Rearfacing Car Seats for 9 months to 4 years- Please read and spread the word

[Carseatcrazy]

Please please spread the word about rear facing car seats for 9 months to 4 years.

?In Sweden between July 2006 and November 2007 not one child under the age of six was killed in a car crash. Children in Sweden sit rear facing until the age of four.

205 children under 5 are seriously injured in the UK every year and a further 21 are killed, while in cars (the AA).

Two thirds of child fatalities in the under?four age group in the UK occur in cars (the AA).?

Rear facing car seats for this age group have now been proven to be 5 TIMES SAFER than forward facing.

If this isn't enough have a look at these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=Y2DVfqFhseo&feature=fvw

The other day I walked past a mum having her car fitted outside a well known retailer, and I felt so sad for her that the staff would be giving her the standard "no seat is safer than any other", when that is total rubbish There is a vast vast difference in the safety of these seats.

I just really want to spread the word to other mums and let them see the facts for themselves. (The government and retailers are of the view that UK parents don't want to buy these seats - and therefore don't tell us about them - incidentally there are places across the country now starting to stock them...)

I've done the research, and there is no way in this world I would now get a forward facing car seat. Yes they can be slightly more pricey- but generally about the same price as the higher end forward facing ones- and to be honest, I'm of the view that if you can possibly afford it, safety is the one thing you should skimp on

Anyway, if anyone wants more info, please just give me a shout, also there is loads of great info on: www.rearfacing.co.uk

happy car seat hunting

If it helps I've just got a Graco Duologic which can be isofix of belt routed. I absolutely love it- incredibly easy to fit and easily transferable between isofix and non isofix cars - and it also passed the Swedish plus test like the besafe I'm in devon and more than happy for anyone to come and look at it / try it in their car if it helps with their decision (I also have a besafe belt routed seat you could try / look at as a comparison)

PS- I've heard that Klippan have now introduced the duologic in the UK (called something else, but not sure what!), and the ladies in Essex (I think) have one / sell them - after using my lovely duologic isofix in my car I'd definitely recommend it - its lovely lovely lovely and I have to say my ds actually looks more comfy in it than in his besafe combi

yes it's the klippan isofix safety system. i posted about it a few weeks ago. have got one for ds and is really comfortable and it is more narrow than the besafe but he has more room in it iykwim. it can also be used as a baby carrier from birth-it just slots into the isofix frame.

it is the uk version as the fabrics are for the uk market.

I read about rear facing car seats on mumsnet and then did a bit of my own research. We have a Be Safe in my husbands car (the one we use most) and a Brio Zento for moving between mine and granny's car (easier to move about). I love them both - they are easy to fit once you know how and DD is very comfortable and can see out the window and me through a mirror.

I am SO glad I found this thread. We were going tomorrow to buy a birth to 4 carseat from Mothercare called the Brittax First Class. I wanted this one because it goes rear facing, but a bit of digging around, and it seems the seat is only suitable for rear facing to 13kg. That's not enough as far as I am concerned, after seeing what's been written here.

So here's a question. If we go with a normal 0-9month rear facing infant seat, and plan to change it to one of the group 1 rf seats listed here:

which one/s will fit best in a Honda Jazz?

Where can I get one and have it fitted near Glasgow? We are in Ayr which is about an hour west of Glasgow?

Any help on this would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much to whoever brought this up, you've cleared up a lot of confusion. I too got the whole spiel in mothercare the other day, and was just about to give up on the rf long term idea, thinking it was me that something wasn't quite right about what I was being told.

XXX

EDOOKS i have a KISS which is suitable from birth to 4 years and is rf. it's called the KISS Klippan Isofix Safety System i think! the seat bit comes out and is a baby carrier and then slots into the frame in the car. it has a good recline and lots of baby padding that can be removed. it even has wheels and a pull along handle to 'tow' the baby lol!

this video should give you an idea of the seat. it is the same but marketed under Klippan in the uk as it has the bs covers. www.akta.se/o.o.i.s/128

i got mine from www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk if you want to you should contact them and they will be able to help you. they free ship throughout the uk. contact simon on 028 9074 2052 and he should be able to tell you if it fits in your car/when they are getting them in. i don't know anyone with a jazz or i would try it for you! or if you feel like nipping onto the stranraer ferry you can try mine!

if you'd like any more info on this one just shout! i have a britax twe as well but it's only from 9kgs+.

DS is rather large and breached the 13kg limit on stage 0 seats way before 9 months. Trying to find a rear-facing seat suitable for 13kg and also under 9 month olds was really difficult.

Halfords told us they couldn't stock them because it would mean retraining their staff

We got a Brittax from the Milton Keynes In Car Safety Centre people in the end. They were brilliant, and they couriered it to us the next day, and it was really easy to fit. Not sure what that says about the people as Halfords, but hey ho.

Hello,
I have a rear facing car seat in my old Mondeo which was recommended and fitted by the lovely people at the in car safety centre in Essex. My little girl doesn't mind using it at all as she has never known what it's like to face forward.

I also have an old - 1999 Fiesta which is much more economical to drive so recently bought a forward facing car seat from a well known supplier which they also fitted for me as I assumed a rear facing would be a nightmare to get my daughter into with only 3 doors.
The seat seemed a bit wobbly to me so I took it down to the In Car Safety centre and they told me that it was fitted completely incorrectly and was very dangerous. Also it didn't fit my car so wouldn't protect my daughter in a crash.
Again they demonstrated a Britax 2 Way Elite - rear facing seat in the Fiesta and again I have I have have bought one for this car - it's no more difficult to get her into than a forward facing seat - she climbs in by herself and I just buckle her in!

The safety stats speak for themselves - of course a well fitted forward facing seat will protect your child but a rear facing one has been proved to do an even better job. If you are buying a new seat it's obvious what you should do isn't it?

Before i read this thread a few months ago i was going to buy my DS now 13 months a bog standard forward facing Britax seat. After reading about how much safer he would be rear facing till he was at least 4 i finally took the plunge a month ago and bought the Britax multi tech which turns forward facing at 55 lbs and can last them up until they are 8 or so as a booster seat. It was quite a dent in our monthly budget but i feel so much better knowing that he is in the safest postion to survive a crash god forbid should that ever happen to us.

I think the retailers in this country are frightened of selling the rear facing seats as the move to rear facing will impact the sales of all the forward facing seats they stock and all the suppliers who don't even make rear facing.
Seems nuts that you need to get a Britax rear facing seat imported from Sweden when they are a British company!
When will people start demanding rear facing seats so they become easier to access?

I was actually really surprised that there was the number of stockists in the UK that there is, i went to a place near Bristol and got shown how to fit the seat.

I agree that given that it is common knowledge that rear facing is by far safer for babies, toddlers and children up to 4 years old now that the government arent putting this about in the appropriate circles and making more parents aware of the dangers of ff and the benefits of rf - i had no idea which doesnt really help my ds if i had an accident and he sustained some of the horrible injuries that very small children can sustain ff. There is a video by a parent on youtube that sold it for me - two crash tests dummies one rf and one ff the ff one was thrown about like a ragdoll and the crash impact was absorbed by the back of the seat in the rf one.

They need to bring the prices down and into line with ff car seats as its as bootsian said - the cost of exporting them then bringing them back into the UK is crazy - they need to be far more accessable to all parents.

I'm delighted to find this thread and that so many people are now finding out about extended rearfacing and the huge safety benefits. Our 30 month old travels perfectly happily in his Besafe Izi Kid. We have a Skoda Superb saloon which is huge in the back and I think would be able to accommodate even the largest of the rf seats.

We are a stockist of car seats and I feel a lot of the issues with these manufacturers not supplying rear facing seats is down to demand. I know the majority of people on here understand the benefits of rear facing but to be honest I get so many people who are in such a rush to get children out of seats far too soon without realising dangers and they don't seem to be open to advice. I had one customer who wanted a basic (not highback) booster for her 18 month old grand child and couln't understand why I refused to sell to them. Surely it is down the government to start providing this information through advertising or health visitors and to also start enforcing these laws that we already have. So many times I see children without child seats or even a seat belt and nothing is said until its too late.

kelly do you think this is because of all the things said about rf though? do you promote it and tell people about rf seats-so many people still haven't heard when i tell them and are surprised you can even get such a thing? there are so many myths about the seats too(oh they can't see out, you need a big car, they're too hard to install, etc...) and with some manufacturers saying these things too is it any wonder people don't want to get one as so many people believe what they are told iykwim?

I don't think many even consider a rear facing group 1 seat people, just seem so keen to get them forward facing even as young as 4 months old. We obviously try to advise people of the benefits and even refuse to serve some people but I think there is a huge lack of education out there. Health visitors and government bodies advise us on every other aspect of raising children but I feel very little is done in this area. With regards to the difficulty to install rear facing seats 96% of forward facing (belted) seats are fitted incorrectly so I don't think this influences peoples decision, my opinion is they seem to view going forward facing as a right of passge? I might be wrong on this and don't get me wrong I still get plenty coming in that want the best car seat possible for their little ones.

I live in sweden and have just turned my DS forwrad facing he is 3yrs 8 months and big at that he weighs over 20kg. Good that someone said it isn't the law to be rear facing till four it is only a recomendation!!!

I am coming to the uk in the summer and am paniking about how My DD will sit she is about to turn one and little and noone I know has a reafacing i can borrow Nightmare!!!

I am glad the message is spreading I am trying with my family but the fact that they are so expensive puts them off.

fitting a Rearfacing isn't that hard if you read the instructions properly!!!

Hi Guys...so happy to see this thread...I knew about rf from doing my own research but was put off by Which's test results...although I think they have given very misleading results!

does anyone know what seat fits best in a Kia Carens (no isofix points as i think it is 2000/1 model) - I emailed incarsafetycentre about certain models and this is what the lady said:

"Reference my previous email I do not think that the Mobi would fit into your vehicle, there would probably not be enough space even if it did not buckle crunch, which I think it would. I am fairly certain that the Multi-Tech would also be a problem with buckle crunch so I would not consider any other option other than the 2-Way Elite as this has optional belt routing to prevent buckle crunching."

I am just worried about buying one online and finding out it doesn't fit as it is obviously non-returnable and an expensive mistake to make!

ps. i live in the Highlands of Scotland so don't think there is any way to get it fitted professionally!

hi taegsmum, there was somone else in the highlands i think and she rang simon in the belfast in car safety centre and i'm nealy sure she got a twe too. i think it's the seat that fits most cars iykwim.

maybe try on the rf website www.rearfacing.co.uk and see if there is anyone local who will let you try in your car? i have a twe and am really happy with it-if there's anything you'd like to know about it ask and i'll try and help. i'll google your car too as a friend has a kia but not sure which model. is it the mini people carrier with seats in the boot? if so i'd be happy to try it in her car?

Seeing this thread is very timely for me - dd and I took a trip down to the in car safety centre in MK on tuesday, and got the Britax 2-way elite fitted. It's fantastic, and the centre was so helpful. I am stunned that some people see the crash-test videos and still go forward facing, and I also have people surprised that I am keeping dd rf for a good while longer (she is 1 at the moment).

I asked why rf is not more widely available over here, and the lady said that it was due to the difficulties fitting them; they are slightly more complicated, and as 70% of car seats are incorrectly fitted as it is, manufacturers and sellers do not want to cope with the extra complexity. Weird.

Would recommend the 2-way elite though!

thanks a lot nicm! it is an estate, 5 seater 2001 model. so not sure how similar it would be to 7 seater...hmmmm...i will try the rf website and see if anyone can help! thnx!!

maybe pepole still get ff seats because rf won't fit in their cars?

just a thought.

yes...it is a valid point...if 2-way wont fit im thinking about the ff kiddy infinity pro but am worried very wriggly ds will wriggle down in it...still wd prefer rf tho!!

taegsmum - we're going for the kiddi comfort pro as we can't fit rf in our car for our twins and also fit my 6ft 4 dh in the car! The kiddi has won the Which best car seat and is the safest ff car seat you can buy. Some good reviews on the Mumsnet products page.

yes i've seen the which report which is why i was thinking about going for it! will you let me know how your twins like it? what car have you got?

I think RF seats are often thought to be bigger than they are, and there is a general perception (fostered by Which, some retailers and some car seat manufacturers) that unless you drive a Volvo you won't be able to put a RF seat in it. That's just not true. I'm not trying to say that any RF seat will fit in any car - but people have found RF seats to fit in Ford Ka's and similar. I do suspect many people state size as a reason without actually finding out.