Don't own a car - how often will I use a car seat?

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Hi all,

We live in central London and don't own a car (and won't for the foreseeable future, at least 2 years).

How often will I use a car seat, and is an isofix one the best choice considering we'll only use it in cabs/ubers (so the base will have to be removed anyway every time)?

We're considering getting a fairly cheap one as we don't think we'll use it more than 1Xmonth tops (and would rather invest in a good urban pushchair!), but let me know if we're off base.

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None of us know how often you will choose to go in a car!

We lived in zone 2 when DS was born, and didn't have a carseat at all until we left London and had to buy a car because we lived in the country -- he came home from the hospital in a sling on the Overground, and from then on was either in a sling or one of the two lightweight, public-transport friendly but usable from birth pushchairs which were on the market back then.

I suppose you need to think about whether the journeys you generally make on public transport are going to morph for any reason into cab journeys? In black cabs, you can just wheel in the pushchair with the brakes on.

We didn’t get a car seat for the same reason. We used public transport, had a sling and a folding buggy. Came home from hospital on the bus. My DC never travelled in a car. But we got one for grandparents. We would visit by train, a few times a year, and they would pick us up from station.

I don't think this is unlikely. I wouldn't get an isofix seat. They add too much weight and trying to carry a base around will be a huge pain. In your situation, I'd get either Joie Juva or Joie Tilt. Both suitable from birth, cheap but trustworthy brand, lightweight, seatbelt fitted and quick to fit. The Joie Juva will last you until about 18 months for an average sized baby, 12-15 months for a big baby or even up to 2 for a small baby. Joie tilt will last an average child until about 3.5, a tall child until about 2.5 and a small child until about 5. But is obviously larger and more of a pain to carry around. The thing is you will need this type of seat for after the infant seat anyway, so you can either save yourselves the bother of carrying around a large toddler seat for the first year or so, or save yourself the money you'd spend getting a separate seat for toddler stage and baby stage. Your choice.

The other option would be to get the cheapest one you can find which is compatible with your pushchair. This will only be the infant kind. If you get a pushchair which will take a Maxi-Cosi seat, then this will either be Joie Gemm (similar to Juva, not quite as light, goes on Maxi-Cosi adapters) or you will often find that retailers offer a bundle with a Maxi-Cosi seat included for a lower price. In this case, go for Cabriofix or Citi as those are generally the cheapest and longest lasting. Pebble has nicer padding, but tends to have a height limit on it which means you have to stop using it by about 9-10 months, whereas if you're going for pushchair compatability, IME you want the longest lasting seat you can. Joie Juva/Gemm or Maxi Cosi Citi/Cabriofix will fit this bill.

You don't legally have to have one in a taxi...

Thank you everyone!

@BertieBotts we are exactly thinking about the Joie Juva. We are considering the Maxi Cosi travel system as pram/buggy so if we go for that one it might be the Gemm.

Yes good idea.

While you don't need one in a taxi, it's still recommended to use one. The law is only that way because it would be impossible to enforce and because of difficulties pinpointing where the responsibility would lie. In a private car, it's with the driver. So it's up to a driver to make sure their car has the correct seat for whichever child they are driving around.

We travel a fair bit due to living a long way away from families but I’d get a car seat. I personally wouldn’t feel safe without having him in a car seat, the one journey we did in a black cab with him without a car seat was horrendous for me. We mainly used ours in taxi’s and coaches or grandparents cars as we don’t have one but it got a fair amount of use and made the coach journeys so much better than if I’d had to hold him the entire time.

Absolutely do not get an isofix base if you don't have a car. However you will need a car seat for cabs to the hospital (touch wood you won't need to go, but if you do, you'll be in a hurry), if you hire a car for a weekend away, cabs on holiday etc.

We had this dilemma. Ended up buying a non isofix car seat as has been suggested above. He's now 15 months and has been in it a handful of times to make it worthwhile buying (both of our families live 4+ hours from London, mine live about 10 miles from the nearest train station with no bus access) but I'm glad that we didn't spend a lot on one (although do get one that has a reasonable Which? magazine review), definitely not one with an isofix base as they're quite pricey. And heavy.

Car seats used regularly as a part of a buggy are supposedly a cause of flat head.
A lot of people I know in the city borrow a car seat to get home from the hospital and then don’t have one afterwards. Perhaps you can rent one.

If OP doesn't have a car then it's unlikely she'll use the seat on a pushchair regularly, but it does solve the problem nicely of having to carry the seat around with you if you can turn it into part of the pushchair!