Car seat for toddler - non driver

[Bbshark]

Hi all,

I don’t drive unfortunately and my daughter is coming up to needing a new car seat (she’s 18m). The problem is she’s still not walking so we still need a pram. I’ve been looking at toddler car seats group 1 but they’re all so big! I can’t imagine having to get a taxi, with a pram and then having to carry the giant car seat at the same time!

Anyone know of any suggestions?? Or do I just need to learn to drive and buy a car ASAP lol :(

Thanks

You don't need one for taxis or buses? If you wanted one for other people's cars I guess you could!

You don't need both for taxis and buses, as the other commenter said.
But since you're interested in a car seat and you don't drive, you'll need to get a seat which will work with any car. I wouldn't recommend getting iso in case the car doesn't have iso. Definitely get rear facing! Rear facing is so much safer. If you're unsure about rear facing, you can at least get a 360 seat which will face both ways.

I wouldn't recommend a 360 (rotating) seat as they are heavy and bulky.

The Britax Two-Way Elite is a 25kg seat (so it will last for years), it's compatible with most cars and it's light and compact. £159.

That's the seat I would recommend, but as the others said, you don't need it for taxis or buses. You certainly won't find it practical to carry around (even though it's one of the lighter, more compact group 1/2 seats).

It's the trickiest stage in terms of portable seats because there aren't really any.

I'd probably recommend Joie tilt in your situation. The reason being it's cheap, it's one of the more lightweight ones, it's seatbelt fitted so fairly universal. But it's also able to be rear facing until 18kg which is about 3-4 years old, and it's from a brand which has good safety ratings,unlike a lot of the other cheaper seats.

It's not always possible to fit it rear facing in every car but if you can't safely do that because it's unstable, you can always use it forward facing in that car instead.

To transport it you can get a car seat bag which goes on your back like a rucksack. Not the most comfy thing ever but should work if you have a situation like travelling to somebody on the train, or getting a lift one way and getting public transport the other. But IME you just get good at working around these things and planning journeys that either can accommodate the car seat both ways and in between or where you don't need one at all.

Once she's 3, 15kg and 100cm tall, she can go in a booster seat which are a bit lighter and less bulky, I'd look at chicco fold n go, but some people prefer to wait until more like 4 for a booster seat.

Two way elite would also be an option if you did want to keep rear facing as long as possible but I wouldn't use it forward facing. And bear in mind it needs to tether to the front seat if rear facing so can be tricky to install in different cars. The bracing can take some practice as well.

You may not need a carseat for taxis but they still fall under the same laws of physics as non taxi cars. If she is not in a carseat in a taxi and it crashes she will be at serious risk of injury.

Some black cabs in London you can push the buggy into it and put the break on, but these dont really exist outside of the Capital.

We bought a Joie Steadi when we were in your situation OP.

It was relatively compact and easy to fit with a seatbelt. It lasted until DC was 3y 8m and she outgrew the harness by height (thinking back I think we might got longer with a bit more fiddling around).

We avoided taxis as much as possible and only really used the seat of we were getting a lift somewhere or going somewhere we could set it down as lugging it around would've been very inconvenient!

Can you pre book a reputable taxi firm and request a car seat?

Thank you so much for your recommendations! I’ll definitely check them all out. It’s just mainly for hospital appointments which I mainly attend alone and obviously can’t leave the car seat with the taxi man haha! And when we travel back to Ireland at times. Really appreciate the help . I’ve been ‘driving’ myself mad looking at everything lol :)

For hospital appointments, if you have a decent back carrier or one of those rucksacks with safety strap, you can actually stick the car seat on the buggy and carry/hold the toddler so they walk beside.

Some taxi firms will keep hold of a car seat for you if they are sending the same car to pick up. Or you may be able to leave it at the hospital reception (save dragging it around the whole place) if you call and ask about this.

If you're likely to fly with the seat, check the airline you usually use. Once your child is over 2 they need their own seat on the plane and it's helpful to have them in a car seat. So check the airline's policy. Some of them require a "TUV approved" seat - in this case you could go for Britax Eclipse. It's only forward facing, which is unfortunate, but I'd keep squeezing her into the infant carrier until she gets to 13kg or her head reaches the end, whichever happens first, and then switch. Other airlines only require a seat which can be fitted forward facing and fits within specified dimensions - in which case Joie Tilt is perfect as it's nice and narrow. Joie Steadi may fit as well and gives you a little more time by height which is useful. I have heard of people using the Britax Two Way Elite on planes as well.

Sorry I know you said she isn't walking yet, but perhaps she will in the next few months and then the backpack reins could be an option.

Also - thinking outside the box a bit, if you're only travelling short-ish distances, you could consider getting a cargo bike (you can even get bikes with electric assist), it's expensive but obviously cheaper than learning to drive and then buying and running a car. Then you wouldn't need to lug a car seat around with you, you'd take the bike instead of going by taxi.

A lot of taxi firms offer their carseats. Ring around locally.

Hahaha omg I think I’d be more worried about me riding a bike in city centre traffic than carrying a car seat! Lol!
Thanks for the advice guys. I do usually try and avoid getting taxis etc but sometimes needs must and just wanted to know if anyone was ever in the same position and found something more lightweight! :)