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AIBU?

To ask for urgent help with car seat

31 replies

Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:17

DD 16 months about 10kg has just got out of the rear facing Maxi cosi we have had from birth while driving on motorway. Never a problem before. I have made an emergency stop at halfords and being sold 400 pounds of seat fix and seat. Guy is now saying cheap front facing is OK. I don't know what to do can anyone advise? Thank you for any recommendations

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Claraoswald36 · 15/04/2016 14:19

You can put her in a 0-4 seat now it needs to have the 5 point harness - the one which goes between their legs. They are front facing

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Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:21

Is that with a dear fix? Thank you for quick response

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Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:21

Seat fix

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Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:23

She does seem to get car sick so thinking seat fix necessary

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MintyBojingles · 15/04/2016 14:29

IMO halfords offer naff advice, but they are right, from 15 months she can go forward facing, though it's still safer to rear face.

If you want a rear facing seat the joie stages is much cheaper

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ceebie · 15/04/2016 14:32

Take a deep breath. Child seats, as far as I'm aware, are designed so that children can open them to escape if needed.

Some cheap car seats can perform well in crash conditions, some expensive ones do not. Price is not a reflection of safety. You may have to do your own research. I rely on Which? testing, but this is not necessarily going to give results consistent with other tests - the whole thing is wildly confusing.

In a head-on collision, a rear facing seat is far safer than a front facing seat as the force exerted on your child, particularly the neck, is vastly less. However I went for a forward facing seat (extremely car sick child) with a body shield instead of a 5-point harness, which spreads the forces in an accident better than a 5-point harness system. Body shields may not be effective if the car rolls at high speed, I gambled on the fact that I wasn't that likely to be in an accident, let alone rolling my car. Also, unco-operative children can slip out from the body shield if they want to, just as they can open a 5-point harness if they want to.

The whole thing is vastly confusing and you'll need time to consider what's best for you.

I don't understand how seat fix relates to car sickness?

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Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:33

Should I get th seat fix too? Guy insisting that the pebble is what I should get but £400!

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ceebie · 15/04/2016 14:34

I assume by 'seat fix' you mean Isofix?

I don't understand how that would make any difference to her opening the harness?

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Theladyloriana · 15/04/2016 14:35

Thanks so much. Thought the seat fix meant less motion so less sickness. Feel in a bind to buy one immediately as terrified of her getting out again and need to get back on motor way

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carefreeeee · 15/04/2016 14:38

Put a bit of duct tape round the fastening for now and sort it out at leisure when you get home?

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LittleNelle · 15/04/2016 14:39

Something like a Britax First Class will rear face til 13kg and forward face til 18kg. They're about £100.

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captaincake · 15/04/2016 14:39

Well firstly check the harness, is your DD wearing anything remotely bulky and is it tightened enough and at the right height? Are you on Facebook? There is a site called car seat advice for mummies and daddies. It's really helpful. They also have a part on why impact shields aren't generally recommended. The in car safety centre will give you good advice on the phone.

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ceebie · 15/04/2016 14:39

I'm not aware that an Isofix makes any difference to car sickness. Facing forward might help, but as above, not as safe as rear-facing.

How will a different seat make a difference to her getting out? Surely she's just as likley to escape from a new seat? Sorry that's not reassuring but I just don't see how spending £400 is going to solve the problem.

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Alexa444 · 15/04/2016 14:41

Ceebie I'm reading it to mean that the child gets sick travelling backwards.

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newmumwithquestions · 15/04/2016 14:41

How did she get out? Has she worked out how to unclip or can you do the straps up really tight to make sure she stays in? I'd be inclined not to buy anything in a rush!
If you do the rear facing is what I went for as supposed to be safer (as ceebie says). By seat fix do you mean isofix? In which case I wouldn't bother.

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tobysmum77 · 15/04/2016 14:46

They all get out of car seats. It has nothing to do with forward or backwards facing, mine did it in forward facing seats. You can but clips to stop them, I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to tell you that these are terribly dangerous and should never be used, personally I took the view that they were safer than a baby only attached by the waist.

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Sanch1 · 15/04/2016 14:48

Please don't panic buy a new seat! That's the worse thing you can do. If she can undo the one you have she'll be able to undo any 5-point harness as they're all the same. My DD went through a phase of undo-ing hers for a few weeks then stopped, it'll pass.

Rear facing is safer than front facing, but please take time to choose something that suits you.

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ceebie · 15/04/2016 14:52

captaincake I'm just curious about why impact shields aren't recommended on that Facebook page (too lazy to join the group as we're not on to car seat suitable until the DC are 12). My DC no longer have the body shields now anyway, so it doesn't matter to me any more, but I'm curious. I'm aware of (1) the danger if a car rolls, and (2) that children can slip down. Those two reasons are enough in themseves, obviously, but just curious if there's something more to it? We always loved them, and the children never slipped down. They are highly rated on Which? which is why we got them.

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ceebie · 15/04/2016 14:54

oops - we're now on to car seats suitable until the DC are 12

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Sanch1 · 15/04/2016 14:56

ceebie, do they prevent the straps being released with one hand? I was under the impression that you have to be able to release the straps and get a child out in the case of a collision using one hand.

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lalalalyra · 15/04/2016 15:00

Do you know how she got the strap open? Could it have not clicked shit properly? Or a fluke?

Don't rush and buy a new seat because if she can open the clips on her current seat then she's likely to be able to open new ones so it's going to be important to pick the right one or you are going to have the same problem again.

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LBOCS2 · 15/04/2016 15:00

You do but only because it's UK legislation, not because of any other safety reason - they're approved for use in other European countries and the US because they don't have the same restriction.

The britax first class plus is a good extended RF car seat by the way - it goes to 13kg RF, 18kg FF, and has an audible click 5 point harness. AFAIK the pebble is only a stage one seat isn't it?

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2016ismyyear · 15/04/2016 15:04

Five point plus from Halfords. Remove bulky clothes. Check harness is at right height.

Then research next stage - rearfacing.

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captaincake · 15/04/2016 15:09

ceebie because of this study they rate highly on places like which because they are lightweight, user friendly, easy to install etc. I don't want to say I think they are inherently unsafe - I would put DS in one if it was a choice of that or him escaping the harness all the time, just not recommended as a first choice. My DS wasn't happy in his infant carrier. I'm not sure if he got a bit car sick or was just bored because he couldn't see out the window. We moved him out of the infant carrier earlier than needed into a besafe izi i size and he was fine after that (it's higher up so he could see out the window). I definitely wouldn't panic buy a seat from halfords today. Do some research on a seat that suits your car and your requirements. There is the besafe chest clip and the five point plus to help stop them getting out of the harness.

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Patapouf · 15/04/2016 15:16

Pebble is not what you want to go for, if you want to get a lo of use out of it.

Keep your DC rear facing, it is five times safer.

I would go for an extended rear facing seat with integral isofix (like Cybex Sirona) or one with a separate base like the Joie iAnchor. I agree that high price doesn't necessarily mean safety but unfortunately the best seats are v. Expensive.

The best seat, is the one that fits your car best and I wouldn't trust Halford TBH. I used to work in the car seat industry