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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

306 replies

Pixiepants · 15/05/2008 19:47

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.....

OP posts:
Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 13:49

I'd like everyone to be able to see them in the flesh too Kazbeth...which is why it'd be great to get them on the high street along side the current styles.

Someone will be along to let you know about the overhang as I don't pick mine up til Tuesday, but I think the proportions are the same so the base will have as much/little overhang as a forward facing...I think.

OP posts:
MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:05

The base of the seat does not hang over the edge of the seat it is placed on. Basically, the seat is leaning against the back of the seat infront (or dash board if you put it in the front). It should then have anchorage belts around the base of the seat infront, or, if you place it in the front seat (which I would not recommend btw) around the base of the seat it is placed on. It should also have a support leg that comes down to the floor and some have a hoop that pushes into the back of the seat the car seat is placed on, which also stretches the seat belt to make sure that the seat is firmly fixed in place. I took my seat (a BeSafe Izi Kid) to the RSO in Essex and they had never seen a seat so well "wedged" in a car. It doesn't move a millimeter when you try to shake it.

About carrycots on the car. I would not use one personally. They do not protect the child's neck at all.

And about buying a new "safe" car rather than a car seat, the new safer cars on the market today are safer for adults but not for children. Their chassis are harder which is good for adults as the car doesn't fall apart, but for children that are more vulnerable to the forces at play, the fact that the chassi is harder and does not absorb as much of the force from the accident is a disadvantage as the child's body has to cope with additional force. If you look at the diagram in this document you will see the force applied to the neck in a frontal collision. Note that a force above 1000 Newton is highly dangerous. This diagram is what "did it for me". The difference between forward facing seats and rear facing seats is staggering.

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:08

BTW, feel free to take copies of the document mentioned above to your toddler group, NCT group, HV, clinic, school, local car seat store, Mothercare, RSO or anywhere else you like, if you want to spread the word to other parents. Totally free copyright.

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:09

PS. If anyone want to come around my place for coffee and to see our childseat, feel free. Just drop me a line. I live in Southampton.

Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 14:13

Same for me on the 'Come and see one fitted' front from Tuesday...I'm in Bristol.

Nice idea H

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MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:15

In reply to Kazbeth, practically all children in Sweden are rear facing until they are at least 4 years old. The seat does provide ample leg room. It is standard there, just like forward facing is standard here. It is hard to picture what something that deviates from what we think of as "the norm" would look like, and I think that this is the biggest problem this campaign is facing. The seats are used as standard elsewhere and could be standard here too. The problem is not the seats, the leg room or the cars we use, the problem is our attitudes towards new things. It is absolutely normal to feel this way, everyone does. New things that we have never seen before are strange as they do not fit in with the way we see the world. If these seats had a presence in all shops that sold car seats, it would be a completely different story, I think. You could try different ones in your car and see that they would fit and you could see information about the difference it makes to the safety of the child. That is what the rear facing campaign is all about. To give that choice to every parent. For everyone to be able to buy the safest alterantive for their children.

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:16

We can set up our own car seat clinic Pix

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:17

Pix, I have forgotten which seat you went for? Britax?

Meeely2 · 17/05/2008 14:25

mrs aki, so your recommendations for long journeys is not to? since we told not to put them in car seats for more than an hour and a half a day....

Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 14:26

Still deciding. Going to MK on Tuesday so will let you know which one then. Mad that PocketPixie has to endure a 300 mile round trip unless MrPixie can work from home that day...but do want it fitted by someone with experience.

OP posts:
MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:31

Well, it is a hard nut to crack... I have done longer journeys (3 hours or so) after bedtime so that she has slept the whole way. I have also done journeys where I have divided the trip up with breaks to stretch legs and backs. But I didn't travel too far when she was little, I guess I didn't really have a reason to so I didn't have to make that decision (I was lucky that way).
But I would never put her in the car without a proper car seat that protected her head fully. I am totally obsessed with car seat safety. I am such a sad person. Give me a life, someone

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:33

Definitely a Britax then. They are good

Meeely2 · 17/05/2008 14:34

mrs aki - i disagree that the problem is not our cars, since in my case it is - you simply could not get a rear facing behind my dh's seat, especially if you need the anchor bit attached to the floor as well - not sure you really understanding how small the gap is when my husband drives.

However since we trying for baby 3 we will be upgrading to a people carrier anyway, but I object to the fact that if we weren't trying for another baby we would have to upgrade our car if we were made to use rear facing only til the age of 4. I'm sure other people would also object if new government legislation meant they'd all need bigger cars if they had more than one child under the age of 4.

i appreciate child safety is our primary responsibility, but some people really can't afford £3k or more to get a bigger car.

Meeely2 · 17/05/2008 14:35

as it is, most people with young kids under 12 are having to upgrade so they can fit seats and boosters in

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:37

Oh, you mentioned the Which? Magazine before. The June edition will be an issue with car seat as the main theme, and there will be an article about rear facing seats. They have tested one seat so far, but I have suggested some seats that are available on the UK market to be included in the next test round. A good idea is for everyone to write to them and request that the seat you are interested in (be it Recaro Polaric, Maxi Cosi Mobi, BeSafe Izi Kid, the Britax Nordic range or the Graco range) so that they can see that there is a big interest out there regarding these seats. The editor is very positive about them but is also limited by the fact that they are not for general sale. We need to create a parent stir so that they get into the public eye a bit more.

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:41

Meeely, what I meant was that there are rear facing car seats that fit most cars. If your hubby is so tall, well, you could place the seat in the front (provided that there is no active airbag installed) or you could get a bigger car that is not new or you could come up with something else. I just mean that there are seats to fit most cars. We had a 3 door Corsa when DD was born and we had to upgrade to a car with doors to the back seat. That is just something you do when you have children. You sort things out so that the solution suits your family. We swopped our nice new Corsa for a much older Renault Scenic.

MrsAki · 17/05/2008 14:42

And I have never aimed for legislation. I don't think that it has to be a nwe law about it. I am only aiming to inform everyone. Then people can make up their own minds and decide what they want to prioritise.

Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 14:43

Meely, the rear-facing campaign is not trying to make refacing a law, just trying to make it more available.

OP posts:
Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 14:45

x-post

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suzi2 · 17/05/2008 15:34

Meeely2, just out of interest, how do you get on with a forward facing seat behind your DH? Does he get kicked a lot by your child?

susiecutiebananas · 17/05/2008 15:40

I am so confused. Is this aout stage 1 or group 1 ? there is a huge difference... sorry, if already covered, trying to read and entertain DD too..

Stage 1 is of course birth to about 1w2 months, where as group 1 is about 9 months to up to 4 years. Dependig on weight, so, which are we talking about

Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 16:07

susie, it is group 1.

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swallowsandamazons · 17/05/2008 16:26

Happy to show my rear facing seat of as well, i live near tonbridge. AS for long journeys we did 500 miles with ours, kent to north west ireland, its very easy to sit in the back and amuse your kid when you can face them. I am going to print of mrsaki document now.

Original poster
Pixiepants · 17/05/2008 16:54

Great stuff swallows. It's all gonna help.

OP posts:
bidibidi · 17/05/2008 17:44

I don't understand, if the case for rear-facing is so convincing (and practical), then why haven't the RoSPCA taken up this cause?