Anybody know what this is all about?

[Tropicana]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8094829.stm

I have never seen a rear-facing seat that will fit a child up to the age of 4yrs.

Anybody know where one can get such a thing?

I understand they are common in Europe and that a fewMN users have them here, but really you'd need to specify rear facing seats ion the thread title

Yes I saw that too. Presumably they will be bringing out new carseats suitable for the age group.

My dd used to get carsick quite badly at the age of 3/4 and I think sitting rear facing would have made it worse. In our case I would have had to sit next to her travelling any distance, just in case. Not handy if only the two of you are in the car.

UK carseat manufacturers produce them and export them to Europe but won't market them in the UK because "there isn't a demand" . You can get them in the UK, but from suppliers who have re-imported them from Europe...

Chck out www.rearfacing.co.uk for information, list of suppliers, and a handy forum.

have a look here

I have had both dds rearfacing as long as possible.

dd1 had a standard baby seat, then a Britax Fixway (I think) as supplied by Volvo garages over here (and a few shops, but you have to search hard) - she stayed RF until she was 3.6 (and only turned her round then as she had problems getting her feet stuck - ASD and couldn't work ot out )

dd2 is still RF (she is 2.4). I now have a BeSafe IziKid seat, which is much better, imo, than the Britax. dd2 will stay RF until she outgrows this seat (and since she is tiny, that will prob be when she is about 6 )