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Down a rabbit hole of car seats!

14 replies

Dogmum20 · 25/09/2022 19:26

Help please!
We have one child who is nearly 3 and one who is 9 months.

The baby is outgrowing the baby seat rapidly, so will need to move into the toddlers seat soon. So we’ve been researching car seats for 3-12 years but there are SO MANY!! Where do you start? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Also, in hindsight, have we spent an extortionate amount of money on baby, then toddler, then child car seats (plus bases) instead of just getting one that lasts from birth to x number of years? Are they safer if you have a smaller age bracket?

Why are there so many to choose from 🤯

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This thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for a car seat, we’ve recently updated our best baby car seats and best toddler car seats articles with lots of great options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users. We hope you find it useful. Flowers
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OP posts:
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MisgenderedSwan · 25/09/2022 19:30

www.facebook.com/groups/carseatsafetyuk/?ref=share

Join this group and ask - there are knowledgeable people who can give advice based on your child's height and weight and the car you drive. All different budgets too.

Rosio · 25/09/2022 19:30

Hi OP- can I reccomend joining a Facebook group? They are brilliant for car seat safety and reccomendations. they will ask for age and weight of children and make some reccomendations based on that. Try Car Seat Safety UK and Extended Rear Facing (ERF) Car Seat Safety, they will both be best to get advice 😁

Lavender2021 · 25/09/2022 19:33

You should only need three seats (per car unless you like/ can move them around)

A infant seat with a higher hight limit over 75cm as some companies make them with a low limit so they don't last long.

A 25kg+ extended rear facing seat - Axkid, britax, besafe all make plus tested seats which is the hardest test for car seats to pass and no forward facing seat would ever pass.

Then a high back booster seat until 150cm. With the high back kept on the whole time and not just a booster seat. It adds more side impact protection. The law is 135cm but 150cm means the seat belt is more likely to fit correctly.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Lavender2021 · 25/09/2022 19:36

Your 9 month old should have plenty of time left in the baby seat unless it's a lower hight limit one.
What seat is it and have you removed all of the inserts?
What seat is your 3 year old in?

PostladyPatty · 25/09/2022 19:57

What car do you have, does it have isofix?

Dogmum20 · 25/09/2022 20:48

Hi everyone,
Thank you for the replies, I will definitely check out the Facebook group thank you!

In answer to some questions-
We currently have the Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro for the baby and Pearl Pro for the 3yo. The 9mo although can still fit in the Pebble, has reflux and likes to be more upright. So would like to move into the Pearl which can be used from 6m and get a longer lasting one for the 3yo so we don’t have to buy any more.
Yes, our car has isofix 👍

OP posts:
R1cciteddy · 25/09/2022 22:11

I did tonnes of research on this and it drove me insane. In the end I got the cosatto all in all rotate. It lasts from birth to 12, can be isofix and belted and it spins for easy access. It’s front and rear facing. Apparently rear facing for as long as possible is the safest for babies which is the main reason I got this one. I’m happy with it, a bit fiddly sometimes but no issues

my second choice would have been the joie spin one

Lavender2021 · 26/09/2022 11:34

I would look at a extended rear facing seat for your oldest child. Join extended rear facing (ERF) Car safely group as they have lot's of information on seats. The Axkid Minikid is a popular choice but there are many of them now.

Avoid the cosatto all in all rotate and I wouldn't buy another 18kg seats. Most seat's which last until 12 years old will use the car seat belt at 18kg, which most children are not sensible enough to just use a car seat belt at that time.

R1cciteddy · 26/09/2022 13:00

Ah is that definitely correct as I believe it is rear facing until 18kg then it must be forward facing but can still use isofix and harness?

R1cciteddy · 26/09/2022 13:07

Yes just checked what you said is incorrect re cosatto one

LegoFiends · 26/09/2022 13:19

There’s a shop near us owned by someone who is an academic specialist in road safety. She advised that the seats that span multiple groups are always less safe; this seems to be correct based on the safety ratings. We have two Axkids; older child is still happily rear facing at 110 cm. She has a front facing Britax in my parents car but says she doesn’t mind which way she faces. We have mirrors on their headrest’s so they can see us at all times.

Lavender2021 · 26/09/2022 15:20

R1cciteddy · 26/09/2022 13:00

Ah is that definitely correct as I believe it is rear facing until 18kg then it must be forward facing but can still use isofix and harness?

You can only use the harness on that seat until 18kg or 105cm which ever comes first then it must be used forward facing with the car seat belt.

Thinkbiglittleone · 26/09/2022 15:26

We have just got the joie bold group car seat.
Moved on for the joie 360 which was fabulous.

BertieBotts · 26/09/2022 20:08

Is your 2yo rear facing or forward facing?

If she is rear facing and you'd like to carry that on, I would look at seats like Britax Max Way, Axkid Move, Minikid. These can be used up to 25kg which is approx 7 years old so plenty of time yet and after that you can pass it down to the baby and move your eldest into a booster seat.

If she's already forward facing or you want to change to forward facing now, I would look at the 123 type seats which start out with a 5 point harness and then you can take it out later and just use the seatbelt. If she's fairly average/small for age, then one with an 18kg limit on the harness would be fine - I like Britax Advansafix, but Recaro Tian Elite also got a good crash test score. Although Maxi Cosi seats are good in general, I wasn't a big fan of the Titan 123 seat because the harness on it is very small and wouldn't fit most children until a safe booster age. If she's really tiny for age then it might be OK. All of these need the top tether strap as well as the isofix. If you're going for a 123 seat it's worth getting one with top tether as the ones without don't perform as well.

If she's bigger for her age or quite tall or you just want to use the harness for longer, there are a couple where you can use the 5 point harness for longer - Joie Bold, BabyAuto Dupla and Cozy n Safe Excalibur. These use top tether as well.

I would not look at the 3-12 year seats yet as these tend to be the booster type which you use with the adult seatbelt, and at not quite 3 she's probably too light (min 15kg) to use these seats and it's likely she's not mature enough to sit sensibly with the seatbelt either, most 3 year olds aren't. You ideally want to be well past the tantrum-and-nap years before you switch to a seatbelt seat!

I know it seems like spending out loads of money - if it helps to know, this is quite a front-loaded expense, as the toddler (5 point harness, sitting up) type seats are the most expensive and complicated. In recent years, the infant (reclined, carry handle) seats have become very expensive too with the bases and the different options, and I think they are a bit overmarketed, because when you're pregnant for the first time you don't tend to know anything about car seats and they have you then. But not to worry, as you've had really good, safe seats and you'll probably only need to buy one more in the harnessed stage, once you get to the high backed booster stage, they get much cheaper (and don't need bases!)

All the options I've mentioned are around £200 though - if you wanted a cheaper option you could look at (Around £120-150):

  • Britax Evolva 123 - this is a belt fitted 123 seat, harness until 18kg then booster.
  • Maxi Cosi Tobifix - this is just a Group 1 seat up to 18kg with harness. You'd then need to buy a separate booster after it's outgrown. Forward facing.
  • Graco Turn2Me - a spinning seat, rear facing and forward facing up to 18kg. Has a slightly more generous height allowance. Could use for baby to take advantage of the spin, and keep her in her current seat.

Or really budget options (around £100):

  • Britax First Class Plus / Maxi Cosi Priori, if you just want a basic Group 1 forward facing seat
  • Joie Tilt or Joie Steadi, (or even Joie Juva - lasts about a year longer than Maxi Cosi Pebble) if you want an interim rear facing seat for baby, to allow DD1 12-18 or so months more in her seat before moving to a booster.
  • Joie Stages, if you want a cheap rear facing seat for DD1.
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