properly, we had to have the seat in front of it so far forward that we were both bent double. I'm 6'2" and my wife is 5'9", and there is no way that either of us could have spent more than 10 minutes travelling like that. In my A6, the driver's seat was so far forward if the child seat was behind it that I physically could not operate the pedals.
Other issues we had included:
- Isofix base adding so much to the seat height that it was both difficult for my wife to lift my son high enough, and it was difficult to not hit his head when passing him through the door aperture.
- Nowhere to be able to sit in front of my son to do his belts up properly. In a forward facing seat I can stand (albeit contorted) in the footwell.
- Some of the seats used the rear seatbelt to secure them. This was in most cases horrendously complicated, and not the sort of thing I'd like to be doing quickly in the pissing rain.
- My son is a curious sort, and HATES facing backwards, to the point where he CONSTANTLY screams as loud as he can. In his baby seat, his record was all the way from Exeter to Coventry. You can imagine how comfortable this is for everyone. Not a great reason I know, but if you'd experienced it you'd understand completely.
The Recaro seat that I eventually bought has been brilliant. Easy to transfer between cars, holds the little guy securely and will recline enough for him to fall asleep on a long trip. He never once fell asleep in his baby seat.
We started out with a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix which was great. Don't underestimate how useful an easily removable seat is in the early stages as it means they can stay asleep when you arrive home!
We then bought a Britax Dualfix when our son got bigger. It's expensive, but beautifully made and engineered. We bought it primarily to have the added protection of rear facing in a frontal impact, though having the rotating base was a definite bonus. It's a big seat, but it fits comfortably in our Mondeo and I've managed to use it in our MINI briefly, albeit with the front passenger seat unused.
A downside of using rear facing seats as they get older is that the passenger tends to end up sat in the back - it's impossible to tend to a child in these seats from the front of the car. I think it's worth it for the safety benefit, but it wasn't something we'd really thought through when we bought our son's seat.
And to think I was sat unrestrained in the back of my dad's Marina when I was his age...
We then bought a Britax Dualfix when our son got bigger. It's expensive, but beautifully made and engineered. We bought it primarily to have the added protection of rear facing in a frontal impact, though having the rotating base was a definite bonus. It's a big seat, but it fits comfortably in our Mondeo and I've managed to use it in our MINI briefly, albeit with the front passenger seat unused.
A downside of using rear facing seats as they get older is that the passenger tends to end up sat in the back - it's impossible to tend to a child in these seats from the front of the car. I think it's worth it for the safety benefit, but it wasn't something we'd really thought through when we bought our son's seat.
And to think I was sat unrestrained in the back of my dad's Marina when I was his age...
We started out with a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix which was great. Don't underestimate how useful an easily removable seat is in the early stages as it means they can stay asleep when you arrive home!
We then bought a Britax Dualfix when our son got bigger. It's expensive, but beautifully made and engineered. We bought it primarily to have the added protection of rear facing in a frontal impact, though having the rotating base was a definite bonus. It's a big seat, but it fits comfortably in our Mondeo and I've managed to use it in our MINI briefly, albeit with the front passenger seat unused.
A downside of using rear facing seats as they get older is that the passenger tends to end up sat in the back - it's impossible to tend to a child in these seats from the front of the car. I think it's worth it for the safety benefit, but it wasn't something we'd really thought through when we bought our son's seat.
And to think I was sat unrestrained in the back of my dad's Marina when I was his age...
We then bought a Britax Dualfix when our son got bigger. It's expensive, but beautifully made and engineered. We bought it primarily to have the added protection of rear facing in a frontal impact, though having the rotating base was a definite bonus. It's a big seat, but it fits comfortably in our Mondeo and I've managed to use it in our MINI briefly, albeit with the front passenger seat unused.
A downside of using rear facing seats as they get older is that the passenger tends to end up sat in the back - it's impossible to tend to a child in these seats from the front of the car. I think it's worth it for the safety benefit, but it wasn't something we'd really thought through when we bought our son's seat.
And to think I was sat unrestrained in the back of my dad's Marina when I was his age...
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