to wish that a few more MN's had seen my thread today......

[Pixiepants]

Here and then taking advantage of the AIBU threads to see if I can drum up a bit more support for this subject?

I probably am, but hey.....

I am looking at buying a seat which rear-faces to 25kg, but am unsure whether it will fit in my car (a VW Polo, 5 doors). Does anyone have experience with a britax two-way elite, or a brio zento in smaller cars? I am unsure if anyone will be able to sit on the passenger seat in front, and also about how difficult they may be to install, without being able to have it fitted in this country. Although I'm considering a long trip to Milton Keynes if I think the two-way will fit! Anyone out there with these seats? Thanks

Sadly it's too late for me... we really can't afford to replace the ff seat we have. BUT, I do think this is an important issue. So I was thinking that it might be a good idea to get Which? on the case. I know we really value their advice when choosing new products, as do a lot of other people. If they did a promotional thingie for ff seats, it would get the word out there.

Which? covered the issue of RFing seats briefly in their latest survey of carseats (June 2008) but didn't actually include any RFing seats in their league table, so it wasn't particularly helpful.

If you go to the "Test results" link on www.rearfacing.co.uk there is a link to www.smartson.se which seems to be the Swedish equivalent of Which?. You can use google translate to get a rough idea of what is said about the half dozen RF seats reviewed there, but basically they rate the Be Safe iZi Kid and the Maxi Cosi Mobi the highest. (These are available on www.toddler.se), and they are available to try out in your car in the UK at the In Car Road Safety Centre in Essex (Lubards Farm, Hullbridge Road, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 9QG. 01268 297593). (They also have a couple of Britax RF seats to try there too).

It seems that you do have to compromise a bit on legroom if you want to use a RF seat, but that this varies from make and model of car. If you contact the lady who runs the rearfacing website (via the site), she may be able to put you in touch with someone who has a RF seat in your area so that you can see how it fits.

Good luck.

Here is an article about rear facing car seats in this week's British Medical Journal. It's written in a very dull scientific manner but the key facts are there ... rear facing seats are safer for children under 4 years and young children should travel them for as long as possible.

www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/jun11_2/b1994

More should be done to promote them in this country! I live near Oxford and would be happy to show anyone who was interested my DS's (12 mnths) very snazzy and very comfy rear facing seat.

I have read this thread with interest and I found this recent article as well...well done helena for getting it this far...now if only more retailers would stock and/or fit these seats for us -I live in the Highlands of Scotland and my only option is to buy online (

www.heraldscotland.com/car-seats-facing-rear-safest-for-all-children-1.912421

that was meant to be not