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Car seat - do I really need one?

62 replies

tami2k · 23/09/2019 11:21

Hi FTM, 35weeks, deciding which pram/travel system to get..we currently don't drive, wondering do we really need a car seat? We will be using taxi and lifts to appointments etc

Wanting to get a carry cot as will be using it a lot and I know it's not recommended to use car seat for prolonged period.
Thanks xx

OP posts:
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JC12345 · 23/09/2019 11:44

The joie juva is a good and inexpensive seat. Should last for first 18 months depending on centile of child.

Spam88 · 23/09/2019 11:46

Just to add, in response to a pp, isofix isn't any safer than securing with a seatbelt, as long as you do it correctly.

Isofix would be completely impractical to use in a taxi, they have separate bases that you'd then have to carry around with you, and they're not small and light!

Fluandseptember · 23/09/2019 11:48

You don’t need a car seat if you never go in a car. If you do, you do. Even if only occasionally! We used a (known) hand me down.

jennymanara · 23/09/2019 12:03

Hospitals where I am won't let you leave it unless you have a suitable car seat
You do know they can't actually stop you? They are not the police.

tami2k · 23/09/2019 12:08

thank you for replies everyone - will check out the standard belt in ones.

OP posts:
Wtfdoipick · 23/09/2019 12:08

for clarity if in a taxi you do not legally have to have a car seat however if you are getting a lift from someone else, even if it's only to the end of the road a child under the age of 3 absolutely must be in a car seat. It's only over the age of 3 that the one off unexpected journey comes into play. It does sound like you will need one.

NuffingChora · 23/09/2019 12:13

Was also coming on to suggest the joie juva as a good, safe, budget friendly option. Would go for something like this from a reputable car seat brand over a generic seat from Mothercare or a pram company (eg cosatto) every time as likely to have been more thoroughly tested.

Lwmommy · 23/09/2019 12:20

Hi

I was in the same situation as you in that we didn't have a car so used bus, taxi or walking.

We got a travel system with a car seat so it could be used for taxis.

When DD was 8 weeks old the taxi we were in drove into the car in front at about 30 MPh, adults all had whiplash, very sore for weeks. DD strapped into her car seat was absolutely fine.

While the likelihood of a car accident in infrequent taxi journeys is low, it's not non existent so you definitely need to get a car seat that fits with your pram and use it every time you get in a car.

BertieBotts · 23/09/2019 12:21

It's definitely worth having one.

You mention it needing to be compatible with your pushchair - I wouldn't be so sure about this. It really depends on how you're likely to be using it. What would be your usual scenario of using a taxi, do you think?

For example - if your taxi/lift scenario would involve you being picked up from home, travelling to a place, staying in that same place for some time and then going home again in (any) car, OR being picked up at home, travelling to a place, not necessarily staying in one place but being picked up again in exactly the same car again later, either of these would allow you to use a more bulky car seat which you could either uninstall and keep with you, or leave installed in the car you're getting a lift back in later (taxi drivers can often keep the seat for you in their boot/at their office if you have booked the same specific car again for later). In this case, there is no need for compatability with your pushchair, meaning you can get the absolute cheapest (safe) seat on the market which is the Joie Juva, Mothercare Ziba, or Nania BeOne SP. These are all around the £35-40 mark. Personally of those I would go for the Joie, but the other seat does fine in independent crash testing.

Another option if this is your situation would be to spend a little bit more and get a combination seat which goes from birth to about 3-4 years such as the Joie Tilt, which again doesn't cost very much money (about £60-70) but will last you longer so is probably better value. The infant carrier seats with handle only last until about 12-18 months. The other bonus of this is that it's one of the cheapest stage 2 seats around which is actually safe, as many of the very cheap seats in this stage are very poor performing in crashes. I would then get a separate lightweight high backed booster after this seat is outgrown because this will be more practical than a seat like the Joie Every Stage which ends up quite heavy and bulky.

On the other hand, if your situation is more that you tend to take public transport or walk part of the way somewhere and then get a lift, or walk/public transport one way and get a lift back (or vice versa) or you tend to get lifts in various different cars over the course of the day and move around between car trips, then it probably would be useful to have the possibility to stack the car seat onto the pushchair to cover both possibilities without having to carry the seat around. In this case, it's useful to know the following:

Infant car seats which are "universal" ie fit on any pushchair which states it takes a MAXI COSI or CYBEX seat:
Joie, Maxi Cosi, Cybex, Nuna, BeSafe, Recaro, Venicci, GB
(Except: Joie Juva, Recaro Zero 1 Elite)

Additional Pushchair brands taking a "maxi cosi" (universal) adapter:
Silver cross, Cosatto, Bugaboo, iCandy, Uppababy, Stokke, Quinny, Mamas & Papas, Mountain Buggy, Phil & Ted's, Mutsy, Britax

Car seats/pushchairs which ONLY fit their own respective prams:
Britax, Graco, Silver cross, My Babiie, Ickle Bubba, Mothercare, Chicco, Hauck, Jané, Tutti Bambini, Kinderkraft
(Except: Some non-Britax prams have a Britax adapter.)

Evilmorty · 23/09/2019 12:24

My mind isn’t blown because where I live you often see three year olds standing up in the back with their heads out of the wide open windows making faces at other cars, but I do think you have spectacularly down played the risk involved in taking a small baby in a strangers car with no car seat. If you want to be safe, you will need one.

JoyceDivision · 23/09/2019 12:26

You are looking at icandy / egg pushchairs but are ummhing and ahhing over a carseat, and a second hand one at that??

Yes, you need a car seat. If you are hoping to get a lift from family / friends I would hope no one in their right mind would drive you with your baby not In a carseat. If cost is an.issue maybe look at cheaper pushchairs.

SinkGirl · 23/09/2019 12:28

The Joie infant carriers are very good value and safe, and compatible with any travel system that takes Maxi Cosi car seats.

You are looking at spending a grand on a buggy - don’t scrimp on a car seat, they are much more important!

Untamedtoad · 23/09/2019 12:43

Don't prioritise buying a designer pram (egg/icandy/silver cross) and then jepordise your babies safety but contemplating a second had seat, or travelling without one! Yes, by law you may be able to travel in a taxi without one, but that's only because you could need to travel in one as an emergency and may not have one to hand. If you're going to be relying on taxis regularly, then get a half decent, safety rated/tested seat. Even in countries like Spain with much more relaxed travel safety laws, the taxi drivers when we last visited insisted on using car seats for our toddler, as they can now get fined for not using car seats in taxis. Forget the yummy mummy designer buggy, et s cheaper one, that's compatible with the car seat you decide fits your needs best, and then buy the car seat. A new one. Whether or not you get everyday use out of it is irrelevant. It's your babies safety, and you will never forgive yourself if you were involved in an accident with an unrestrained infant. Also, car seats are the law until they're around 9-12 (depending on height) so if you're intending on travelling in cars/taxis, you've got a long time ahead of you of thinking about car safety and seas, so get used to it!

saywhatwhatnow · 23/09/2019 12:49

You're not going to want to take your newborn baby (or any age child for that matter) in any vehicle without it being safely strapped in. You will need a car seat! Maxicosi cabriofix is compatible with most pushchairs and about £80. You can get cheaper ones but not sure if they'd fit onto your buggy.

Roozy123 · 23/09/2019 12:51

@Evilmorty that's awful!!!! And so bloody dangerous. I don't understand how parents could allow it!?

Carys123 · 23/09/2019 14:57

Here's a link regarding how long its safe to keep a baby in a car seat. Just something to bare in mind www.mothercare.com/advice-buying-guides-and-services/buying-guides/safety/in-car-safety/buyersguide-ms-safety-sub3.html.

Couchbettato · 23/09/2019 15:12

We also don't drive but we got a joie travel system which included an up to 9 months car seat for 150 quid ish. You don't need a car seat in taxis but I wouldn't put my baby at risk.

The amount of times I've complained to uber about reckless driving is obscene and I want my baby as secure as possible.

I do advise looking at full travel systems.

GinUnicorn · 23/09/2019 15:15

Have you checked your local taxi companies? Where I live you can book ones with car seats. Might save you a bit of money

violetswordfish · 23/09/2019 17:01

I don't have a car but I got a britax car seat half price on amazon. Britax are one of the safer brands that pass the plus tests. We've only used it once (to get home from hospital) but I have it for emergencies. I don't care if the law says I can travel in a taxi in an emergency without one, that isn't going to protect my baby in an accident and taxi drivers aren't exempt from crashing cars!

Fluffsmum · 23/09/2019 18:14

tami2k buy a Joie juva. It's £35-40, will do baby from birth to around 18months and will go in any car or taxi.

Fluffsmum · 23/09/2019 18:14

It's also really safe, and very light so not an issue carrying it around with baby in the pram.

Skiaddicted · 23/09/2019 18:17

Have a look at the Joie Juva, fits on maxi cosi adapters too, only £40 and Joie do more than the minimal testing on their car seats so a safer bet than some

BusyDoingNothingx · 23/09/2019 18:20

You can't leave the hospital where I am unless you have a car seat.
A baby doesn't have to go in a car seat in a taxi if the baby is sat in the rear but I'd never risk that. Also you said you were getting lifts. What would your baby go in for a lift?

littlecabbage · 23/09/2019 18:22

All modern cars have iso-fix attachments, and a baby car seat is MUCH safer clipped to these and using the car seatbelt than just held in by the seat belt.

As another poster has pointed out, the above statement is not true. Belted-in seats are just as safe as those attached by Isofix. Isofix just makes it more convenient to install/remove the seat quickly.

HarrietM87 · 23/09/2019 18:24

We don’t have a car and I had similar thoughts when pregnant (NEVER contemplated going in a car without a car seat, but did wonder if I could just use public transport all the time). As it happened, John Lewis was doing £100 off maxi cosis when we bought our pram there so the £90 maxi Cosi cabriofix was free. It was great - easy to belt in and clipped onto our pram with adaptors. We used a lot of taxis when baby was small - drs appts, seeing friends etc - it was completely necessary. It’s much harder now he’s outgrown it - weve had to buy multiple seats to keep at parents’ houses and for travel etc.

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