To ask about car seats?

[Caenea]

Not sure if there's a board here for it!

My DD (11mo) has outgrown her current car seat and we're on the hunt for a new one. However, there's a lot of conflicting information about whether she should stay rear facing or if she's now OK to face forwards (in the back of the car, obviously).

Her current seat is rear facing, but her legs are too long now and she has to curl them up to sit, which she will inevitably kick off about if we're in the car more than an hour. We need to drive down to London in November for her 1st birthday party - family are there - and I want to be sure she has a car seat she is both comfortable and safe in.

Money is tight however, and we cannot afford to buy another rear-facing seat if she's going to need to be front facing in less than two or three months.

I've asked a few friends with children who are a little older, and they all say their 12-16 month olds are now forward facing. Is this right? When did yours go into rear facing seats, and where's the best place to get a car seat when you're on a very tight budget?

We just bought the Joie 360 so she can be rearward as long as she is comfortable and the swivel round and be frontward facing. Best of both worlds?

She needs to be rear facing for much longer, I think until 4 (I think that's the current law at least). A bigger seat will give her more room but inevitably her legs will be bent, sadly that's just the way it is. My boy are not quite at the limit for their infant seats yet but when they outgrow it I'll be getting the Joie Every Stage as then you don't need to ever buy another seat and they're remarkably affordable given that this is the case!

Sorry, ignore me - it's rear facing til 15 months. I would bet a convertible one that can do both

My just gone 3 year old is rear facing in all our cars apart from a vw up and a mini. Plan to keep her that direction until she's 3y9m and baby sister outgrows the baby seat.

They do recommend rear facing til 4 as it's something like 5 times safer. Their legs being bent is absolutely fine and not an indicator of the seat being outgrown (for an infant carrier that is the weight limit and when the top of their head reaches the top of the shell- can test by placing a large book over the seat to see if their head touches it).

I also have a joie 360. Isofix base , and it can be rearward and forward facing. It should last until dc is 4/5 yes old. You can also move the reclining points as well. The entire car seat turns so ta easy to get them in and out, without having to wrestle them in.

I understood they are best to stay rear facing for as long as possible. I think the earliest to let them go forward facing is about a year, but also dependent on height/weight. My dc is 13 months and he’s still rear facing.

Try somewhere like mothercare. We’ve always found ours really helpful and dc can sit in the seat to make sure it fits/comfy etc.

The information isn't conflicting, it's much safer to stay rear facing and the new iSize makes it mandatory until 15 months. My tall 3 year old still rear faces.

The law is somewhat confusing but my understanding is that, an I-size seat must be used rear facing until at least 15 months.

It's much safer to continue rear facing for as long as possible (my 3 year old son who is tall is still rear facing).

I would encourage you to buy the best seat you can afford. The Joie ones have good reviews and seem reasonably priced. Every car seat is not the same and while all have to pass basic safety testing this really doesn't take into account a more serious collision. That's why the safer seats do tend to be more expensive.

There is a great group on Facebook 'car seat advice for mummies and daddies' which is an excellent place for advice.

My son (over the 100th percentile for height) was rear facing until he was 3 and a half, we switched him when he went over the weight limit for rear facing. We regularly do 4-5 hour drives and he's been fine.

The safety advice isn't conflicting, it's MUCH safer to be rear facing until they reach the weight/height/age limit.

However, if you're set on it, we have the Joie Stages car seat that can be used forward or rear facing. You can often get a good deal on them from mothercare.

@TestingTestingWonTooFree Lol how many cars have you got?

We have a jane gravity.

Please keep her rear facing it's so so much safer!
I turned my DS forward facing at 1 year old instead of researching, I wish so much I'd of kept him rear facing.
We had a crash when he was 18m old and while he was absolutely ok (minor injuries) he wouldn't of been injured if he was rear facing.

Joie stages is both rear and forward facing I believe - and great for a budget.
When we have DC2 I'll be keeping them rear facing as long as possible.

We’ve just bought my 11 month old DS the Joie Every Stage. He can stay rear facing until 4 years and then forward facing until 12 or he is tall enough to no longer need a car seat. It was £160 from Mothercare which I thought was cheap seeing as we won’t need to buy a different seat in a few years.

If you get something like a joie every stage or a joie stages then you can keep her rear-facing until 18kg or use the same seat to forward face from 9-18kg. Rear facing for as long as possible (ideally until 4) is much much safer but with a seat like that at least if you decide you really don't want to keep doing it you can turn her around without buying another seat.

Your child hasn’t outgrown the seat because of her legs. As a pp has mentioned, it’s weight and head position that determine this. In your shoes though I would be going for a seat that faces both rear and forwards so your DC can remain rear facing for a while

I don't think there is conflicting information out there per say, rather lots of conflicting opinions because this is a fairly new development. The facts however, overwhelmingly show that rear facing for as long as possible (till 4 or 5) is much much safer.

My DD is 2 and in a rear facing car seat, she just sits cross legged or puts her feet up on the back of the car seat. I've never had any issues with her wanting to face forwards - why would she, she's never known any different!

There are some brilliant 360 swivel seats out there. Which not only give you flexibility but also make it so much easier to get the child in and out. I'd recommend having a look at those.

This site has some useful information explaining why rear facing is safer. www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php

Maxi cosi 2 way pearl, it's massively bigger than the last car seat and reclines but fit on our existing base. Because it's bigger the leg thing won't be a problem, you'll see when you try some out.

One thing that's really really important is to understand that seats that say 'up to 4 or rear facing til 4 years old' etc are basing this on an average 4 year old weighing 18kg.

So you can only rear face in the Joie seats until they reach 18kg.

Look at your child's growth charts in their red book, you can use this to predict what weight they'll be at 4 years old. If they're likely to hit 18kg before age 4 I'd recommend getting a seat that rear faces or at least harnesses until 25kg. If you don't, it'll be costly as you'll either have to buy a another seat later on or move them to a booster (which in my opinion is a worry for an under 4 year old)

DD1 was rear facing until she went to school and DD2 will do the same. We have a Britax Maxway that goes to 25kg so there's no chance of her outgrowing it. As has been said repeatedly, rear facing is the safest way to travel in a car. TBH it's the safest way however old you are but they don't design cars with rear facing seats for adults.

Ah thanks all. I had no idea at all it was based on height - because her legs were starting to hang over I was under the impression that was it.

We don't have nearly £200 to drop on a car seat, we just don't have it despite the savings it might mean further down the line. It's all well saying that, and I do understand but we live pay to pay - the budget can't stretch that far.

I shall do some internet trawling and see what we can find. She's nearly 9kg now (hefty young thing), so I need one big enough for her to be comfortable in.

OP can anyone chip in? My in laws bought her next car seat and viewed it as her Xmas and birthday presents where they'll now just get her a token present since she won't remember any of it later. I know we're fortunate but just an idea.

It's possible a bigger seat won't help. DS, in a bigger seat from 12 months for long journeys, went through a stage where he was no longer falling asleep all the time so was getting upset because he was getting bored. Have you tried distracting with toys?

I think the cheapest next stage seat is the Joie Tilt which is about £75 and will either rear or forward face, bit will only do until age 4. My big (75th centile) DS fit in his baby seat in our 2nd car until he was about 16 months. If you can't afford a new seat now, one option would be to keep her in the old one and either stop every hour or have someone sit in the back to keep her entertained. That would give you quite a few months to save towards a bigger seat, and also Christmas present money?

We bought the Graco Milestone which is suitable from birth. We had the maxi cosy one but my DD didn’t like facing rearward and frankly the screaming and kicking off was more dangerous than her sitting forward facing.

Much happier in her forward facing seat - moved her round as soon as we could (15 months). Also has the benefit of not taking up a stupid amount of room which the isofix base and maxi cosy seat did. With another little one on the way we can’t afford the lack of legroom as I couldn’t drive or be a passenger.

Also, the Milestone is about £135 (Amazon) but you could always see if there are offers on their sites. I’ve since seen it for sale at just under £100.

Websites like precious little one often have Joie seats on offers for reasonable prices. I'd definitely recommend getting one that will last til 4 and then a high back booster after that, which are often very cheap

One thing about if you give her toys is to make sure they're soft. Often in an accident what causes injuries is the force of loose items hitting them. Any toys in cars should be soft enough that you'd throw them at the child with force that was something I'd not even thought about until I learnt about it from a car seat safety advisor.