UPDATED. Confused about car seats? Your questions answered

[LauraEMumsnet]

Car seats and car seat safety can be a bit of a minefield, but when it comes to buying and fitting a seat for your little one, it's vital that parents get it right.

So what exactly is ISOfix? Can you buy a second-hand car seat? And what's the difference between R44 and i-Size?

In the next couple of weeks, we'll be filming an FAQ-style video with car seat expert Jan James, Chief Executive of Good Egg Safety, who will be answering your questions on all things car seats.

If you have something you would like to ask Jan, just pop your question on the thread below and we'll do our best to answer as many as possible.

Happy posting!
MNHQ

hi settle a disagreement please that my sister and me are having, i think im right

my 8 y old is very very big for just 8 hes 125 pounds and 5ft 1 or 2 already(medium bottoms, large tops)

hes never been in a car seat ever as one was never needed as we used to bus every where or walk and got a taxi on the odd occasion,then he used to be in a seat belt,we even left the hospital in a taxi and he came home in my arms as hes been massive since birth(8lb 10 26 inches)and was always in clothes 2-3 years bigger than his age

we got a full time car(his dad passed) 2 years ago and was when i googled he was taller and weighed more than the limit so i never bought one

my nephew is 5 months older than him and was 9 on the 2nd of april

hes small for his age(well way smaller than mine anyway) 4ft 3 or 4 and 60-65 pounds hes been in a car seat from birth and still in a full seat(booster with a back)with plenty of room either side of the seat,hos feet still dont touch the floor

my sister thinks that as mine is under 12 he should be in a seat anyway as thats the law but my argument is hes not 8y old sized and we are unusual circumstances as hes classed as a small adult and has been for years,(he looks 12 or 13)

she thinks we are going to get stopped and fined

when we tried my nephew seat without the back his bum and lower body was wider than the seat and it pinched into his skin

i showed her the info on google and shes adamant he still need it as it says under 12 but im right aint i as hes so big and it pointless as on a seat his head wasnt far off the celing

settle a argument please

My youngest is 10m and my oldest 2.5. The older has been forward facing since she grew out the baby seat. Our car does not have isofix, and halfords had a choice of 2 seats that fit the space and were fixed in with seatbelts, neither were rear facing. I understand the evidence to support extended rear facing. Unfortunately, a newer car is not an option for us. So what is available and from where?

@Cleanmywindows axkid minikid or britax two way elite both rear face until 25kg incaresafteycentre will advise whether they'll fit your car

@tor8181 by law it's 135 cm or 12 whatever is earliest. In reality most of eu state to 150cm which he also is so he does need one. I've also heard that as long as he can sit with his back against the seat with his knees bent over the edge and touch the floor and the shoulder belt across shoulder rather than neck and the lap belt part over thigh rather than abdomen then he doesn't need booster.

Clean There are lots of rear facing seats that are seat belt fitted as opposed to isofix. IME they're much more secure than isofix fitted seats so although we have isofix, we've chosen 3 belt fitted seats out of the 4 we have.

Join the Facebook group 'car seat advice uk' to find which seats will fit your car. You can also search for independent car seat shops which will be hugely more informed than the likes of mothercare/Halfords etc. If you don't have an independent car seat shop near you, you can order from the In Car Safety Centre and they'll guide you through how to fit your seat over the phone. Otherwise, if you feel confident to fit tour seat using YouTube, order online. I've order 3 seats from carseat.se which has always been very good.

As for which seat, it depends if your child is likely to reach 18kg before they're 4. If they're higher than 50th centile on their growth chart, a 25kg rear facing seat is the best choice. Look at the Britax Two Way Elite or the Axkid Minikid or Move. If they're not likely to be 18kg by 4, look at the Joie Stages. All 3 are very good seats, belt fitted and pretty universal meaning they fit most cars very well.

I appreciate you didn't ask this but it would also be far safer to rear face your 2.5yr old in something like the Two Way Elite. Many people on the Facebook group have successfully turned older children rear facing once they realise the difference in safety.

Thank you for the detailed advice. £350+ for the axkid is way out of my budget but the britax one looks like it could work.

Sorry if already answered, but in a rush.
Where is the safest seat to put the carsest? Middle? Behind passenger? Behind driver? DD is 3 and a half, we are still rear facing and will be for as long as is possible and safest, she's very comfortable rear facing and I feel a lot safer doing it, but was recently told I should have fitted the seat in the middle of the backseat, had never head that before!

Purple Middle of the backseat is safest in that it's furthest from any points of impact in a crash but you can only fit a car seat there if it states in the manual that it is allowed. Cars that allow it are cars that have 3 full size seats in the back rather than two full seats and a narrow middle seat.

Otherwise behind the passenger because there is more chance of an accident with impact on the drivers side than the passenger side.

Thanks for answering, she goes in two different cars, one with fill backseat the other without one, I'll check the manual too.

There are a few unanswered questions on here, and people have carried on asking; can this q&a be extended please?

@teaandbiscuitsforme

Unless you don’t mind being the resident car seat expert!

My son travels in a forward facing Britax eclipse. He is not quite 18kg (I think this seat goes up to 25kg though), and will soon be 4. The seat takes up a lot of space and reduces the leg room on offer for him. I really wanted to move him to a high backed booster seat, but is this a good idea? I am not buying a new rear facing seat for the very small amount of time until he is 4.

Do you have any advice for me?

Ha ha, definitely not an expert! I just became a bit car seat obsessed following a crash with DC in the car but I'll give it a go!

Firstly I'd measure the distance between the seat of your Britax and the back of the passenger seat. If leg room is tight, you need to make sure that the distance is at least 55cm because that's the distance needed to pass the legal safety standard.

I think most people wouldn't even think twice about moving to a HBB at around 4. For me, my DD was 4 a couple of months ago and I'm stressing about the fact she's going to have to go in a HBB for after school care when she starts school in September! However, I appreciate that's not necessarily everybody's view and if you feel the leg room is too tight with the Britax, you're probably fine in a HBB. (With the disclaimer that rear facing is obviously still safer. Appreciate you don't want to buy one of those though!! )

I concur with tea on that one. (Also not expert, just find car seats fascinating/have read and watched everything I can). As far as I can tell, there is not much difference safety wise between a forward facing harnessed seat and a well-fitted booster seat where the adult belt routes nicely. Should cross child's collarbone and then very tops of thighs at hips. There may even be a slight advantage to HBBs in that the seatbelt is a bit more flexible which is a good thing in a crash if the child is big enough. And a definite advantage in that HBBs are simpler to use and therefore less prone to user error. I think user error is the biggest issue with car seats as even if you're well informed they can be baffling - I've only JUST worked out how to tighten 9mo DS2's straps properly in his infant seat as I just could not get the slack out of them without a lot of faffing around pulling it tight from the back etc - turns out with this seat you need to pull up, not down, on the tightenng strap. Really unintuitive. A shame because I love his seat.

The Eclipse is up to 18kg, so keep an eye. I thought it was 55cm between DC's head and the seat in front? Is it from the furthest forward edge of the seat, then?

Also if you're concerned about children being too young for a high backed booster and you don't mind spending a bit more, you can get boosters with crotch hooks/loops for the belt now. Look at BeSafe izi flex fix and Britax (any model of kidfix 2 or higher).

Just to add, I'm well known amongst my friends for being ott on car seat , but a 150cm child does not necessarily fit in a hbb. My 10 year old certainly doesn't, he can't get his shoulders in, so I have him in a bum only boosted now.

Yes, I have found the same with my DS1. He stopped fitting in his HBB when he was 8 or 9, I forget when. He was about 140cm. I conclude that high backed boosters aren't really designed for children over 135cm, and the intention in countries with a 150cm limit is to use a booster cushion then. However we later hired a car share which came with a Diono HBB, theirs supposedly go to 160cm, and he was comfortable in that at Christmas, which I was glad about as it was a long drive. He was something like 144cm (he's 10 now). So it might be worth looking now for a seat which will fit for a long time height wise. It really depends where your focus is.

It's 55cm from the back of the seat (where the isofix points are) to the top of the back of the passenger seat.

I'm sure very few people know about this though!

No that's extremely helpful, thank you :)

I think you're right. We are about to get the Joie 360 for DS2 and DH said if we put it forward facing we'd have more room. We won't be obviously, as DS2 is still much too little, but I explained about the 55cm thing and he hadn't realised that.

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the comments. I'm not sure Jan will be able to answer any more questions unfortunately, but do keep an eye out for our updated toddler car seats buyer's guide (coming soon), which will hopefully answer anything we've missed.

I've finally watched the video so I wanted to say thanks for the info and also for answering my question separately :)

Oh my goodness you are right; his car seat does only go to 18kg; I need to work out what I am going to do next before he puts on another 200g!
I will look into the hbb with extra straps

Britax seats are well made, I don't think they are going to snap and not work at 18.01kg :) That said obviously do look into a new seat ASAP but I wouldn't have any concerns at all about going right up to the limit.

I know you meant the crotch strap thing I mentioned but just in case - any HBB with a removeable harness usually the harness is only rated to 18kg as well, so no use to you at this stage.

If you did want to keep him in a harness the Joie Bold will do that. But you need isofix and top tether. If you don't have a top tether point in your car, you won't be able to use a forward facing 25kg harness seat (but ironically, you could fit a rear facing one :o)

That’s interesting about the harnesses and top tether.
I love the old Britax I had which is rated to 25kg and can be set up in 2 positions; slight decline or bolt upright. You weave the belt through it’s gaps and it’s solid. I don’t see them for sale anymore, do you know why?

Recline not decline

The two way elite? You can get that but it's only available through the in car safety centre. The new version is only forward facing to 18kg, not 25kg though. I'm not sure why, a couple of seats made this change. I have a feeling it's the same reason newer 25kg seats need top tether. But you'd have to ask Britax.