Car seat usage difficulties

[Mavey9]

Hi I could do with some advice please about which car seat to get for the grandparents' car. My daughter is nearly 17months, and is 60th centile for weight and 98th for height. The issue is my mother in law has arthritis in her hands and struggles putting the harness clips together and then tightening the strap sufficiently. So I am looking for a car seat where there is some sort of easier way of doing this if it exists?

They did have a lovely besafe izi combo rear facing which I wanted them to use as its same as one I use but I had to sell it as they just could not do the harness up properly for love nor money. They also hated the size of it and just the general faff of car seats altogether. So, I need one that is easy to use otherwise they will cut corners and perhaps not strap her in correctly. They keep saying can we not just put her in the seatbelt and sit with her?!!!!

They have a golf with Isofix. Had considered the ones with impact shield across tummy, but are pricey. Any thoughts anyone? Am getting a bit desperate here and cNt really afford to make a dud choice as they just won't use it if straps at all tricky.

Sorry hit send too soon. Also wanted to ask if the ones with the bolster bar/impact shield are in any way fiddly or possible to get wrong?

Thanks in advance all.

I borrowed an impact shield one once - I was surprised at how difficult I found it to fit.

DD was arching her back to push against it while I tried to put it in, which obviously didn't help. But you have to get it into the right position and then pull the seatbelt really tight to hold it in place.

I'd naively thought it would sort of automatically snap into the correct place, sort of like a funfair ride, but in fact it was all loose and you had to position it yourself iyswim.

Some Britax ones make a click sound to tell you when you have tightened the straps enough. But I wouldn't have said the harness is easier in the first place (I usually have to do it for FIL, who doesn't have arthritis).

I have an impact shield one (Kiddy) and find it super easy to do. Cushion in place, lap belt bit through it and pull tight and then the shoulder bit.

This video shows the installation about 90 seconds in:

I found the Kiddy impact shields easy to fit too. Yes it's tricky if the child is back arching but no more than any other seat. When child is co-operating you just tell them "Wiggle your bum all the way back!" and slide the front part in, slot seatbelt through lap part, plug in, pull tight, slot shoulder part into front thing, pull tight again, done. Easy.

At 17 months surely she doesn't sit well enough for them to think a seatbelt is enough?? Even in their day you would have used a car seat for a toddler.

If they can't use a car seat properly then perhaps they shouldn't be having her for car journeys unless you can be there? :(

Kiddy is the cheapest one. I'd just buy the 9-18kg one, not the extended one. You can get a high backed booster later, they are cheap anyway.

Can you take them to John Lewis or Mamas & Papas, Mothercare etc to try one out?

I assume there are different versions of the impact shield ones as we have a cybex sirona which is rear facing then can switch forward facing with impact shield. We haven't used it forward facing but the impact shield clips in either side and doesn't use a seatbelt at all. I would assume that there must be others like this. Cybex do other forward facing seats but I haven't really looked at them as our lo is only 6 months.

There are three manufacturers of impact shield seats that I know of - Kiddy, Cybex (mfd by Mamas & Papas) and Jané.

Cybex tend to be expensive and have the newer features. They can be more difficult to fit with a belt, because the seat has more "grip" in the belt guides. I hadn't heard of the fully isofix one but that sounds promising. I bet it's expensive though! You can see these at M&P shops.

Kiddy were the first seat of this kind to release in the UK market and they tend to be similarly priced to other well-respected brands like Britax and Maxi Cosi. They tend to have six seats on the market at one time - Their cheapest, 9-18kg, belted only, is usually about £160. Sometimes you can get the last year's model at around £129 if you shop around. They change the models and names too quickly for me to keep up with, I don't know why they change them so often.

Jané sell an accessory to their high backed booster seats which turns it into a 9-18kg seat with an impact shield. I don't know a lot about this - I have a feeling it works out more expensive and considering the HBB seats are intended for ages 4-12 years I am not sure about it for younger toddlers.

I do wonder if you said 'Oh dear, having a correctly fitted car seats, with tight straps is so important, you'd better not have her after all...' FIL or even MIL may find they can do the straps?

Hi thanks for all your replies, I was waiting on my email to notify me of new responses and it never let me know, just come on to check my thread now and seen all your responses.

Firstly yes, they haven't transported her at all since they made me get rid of rear facing BeSafe seat. They've only babysat her if I have driven her to them at their house and then picked her up again. Very restrictive but it really is the the only way until I get a new seat for them.

I don't think the arthritis is so bad they can't look after her; all other activities like driving, cooking and baking and general social life unaffected; I think it's a bit of that plus a reluctance to learn how to do something tricky properly. Specifically its tightening the harness with the strap that they just cannot do.

So, based on others comments plus the various car seats I've been looking at over last week, I think I might have to bypass the harnessed seats; they all seem much the same from a useability perspective.

Which leaves impact shield. Can anyone suggest one that is

1. Isofix fitted (as they tend to like to remove seats and put back in as needed which is a pain really as I worry about safe re-fitting, so Isofix is a must)
2. plus has the impact shield, and not too pricey?

Am I looking at the cybex Juno or kiddy guardianfix or Phoenix fix?
Specifically is there any difference in how easy it would be to route the belt over the shield correctly? Thanks so much everyone, I really want to get this sorted as I have an operation in 3 weeks time and want to feel they can drive her if I need them to. Otherwise I'm going to feel mega stressed about childcare arrangements.

THanks.

Phoenixfix over Guardianfix, you don't need the longer term option for it as a high backed booster is easy to do anyway, and costs much less than £80 which is the difference.

As for which is easier to fit between that and the Cybex, John Lewis seem to stock both so if you have one locally, it might be worth asking to try both of them - maybe take your mum with you? Phone beforehand so you're not making a trip for nothing if they can't or don't have one.