car seat for 3 months+

[birthandpostnataldoula]

Hello everyone,

A friend of mine is looking for a cheap (she is a single parent) car seat that is suitable for her 3 month old. She would also like to be able to use it for as long as she can before purchasing another.

I am not really sure what I can sugest to her so am hoping that someone can point me in the right direction.

I think I am right in believing that purchasing a second hand car seat is not an option.

I very much hope someone can help.

[BertieBotts]

Argos have got a very reasonable Group 0+ car seat on offer at the moment which looks fine to me.

[BertieBotts]

Sorry, DS was crying so had to cut that post short.

A second hand car seat is not advised because it is impossible to know the history of it, whether it has been in an accident or has been treated roughly. If she was able to have a used car seat from a friend or relative and trusted them that it had not been in an accident, that would be fine.

I understand what she is thinking about getting a car seat which will last her a long time, however I think that as a non-driver myself, portability and compatability are more important. For the baby stage, a Group 0+ seat (0-12 months) is the best choice IMO because it will take a baby up to 12-15 months or even up to nearly 2 years in some cases - my 15 month old is average size and weight and is still in his group 0+ seat. The seat I mentioned in my previous post is one of these. She can use this seat until the baby's head is poking over the top of the seat or it reaches the weight limit, whichever comes first. The weight limit of these car seats is usually 13kg (always check particular models of course). She needs one which fastens into the car using the adult seat belt as then it is likely to fit into almost any car. When choosing a Group 0+ seat look to see that it is nice and deep and has good side impact protection - but TBH they are all much of a muchness at this stage.

Group 1 (9 months - 4 years) car seats are the biggest, bulkiest kind and the ones which you are likely to have a headache with regarding compatability. The best thing to do I think is to keep the baby in a Group 0+ seat for as long as possible, they are much more portable (and can be used as a rocking seat in the house as well) and often easier to fit. Then try to find as practical a Group 1 seat as possible. I have decided on a Kiddy Infinity Pro as it seems to be compatible with almost all cars, is quick and easy to fit, (most Group 1 seats are designed to stay in the car at all times - no good for non-drivers) and it is much more lightweight than most seats in this stage as is designed to be moved between two cars frequently. However it also has very good safety ratings which is important to me too. It is in the middle price range for car seats of this group - about £130 - if she starts saving now there would be a good chunk of it paid for by the time she needs to buy one. This car seat will last her child about 3 years, so only actually about £40 a year. Once they outgrow the Group 1 seats, they can just use a booster seat though she may want to use a highback booster which offers more protection in the event of a crash - either way, it's a long way off yet so she has plenty of time to reasearch and decide

Hope this was helpful!