To ask you to recommend a cheap car seat?

[MourningEveryone]

My parents want to get a car seat so they can take DD (age 2) out without having to keep borrowing ours.

They’ve asked whether a booster would be OK. Halfords does one for only just over a tenner and it comes with a free demo. I’ve told them that no, these are not an option until 4+. They’ve pointed out that she went in one of these in a taxi to a wedding this summer and was fine. So what’s the problem?

The conversation then tends to lead to me saying that surely their grandchild’s health and safety is more important than a couple of extra hundred quid in the bank (and they are not hard up in the slightest) and them telling me I am being emotionally manipulative. I’m afraid that today I actually said that, if we lost her through the windscreen, starting all over from scratch with a newborn would be a lot more than even a top all bells and whistles car seat.

They were not impressed and their priority remains cheap. So, recommendations please? My preference is rear-facing for safety but that seems to come at a price. Preferably isofix.

Where i live, ERF is common in your own car, but its unusual to require grandparents to use those seats for occasional short journeys. Most people have a cheaper FF seat for that for children over about 2/2.5.

This. We're grandparents. We asked what car seat they wanted us to get, we got it, learned how to fit it safely, and always use it. It should be that simple.

If OP's parents don't want to buy one, then she could either buy one and give it to them without negotiation, or not let the child travel in their car.

There is a compromise, a good forward facing seat that converts to booster. I can personally tell you that ours saved my dd aged 2, 60 mph crash on motorway. The fitting is very important, that it is compatible with the car. A poorly fitted rear facing because it's being moved about is not safer. Erf is new ish and far from common

Car seat safety regulations have changed a lot since they raised their own children, and they're obviously a bit behind on the times with it all. However, there are a lot more cars and idiot drivers on the road now & your DC safety cannot be risked.

If they are really that stubborn about you buying them one, give them yours and buy yourself a new one. Or buy them a new one and rub some crisps and a fruit shoot into it... you can just tell them you got a great 2nd hand deal or a friend gave you one that their child had outgrown

Apologies as not read full thread but depending on your child's centiles a 18kg seat would be a more economical option for a spare/grandparents car seat. In my car I have two britax maxways for my 5 year old and 2 year old and a Joie tilt for my 10month old. The maxways are very good plus tested rear facing seats and I would definitely recommend them, however even at the current price of £175 they are an expensive option for occasional use. In my parents car my children use Joie stages seats both rear facing (5 year old is 14kg and 2 year old 11kg so they have plenty of room left in them rear facing). Although not plus tested Joie seats are a good budget option from a reputable brand. I do strongly believe in erf and will not be forward facing my 5 year old until her baby sister is ready to move into the maxway seat which will be at least a year away

In my parents car my children use Joie stages seats both rear facing (5 year old is 14kg and 2 year old 11kg

Stormelf are you sure your 5 year old only weighs 14kg? Thats quite seriously underweight for a 5 year old.

For reference, the 25th% is about 17kg for a just turned 5 y old (60m). For the vast majority of children an 18kg seat will be outgrown by age 5. Further, the weight limits on the seats tend to be high relative to the height of child that will safely fit the seat - my son outgrew his 18kg seat at just over 3 because he was too tall for it.

You are trusting the seller to not sell if it has ever been in a crash.

In the vast vast majority of cases, the seller will be truthful.

And most people won't have crashed a car or been crashed into.

You do realise how stupid you sound?
Tbh if you're happy to let them put her in their car without a seat then I don't even know why you're bothering to ask for advice.

Get a grip and be a fucking parent. Cause you currently sound like a petulant child and it's embarrassing. For you.

Taxis are insured to carry infants for short journeys in the rear. Private vehicles are not. Good luck making a new baby when your parents do something stupid with yours which you've allowed. Idiot.

The weight limit for rear facing isofix seats in Sweden is 18 kg, which is why the 25kg ERF don’t use it, but it doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with them — they still perform better in safety tests.

Ah yes. Put your child in danger to prove a point to your parents. Your child should never be travelling without a suitable car seat. Not in a taxi. Not in an uber. Not in your parents car.

The really stupid bit is the DRIVER is the person who is responsible and risking penalty points.

Taxis and Buses are exempt because of the practicalities of boot space and carseats are bulky things to carry around although some taxis do carry a booster cushion.

Taxis are except from the laws for practical reasons. People using taxis from A to B may not be able to lug a carseat around with them.

In your position I would give them the seat you have as it's isofix and despite the swearing you can fit it yourself in their car. Anything belted they will potentially remove and refit as and when your daughter gets in their car and they may either FF her or fit it incorrectly.

I'd then buy an ERF to 25kg seat for your car. I have the britax twe and an axkid minikid for my two youngest (different seats as car seat Jenga to make them fit). You can get a good quality, Swedish plus tested seat like the axkid for under £200 (so places online will give you klarna or clearpay options too). My almost 6 year old is still in the twe with bags of growing space still (I reckon she could go up to 8-9 in it as she's pretty petite) and I've not really needed to adjust the axkid from its lower settings with my 3 year old so that'll probably last him until he's 7 or so!

Personally I wouldn't go to Halfords or Smyth's. I've had some shocking advice off them in the past. In car safety centre and winstanleys are both places I have bought from and been happy with their fitting and advice.

we bought ERF seats of equal safety standards to our own one for GPs car AND childminders car.

With secondhand car seats you are dependant on the honesty of the seller that it not only hasn’t been in an accident but that it has also been stored correctly (if damp gets in it can affect the buckle mechanism, integrity of the harness and can cause mould which is then impossible to get out of wedges/harnesses and can reduce the safety features of pads/fabrics) and is within manufacturers expiry dates (some car seats are only safe for 5 years from manufacture, while others are up to 10 years!). You can’t guarantee that inserts, pads and wedges have been included, are for that exact car seat and cared for following the manufacturers instructions. Lastly,
some seats from outside the EU are not actually legal in the U.K. (US seats with chest clips for example) as they don’t meat the regulations.

It goes without saying if you are buying second hand to check the regulations its made to.

They'll be very few non-eu seats in the UK. But you'd want either i-size or R44.44.

However any sort of seat has to be safer for the Ops toddler than being in grandparents car without a seat. Something that is easy to put in and take out is a must, or you can guarantee that it will get taken out and not put back in correctly.

I got the feeling that telling her parents to take her child out without any car seat was OP being sarcastic rather than a genuine solution. I know I’d be likely to turn round and tell my in laws something along the lines of that if they were being so resistant to me providing a safe seat

Why is everyone getting so upset about the OP’s comment to take without a car seat? I am pretty sure she was facetious.. surely the point being made was - oh you aren’t happy taking her without a car seat? Well then why would you be happy to take her with badly made car seat suitable for a much older child that is barely safer than no car seat at all? You get the right one or don’t bother.

Committing the sin of posting without RTFT, but have your tried asking around if anyone in your neighbourhood/ friendship group has an outgrown one they would be happy to pass on? I was at a loss of how to get rid of one of ours, as charities won't take them in case they've been in an accident, but I put a message on our neighbourhood whats app group offering it and confirming it hadn't been in an accident and it was snapped up in minutes by a family who wanted a spare for grandparents.

www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/baby/car-seats-and-bases/baby-car-seats-and-bases/00-18kg-%7c-group-0-1/joie-spin-360-isofix-group-0-1-car-seat-ember/p/169434

Those with more knowledge, is this a good one?

If you are prepared to pay for it why not get whichever (safest) you want and tell them it was a tenner or whatever. I think that’s the easiest option.

Jole are good, llove this one but its isofix they have a car fitment checker on their site

Mind you they could justt use tgr spin ff which defeats you

The Joie spin is a safe seat. Can legally be used ff from 9kgs. If child is high centile they will outgrow it well before age 4. I have the ispin which is on the new isize regulations. I find it has a more spacious seat than the spin, has better side impact protection and is legal to ff from 15 months. My 20 month old rf in hers happily.