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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Car seat advice

28 replies

Herefordeals · 29/04/2023 09:50

Hi all,
Posting in AIBU because I know more people will see this. Need a new car seat for 1 year old. Price not an issue but want longevity and safety to be priority. Any one able to recommend? It's a minefield online and we realised today that current one (group 0) is now way too small so urgently need to get a new one!
Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Thisismeyeah · 29/04/2023 10:01

Get one that turns that is by far the best advice you will ever get.

We have the top Cybex and a cheaper britax both turn (cheaper as its an older model was expensive in its day). The Cybex being newer is probably 'safer' but I much prefer the Britax its a lot easier to turn and the buckle on the Cybex is fiddly. Look at joining Which for a month they review loads often you can join for a month for free. Narrow down your search and youtube reviews.

PrimrosesandPears · 29/04/2023 10:02

Agree with the twisty ones. We have a joie I-spin which is great.

BertieBotts · 29/04/2023 10:22

Do you know how big your baby is (weight and height) and age? Or a rough idea of centiles?

Do you know about the benefits of extended rear facing?

When you say longevity, are you wanting something that will do all the stages, or just the next stage (generally safer and nicer to use) but last for as long as possible?

Is price really really really not an issue? You can get car seats for anything from £60 to £750 these days. But you don't need to spend on the high end. £200-300 is a decent budget. I would probably not go any lower than £100-150 ideally. £450+ is where you start getting the unique features.

Without knowing anything else, if you want to prioritise longevity and safety and have unlimited budget I'd suggest besafe stretch, which is also suitable for any age. But if you have more info then I could refine suggestions :)

AndIKnewYouMeantIt · 29/04/2023 10:22

Joie Spin 360, any day of the week.

Herefordeals · 29/04/2023 11:00

Thanks so much everyone, really appreciate the tips. Looking at spin ones just now.
@BertieBotts thanks,you sound like you know what you're talking about! You're probably right when I say price not an issue, I didn't realise some cost that much! I guess top end budget maybe about 400? Could spend a bit more if it was really worthwhile or we'd get a few more years out of it. Ideally looking for something to use until at least 4 but saw some can be used until 12 which obviously appeals financially but are those ones not so good? I've read up on the rear facing benefits and would like that to be an option at least for a few more years. Checking out the besafe stretch just now...

She's 15 months, 23lbs and on 25th centile for height.

OP posts:
Ripasso · 29/04/2023 11:06

I would get an extended rear facing car seat like the axkid mini kid. It rear faces up to 25kg or 125cm and it is much safer to rear face until 4.5 or 5. Friends that have the seats that turn have their two year olds facing forwards and it is so much safer to rear face. I know legally it is ok. I have the axkid mini kid and my almost 6 year old and four year old are rear facing.

Hugasauras · 29/04/2023 11:07

Not sure I would agreee about the spin ones. They are actually useful for a very short amount of time and actually have higher sides and sit higher than the 25kg ERF seats, so you have to lift higher a lot of the time and it's much harder for your child to climb in themselves. They are also only 18kg whereas for the same price you can get a seat that goes up to 25kg. If you have a high centile child, they will be out of rearfacing in their spin seat at 3 or earlier and that's too young IMO for a HBB.

We did the spin seat thing with DD1 and ended up having to pay for a 25kg ERF seat anyway so we ended up spending £300 we didn't need to and didn't get £300-worth of convenience. With DD2 she's just gone into a Maxway Plus in one of our cars as 10 months and it's fine. The spin seats also are very bulky if you have a smaller car and/or a tall driver/passenger whereas the 25kg ones like the Maxway Plus or Axkid Move are compact.

as Bertie Botts said, if money is truly no object the BeSafe Stretch will do you for years and years and is an incredibly safe seat which allow very extended rear facing, which is the safest way to travel.

Ripasso · 29/04/2023 11:07

I plan to keep my children rear facing until they have reached the limits for the seat. There are good car seat advice groups on Facebook.

Hugasauras · 29/04/2023 11:09

Also DD1 is 4 and still in her Maxway Plus and Axkid Move rearfacing. DD2 is lower centile so will get beyond 4 in them. So two seats can take you from infant to safe high back booster age.

BertieBotts · 29/04/2023 12:15

OK so with her stats, if she continues on the same lines she'd be able to stay in the Besafe Stretch up to about 8 years old if you so wanted. It costs about £450 - so higher than your budget. There are cheaper seats of a similar style such as Axkid Move. That would probably last her to about age 7. It costs £250 and is just as safe as the Besafe, but has a few less features - the Besafe can be reclined on the go whereas Axkid Move you pick the recline and stick with it, usually by age. It's easier to change the height of the straps in the Besafe whereas Axkid Move is more of a faff, but you only need to do it twice ever. These are examples of the longest lasting rear facing seats on the market (25kg+ ERF seats). With her weight/height it's probably not worth the extra £200 just to get another year out of it, whereas for a child who is very high on the scales, that might be worth paying.

Of course you don't have to keep using it that long anyway - it would just essentially mean that you have complete freedom to move her into a high backed booster whenever you feel the time is right without worrying about her weight or height. And another point (which could be positive or negative depending on your perspective) is that you don't have the option to forward face. Rear facing is the safest option, so some people like the fact of being locked into that in order to avoid any arguments with partner/relatives/pester power/general temptation. But as they get older, especially after 4 years, it isn't (statistically) as important and some people prefer to know that they have the option to change to forward facing if they want to.

In contrast an 18kg seat like most of the spin ones, she'll likely outgrow just about round 4 years old. Attitudes are changing about booster seats - people used to say fine as long as over age 3.5, age 4 is better - but more and more people are choosing to keep a 5 point harness until more like 4/5 years, and I'd guess this trend will continue for the next 3 years or so. So you'd be potentially looking at changing a bit early if you went for a standard spin seat. However, this isn't necessarily the end of the world, because there are now quite a few seats on the market that combine harness (forward facing) and booster seat up to about 105cm / 20kg, or 125cm / 25kg, and these would be a good transition seat for her if she outgrows it, but you still feel she's a bit young for seatbelt only. So you could get a standard spin (e.g. Joie 360 Spin) until she's about 3.5, and then later one of the harness/booster seats so she can harness until about 4.5 - 5yo and then change to booster. This might also be a good solution if you think you'll have another child and pass the seat down.

Or there is the new Britax Dualfix M Plus, that's rear facing/forward facing, spin up to 105cm and 20kg - which will take her to about age 4.5 which is a bit better than the standard 18kg. This costs about £325 so it's cheaper than the Besafe, but more expensive than the Axkid Move. Lovely seat to use, nice harness, nice adjustment, great safety reputation from Britax, only the 105cm limit will be a problem for some taller children. I actually really like this seat, and given your updated requirements it would be my vote, but look into different options, see if you can try them out with your DD and in your car. It's you that will use it so it's helpful to get a feel for different models.

The ones that go all the way up to 12 will mostly be a bit of a gamble for you, because she's on the borderline on the weight category so you might have the same 18kg issue. Also, they tend to be bulkier, they perform a bit worse for safety in all modes and they are not usually cheaper than buying a separate spin seat + high backed booster, but if you did want to look at one then I'd look at Silver Cross All Motion 360, as that recently got a surprisingly good score in the crash testing, better than most all-stages seats, (although still worse than the best spin seats, best high back boosters and the seats like Besafe/Axkid) and like the Britax, it has a slightly higher weight limit for the rear facing or 5 point harness stage, although it's only 18.5kg, not as high as 20kg, but that might be enough to get you to about 4.5 years. It costs about £400, so it's right at your budget whereas a standard spin seat is about £160-280, and the Britax with the higher limit is £325. A top range high backed booster is currently about £150-180 and a medium one about £100. So it's not much of a saving, and if you have a second child then you won't be able to hand it down if your DD is still using it.

Weight wise, it is common for them to drop a centile when they start to move, so if she's not started walking properly yet, it could be she'd get a little bit longer in some of the lower weight limit seats. All of the ages/weights are just guesswork I'm afraid but gives you a rough idea.

Anyway yes - most important thing actually is to try seats out and see how you get on with them. Have a look at her fit, the ease of using different features and how it fits in your car ideally before you buy. I know it's tempting to buy online but this is a really useful and valuable step, especially if you can find a retailer that you can go back to for advice if you ever have any issues with the seat.

BertieBotts · 29/04/2023 12:26

I missed one point - you will find seats on a lot of baby discount websites that claim to go up to age 12, and spin, and ERF, and recline, and isofix, and seatbelt, and side impact protection, and and and do everything all at once for about £150. These are generally not good seats. They are making compromises somewhere (everywhere!) for that price. Half the things they promise are misleading. They are often awkward to use, the build quality isn't as high as other brands and the instructions are difficult to understand which increases chance of misuse. Steer clear.

Herefordeals · 17/05/2023 21:24

Thanks so much everyone for all the tips and advice,it has been really helpful. @BertieBotts thank you!! You went to so much effort and I really appreciate it. I hope others who end up here find it just as useful too.
Can I just ask, given everything that's been said, is there a RF/FF option on a seat that can do her beyond 18kg (besides the Britax) but that's not all the way up to 12?

OP posts:
123deepbreath · 17/05/2023 22:34

I don't think there's a 25kg seat that can be RF and FF off the top of my head but I'm not an expert so don't hold me to that!

If you're on Facebook I'd suggest joining extended rear facing (erf) car seat safety and contacting one of the admins for your local area, they all run independent business specialising in safety so they'd be able to give some good advice and if you chose to buy through one of them you can test different ones in your car for best fit, they help with fitting and any ongoing issues as well!

123deepbreath · 17/05/2023 22:37

Oh and my little one is in an avionaut sky ERF seat, she's around 13 percentile and been in it since she was 9 months, I reckon we'll easily get her to 6 years in it as she's very short and light!

lochmaree · 17/05/2023 22:48

I'd get an ERF seat, at least 25kg, so not a spin one. We have an Axkid Minikid which is fab, it's an incredible car seat. Also got an Axkid Move which is great but just a bit more of a faff. We recently got a BeSafe Stretch and it might be my favourite. The recline function is great, my 10mo doesn't flop his head forward while sleeping. It's easier to fit than the Axkid ones.

The Axkid One is amazing if money is no object. But it is isofix only.

TheIsleOfTheLost · 17/05/2023 22:53

In car safety centre are brilliant if you are near one. You can see the seats there and they check they will work in your car. We went with 18kg ones that could be rear or forward facing and the rear faced for most of the time. One kid is asthmatic, so risk assessed that it was better to be able to see them when wheezing. It sounds like there are more options to rear face to a later age now, which is great

Herefordeals · 18/05/2023 07:41

Thanks everyone. Can I ask one thing, does the ERF seat impede on the space of the passenger in front? When you Google images it looks like the front seats are pushed all the way forward to allow leg room for the child and wondering how I'd be able to sit on the passenger seat if the car seat is behind me? Sorry if that's a silly question!

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 18/05/2023 08:09

Front seat space totally depends on the seat and how you have it installed. But because these seats usually sit much more upright than the baby seat, you might find that they actually take up less room. For instance, we had a Cybex baby seat and then a Joie 360 Spin rear facing seat. This was in a small car, Suzuki Swift. With the baby seat, I had to have the passenger seat in the furthest forward position for it to fit. When we changed to the Joie spin seat, if it was reclined it took up the same amount of space as the baby seat, but if it was upright I could push my seat back by 1-2 notches.

Out of the spinning type seats, the Joie one does seem to be the most compact. Anything that needs to stay reclined, like the Silver Cross and other all-stages seats, will take up an especially large amount of space due to the combination of the recline and the longer backrest for older children.

The Swedish style ie 25kg+ type seats have much more flexibility in fit, you often have a choice of recline angles but also a choice whether to fit the seat right up snug to the backrest, which is fine for younger children whose legs won't even reach to the edge of the seat yet anyway. As they get older, you might prefer to fit the seat with a gap here to allow for leg room - you can often compensate by having the seat less reclined. It's something that you could try out if you are able to find a local ERF specialist and try different seats inside the car. You do not need the leg room gap for safety.

It is only seats up to 18kg / 105cm which can do both ways. All the ones with options up to 25kg or 125cm are currently rear facing only or forward facing only.

There are a couple which do 18kg one way / 25kg the other way:

BabyAuto Dupla - RF up to 18kg, forward facing harness to 25kg. But no spin, only reclined, it's an all-stages seat and very cheap so possibly not great performance wise.

Britax Multi-tech 3 - RF up to 25kg, or FF with harness to 18kg / with seatbelt to 25kg. It's an old seat and not much stock of this any more. Good as a RF seat though. Similar to Britax Evolva when used forward facing.

And there are a couple of multi-stage seats which do 18kg both ways but also have a booster mode up to 25kg, but that's not really what you're looking for I don't think.

Oh and Maxi Cosi Beryl is worth a mention - it's likely not what you want, because the rear facing mode is only up to 13kg which is probably up to about age 2-2.5 for you, but then it goes forward facing up to 25kg. It has a better FF safety score than any other 25kg seat tested, but the harness is short and Which marked it down on side impact because the side impact testing is poor when the child's head comes over the top of the shell, so if you do use it bear in mind it probably doesn't have much of a use past 18kg in reality. But it will probably get you another ~12 months compared with an 18kg/105cm seat.

BertieBotts · 18/05/2023 08:13

https://www.instagram.com/carseatsweden/?hl=en

This account has a lot of installs showing the front seat space if you scroll through to the second photo in a lot of the posts.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/carseatsweden?hl=en

123deepbreath · 22/05/2023 14:38

@Herefordeals not at all, I've got a KIA Sportage and can fit my husbands best friend who is over 6ft in the front of ours with no issues!

Ktjc · 22/05/2023 14:46

Don’t recommend a spin seat-ours was fantastic and I told everyone to buy it (Joie spin). Then my little girl turned 2, she got HEAVY, and I started bumping her head more and more to get her in. She’s now in a Joie stages (her brother is in the spin) and climbs in herself. Will be buying an ERF one soon for her and giving the brother the stages. Could have saved on a whole seat if I’d have gone ERF to begin with (though would have needed to buy a second!)

MaggieFS · 22/05/2023 14:53

Ktjc · 22/05/2023 14:46

Don’t recommend a spin seat-ours was fantastic and I told everyone to buy it (Joie spin). Then my little girl turned 2, she got HEAVY, and I started bumping her head more and more to get her in. She’s now in a Joie stages (her brother is in the spin) and climbs in herself. Will be buying an ERF one soon for her and giving the brother the stages. Could have saved on a whole seat if I’d have gone ERF to begin with (though would have needed to buy a second!)

My very heavy, almost three year old DD has no bother fitting in the Joie 360 and now climbs in and out of it by herself 🤷‍♀️.

By the time she's too heavy for it, we'll have had four years use out of it across the two DC and it's been invaluable. It's still SO much easier putting her in and out with the spin function compared to DC1, even though he cannot get his arms in the straps etc. by himself.

curlywurlylover666 · 22/05/2023 15:09

Ripasso · 29/04/2023 11:06

I would get an extended rear facing car seat like the axkid mini kid. It rear faces up to 25kg or 125cm and it is much safer to rear face until 4.5 or 5. Friends that have the seats that turn have their two year olds facing forwards and it is so much safer to rear face. I know legally it is ok. I have the axkid mini kid and my almost 6 year old and four year old are rear facing.

This above. Rear facing is safer for young children and this seat will keep them rear facing for a long time especially in 25th centile. I would get the axkid seat which has the self adjusting harness and straps which keeps it multi use if you have more than 1 child and no room for user error as well.

curlywurlylover666 · 22/05/2023 15:10

Just to add we also have the joie spin seats ( as well as the axkid) and they are good seats as well. It will keep my younger one rear facing for a long time as she's about 25 centile as well.

cupofdecaf · 22/05/2023 15:20

We had a joie 360 until nearly 4 and then an axikid for extended rear facing. By then the twisting function wasn't need be DC climbs in and out themselves.
With the twisting ones just because it says you can forward face from a certain age doesn't mean you need to. It's safer to rear face as long as the seat allows.