Car seats

[Aurora83]

Little one is 14 months and and almost ready for next size car seat. I don’t know where to start!
cant afford to spend a fortune so looking for any advice and recommendations please.
we currently have iso fix - does it only work for rear facing or will it work on the next car seat too? Or do we just get one that doesn’t use isofix. I tried google but got myself confused and overwhelmed. Thanks in advance :)

If it helps I have the icklebubba galaxy
thanks 😊

Call the In Car Safety Centre. They will talk you through options and what fits well in your car. I'd advise extended rear facing, for as long as possible, rather than buying a forward facing seat.

Would also recommend rear facing, we have joie 360 which is isofix and good for the spin but not cheap and will only rear face to 18kg.

In MIL’s car we have britax maxway which rear faces to 25kg it was £180 which is about the cheapest for a truly extended rear facing seat. It’s not isofix.

In FIL’s car we have the joie tilt which is the cheapest rear face to 18kg we have found, available for £90. It’s not isofix either.

A lot of people like the joie stages which is only a little bit pricier than the tilt.

Rear facing for as long as possible is the safest option for your child

If there's a Smyth's Toys near you I would really recommend going and talking to their carseat specialists. They have excellent training and are really well informed, plus they know lots of info about the various models and price groups. I bought both my carseats from them and I'm only ever have fantastic experiences when I shopped.

@Aurora83 I’m the same! I wish I’d just bought the joie 360 from birth but I thought a car seat I could attach to pushchair would be useful (newsflash- it wasn’t.) I don’t want to buy it now when it’s quite expensive and probably only useable for another year now- but it’s so confusing looking for one that will do a bit longer. All the types (0/1/2) and as well we have a small car (Hyundai i10) so trying to make sure it will fit is a pain too!

If it helps, Ds is still in his spin 0-4 type seat, maxi cosi, but it’s like the joie 360. He’s 3 years and I’m sure we have a good year + more out of it.
So if you by one for 14 month old, they aren’t going to outgrow in a year

Thank you everyone for all you’re great advice.

good idea to go to call the safety centre or go to smyths! Glad the next one will last longer!!!!
I like the idea of a spinny one!

The spinning ones are nice. Most car seats that you buy for the next stage come with the isofix base part attached, you don't need to buy it separately (avoid the ones where you do because they are ££££)

Britax Dualfix is a nice option, but if you want budget the best is the Joie 360 Spin or Graco Turn2Me.

Avoid the ones that seem to do everything including a booster seat, especially if they're really cheap or some random brand you've never heard of. They tend not to be as good for safety.

And as the others said, it's best to keep your baby rear facing as long as possible. Some people rear face all the way up to age 3 or 4 :) But any extra time rear facing is beneficial. Don't rush to forward face as it's a big step down in safety and protection for them. In the bigger seats, they are higher up so can see out of the window. It's lovely now DS3 is getting more words he comments on everything. "Car!" "Tram!" "Bus!"