Aww crap, worried now I was BU???

[bloodychildishifuaskme]

Was at my friends today and saw that her sister had had her new babys car seat delivered there, I kept looking at it thinking that won't fit the car properly.

So I asked if I could try and fit it in my car (same car & reg year), I was right it didn't fit, the seat belts have too long stalks.

Was I wrong to tell them??
I'm worried now they will be cross with me for telling them and them thinking I was interfering, I wasn't I just know how much those seats cost and if they can change it, sooner would be better I would have thought?
(seat hasn't been tried in their car btw)

Well, if it was me, I would rather find our now than when baby was born. They can check now in plenty of time.

I don't think you were BU.

Well, if it was me, I would rather find our now than when baby was born. They can check now in plenty of time.

I don't think you were BU.

Of course not, better than putting baby in it for the first time and then finding out!

ywnbu

Has her sister got the same car as you? Surely it can't be just not designed to fit in a car.

" I was right it didn't fit, the seat belts have too long stalks."

Eh? What does that mean?

What was the seat and what is your car and what do you mean by having too long stalks?

Also, are you sure she doesn't have isofix and isn't planning to use it with a base?

No neither car has isofix, not all car seats fit all cars.

The stalks are the bit where the clip clips in, this bit (not same car just eg)

Cars are zafiras first shape.
Base won't fit either for same reason.

Ah, I see what you mean.

I don't think you should have taken it out of the box and messed around with it tbh.

Couldn't you just have passed on a message to her asking her to check the seat as you've had an issue wit your car etc etc.

I'm sure she won't mind. But, well, it wasn't yours to open.

We had the same problem with our landrover, few car seats fitted as the stalks were too long. We went for a carseat with base combo. Could you suggest this to them? I know Gracco and Britax do them with jsut a seatbelt fitting not isofix..

It wasn't in a box, I'm not that cheeky!

That's how I could see that it wouldn't fit, older vauxhalls are sods to get seats to fit.

I've seen a M&P PV the older style one that had to have a base in an astra, that was a really bad fit, seat was all over the place.

A graco with and without a base in same astra, good fit.

In my vauxhall both of the above seats, same fit, a cybex rear facer, also ok fit and a Maxi cosi another good fit.

graco was best though without the base.

Don't think the Britax base will fit as the stalk will have to go through the frame, don't think that's right?

YWNBU - you did her a favour.

Oh right, it's just when you said her sister had the car seat delivered there I assume you meant it was wrapped up in some way having come from a shop?

But it wasn't? Or is it secondhand or something?

YWNBU. Its soooo complex which car seat for which car and for which baby and for which seatbelt etc etc. Some people just don't get it AT ALL (I hate pre-9month old babies in forward facing, sorry if that offends anyone but I do so there).... picture it a different way: if they had used it and gods-forbid crashed, and you had KNOWN the car seat wasn't safe.... you were definitely not being unreasonable.

No it is brand new. Dunno why it wasn't sealed up.
So hopefully they will take it back and try another seat out, apparently she likes it because it fits on the pram so chose that over another without trying either in the actual car!

gemma law is changing in the next year so that babies must remain rear facing to 15 months, not well advertised at the moment.

I'd be grateful of being told before hand. TBH I think I'd be pissed off that the manufacturer hadn't informed me that it won't fit in certain models of cars.

You wasn't BU

Good independent shops will fit the correct seat to your car as not all fit all cars. It's important to have this done otherwise the seat is virtually useless.

A bit off-topic but in Scandinavia children have to be rear-facing until age 4. They also have the lowest rates of toddler fatalities and severe injuries from car accidents in the world.

Where does one purchase a rear facing car seat?
Paranoid now!

YANBU - wish I'd known about the long buckles issue before my DH threw out all the packaging for our car seat and invalidated the returns policy!

TerraNotSoFirma - didn't want to leave you hanging! Depends what age/weight you want to go up to.

First stage (group 0+) (the ones with the carry handle!) are all RF and generally say they go up to 12-15 months and 13kg. I don't believe it, its a squeeze to get many babies in them from 9 to 12 months old; 15 months?! Crikey.

Next step is a group 0+/1, these are generally suitable RF from birth to 13kg and then FF to 18kg (around 4 years). These actually will take a child to 15 months and beyond, and most or all the way to 13kg for average size kids before you swing the car seat around and have it forward facing. Legs will bend, don't worry about leg room! Head support is important, legs aren't. Example of one of these is the Britax First Class Plus (was called First Class Si). Just google "0-1 car seat"

From 18kg they go into boosters (high back boosters are much much MUCH safer).

The tricky thing is many people want to RF beyond 13kg, and that's where it gets harder. I won't go into detail as I discounted it for me, so don't know all the details. Some of the seats are very expensive, some are very big so don't fit many cars, some are very hard to fit: hard enough to fit correctly that they get Which? Don't buy status. There are a few places in the UK with trained fitters, which seems popular. Its getting better, but is still easier in several other countries.

HTH.