Is this safe....?

[ginnybag]

Mr DD's childminder is in the middle of the usual September changeover with her mindees. She's a lovely woman, great with the kiddies, but can be a bit quick to move carseats for my taste.

I insisted on my DD staying in an infant seat till she was almost 13 months because she just didn't weigh 9kg. She's light and small for her age.

Then we moved her to a Britax group 1 FF seat. All great - I thought.

I noticed this morning that she's moved all the car seats round and was strapping my DD into what looks like one of the Group 1-3 combi booster thingies. I didn't get a great look, so I might be wrong, but it was definitively not the black Britax seat she used to use, which was still in it's same place in the middle row of seats.

I suspect she's rearranged, because she'll now have another 12 month old in that seat and another new baby to get in the infant carrier the 12 month old was using. (She's got variations in place for this, btw - it's sibling care!)

If I'm right in what I saw, am I also right to not be happy? I'm happy to buy her another seat, if that's the issue, but before I say anything, am I right to think that this is not safe?

[aswellasyou]

I'm a bit confused! Do you mean she was strapping your daughter into the group 1/2/3 carseat using the seatbelt of the car? If she was, then your daughter would have to be 15kg for it to be legal. I wouldn't use the seatbelt until she was too heavy for the seat in group 1 mode at 18kg. If she was using the five point harness, there's no need to worry as it's the same as using the five point harness on a group 1 seat.

[ginnybag]

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. It was the back of the car and on the far side from me.

I had another look this morning and I couldn't quite tell then either. I know if she's using the seat belt it's dangerous (as well as illegal). There's no way she's 15kg. I doubt she's much more than 10kg! She's be RF for me if we could get a RF seat in either our car or the Childminders.

I also thought the combi seats were considered less safe as well?

I may well be panicking over nothing, which is why I don't want to mention it until I'm sure!

[aswellasyou]

I've never heard that combination seats are more dangerous, but I don't know that's not the case. Maybe you could 'forget' to give your daughter something vital and give it to her just after she's been strapped into the seat by the childminder. Then you could get a close look at the seat to see what's going on.

Do you think if you bought a new safer seat for your daughter, that the childminder would use that for her instead of the one she's got?

[thisisyesterday]

how old is your daughter now?
if she is using the 5 point harness then I don't think you have any reason to be concerned tbh... but do check!

[Seona1973]

if the 5 point harness is being used in the 123 seat then that would be fine as they are suitable from 9kgs. If it is being used with just the seatbelt then that would not be safe if your lo is under 15kgs. DS used/still uses the Britax Evolva 123 seat - fits the car well and he is comfy in it. (used it with the harness till he was 18kgs which is the maximum weight it is suitable for and now uses it with the seatbelt)

[BertieBotts]

I think as long as she sticks to the group you have specified then it should be fine. So as long as she is using the group 1 stage of the seat, and the seat meets current safety standards, that's fine.

I have a similar thing with my childminder in that she uses a really cheap and flimsy looking Nania car seat for DS which I'm not that happy about, and she has her own DD in a high backed booster when there is no way she is heavy enough for one - she was under 2 when DS started and I've picked her up and she weighs less than DS who isn't 15kg himself yet. But I'm not going to tell her what to do with her own DCs, and I'm not in a position to buy a better one for DS to use. I know that she wouldn't move DS to a booster until I say that I have done at home, as I queried this when he started. I decided in the end that the cheap seat was probably not an issue as she mainly only does the school run on 30mph roads anyway, and all UK car seats are crash tested at 30mph by law. If she was doing more car travel I think I'd be more worried about it.