Car seat help.

[KMS8985]

Hello,

I wanted some advice and suggestions on car seats.

I hate the car seat I have for my two year old son. It says recline but doesn't seem reclined enough to me. Every time he falls asleep his head falls forward and i can't keep pushing his head back whilst driving.

I've been looking at these two car seats;
Cosatto
All In All 360 Rotate Group 0+ 1/2/3, ISOFIX / Belt Fitted Car Seat

Chicco
Seat 4 Fix Car Seat

Does anyone use these and if so is the recline any good.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks
Kirstie

What seat do you have now, and what car? Are the back seats very "tipped" backwards?

Are you using your car seat forward facing or rear facing? And is it a seatbelt fitted or isofix one?

I'd look at this before looking into a new seat, because it doesn't matter which seat you buy if the vehicle seat it's on is the problem, if that makes sense. The recline in the seat is only ever relative to the way it's installed.

If you're on Facebook and have time Saturday morning you might want to look at the UK Car Seat Library's virtual library. I know they have the Chicco Seat 4 Fix, I don't think they have the Cosatto. But you could see the recline of it then and ask the lady running it what she recommends for recline.

Agree with above poster about looking at that Facebook page. Head flop isn’t a safety concern in babies over 6 months with no health issues so unless he’s waking up uncomfortable I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Is his nappy pulled all the way to the buckle? Sometimes if baby is sat too upright they can be more prone to head flop so try pulling him all the way to the buckle before tightening the straps and see if that helps.

Hi,

Thanks for your responses.

I have the isafe car seat. It's installed in a Nissan qashqai.
No the seats aren't particularly tilted.
The car seat is forward facing and installed with isofix.

Never heard of that Facebook page but will take a look. Thank you.

I never thought about the nappy. I will try that and see if it makes any difference.

I just worry with his head like that if god forbid we had a crash his neck would break.

Will deffo take both your advice on board.

Thanks very much xx

Have you considered turning him back rear facing? In the event of a crash he would be 500% safer rear facing than forward facing, so this would already take away your fear of damaging his neck in a crash.

Which isafe sorry, there are a few on the market.

Forward facing seats are usually more upright than rear facing ones, the rear facing ones tend to be a bit more reclined, even the ones for older children, though they can go upright for when they're awake and want to look around too. And rear facing is much much safer in terms of protecting his neck at two years old (at any age, but especially so young). If the seat you have can go rear facing, I would try that first but to be honest the iSafe seats aren't the best regardless of which one you have. So if you do have the option of replacing it, that might be the way to go.

The Qashqai can be a bit of a pain to fit car seats into, a lot of them fit oddly even though they are on supposed "fit lists", so I can't actually recommend for you to buy one blind. Are you able to get to any of the specialists listed here? www.carseatlibrariesuk.com/approved-retailers.html#/

Is your little one big, small, or average size for his age do you know?

Listen to BertieBotts, she knows her onions

Out of the two seats you originally posted, I would have a preference for the Chicco as their recent seats have done quite well on ADAC testing, whereas Cosatto seats generally don't.

For the sort of budget you're looking at, you could also look at some other spin seats: Joie Spin, Britax Dualfix, Cybex Sirona, Maxi Cosi Mica. Apart from the Mica, there are several versions of each seat but definitely some versions under £250 for each. I believe the recline on the Joie i-Spin 360 is the deepest one, and it's also one of the most compact, although it's a bit over budget at £280.

BUT, again, be aware this is highly dependent on the position of the isofix in your car. Since these spin seats are available widely, even if you can't get to a specialist, you might be able to find somewhere local to you you can try it out - perhaps Smyths, Halfords, John Lewis or even Argos.

The other suggestion I'd make to you particularly if you can locate a specialist would be to look at rear facing seats which go up to 25kg which is about 5-7 years old depending on whether your child is big or small for their age. That might seem like a long time, but if neck safety is a concern, then it's a really safe and secure way to go. Because all of these seats are seatbelt fitted you can adjust the angle to your car. The ones up to £250 are listed in this article which also explains all of the differences :) I would only add that the Max Way Plus is now cheaper than she says here, and would come under the £250 mark. erfmission.com/budget-friendly-erf-car-seats-to-25kg/

ICSC have an offer on the Britax Max Way Plus atm, it's £215 - bargain

That's a good price. I saw it for £180 the other week, I think it was a mistake, but some people on the FB groups definitely bought it at that price!

Darn I bought it for £215 a while back but haven't started using it, would have jumped at the chance to get it for £180!

At least with the ICSC you get the after sales service, though.

Thanks again for all your comments.

Bertiebotts: I have no idea which one it is I can't find the booklet at the moment.

I hate it anyway so think I will look at changing it.

My son hates rear facing looool. He likes to look foward.
He's average for his age.

I'll look into the car seats but I do like the Chicco one.

Xx

"At least with the ICSC you get the after sales service, though."

Indeed. We bought it before we needed it (when it was on offer) so haven't fitted it yet but ideally we will go back and get them to fit it, or at least check the fit. Bit of a drive for us though.

OK, if you prefer forward facing, I would look at the Britax King 2 as well as the spin seats, also Britax Advansafix is good if you have top tether.

Oh thanks I'll have a look at them.
Yes I have top tether. I have a 2017 qashqai so was told the later models are better with fitting isofix the older models are a pain lol.

There's so much choice it's hard to know what to buy as my main concern is the recline in forward facing.

I can't find a supplier that will fit car seats as mother Care has gone lol. Smyths toys don't have a great range.

Mothercare were always crap for car seat advice anyway.

Any of these near you?
www.carseatadvice-uk.com/specialist-retailers.html

Namechange30

Glad I never went there.

Thanks I'll have a look.

X

If I have time tomorrow I will look for better tested/good recline forward facing seats for you. But the above would be a starting point anyway :) I know the spin seats have good choice of recline even when forward facing.

BertieBotts- thank you very much I really appreciate that.

Xx