Are 360 car seats worth it?

[Carseatt]

Exactly that. My 12 month old still uses her infant car seat but she really hates it. She keeps screaming and I'm thinking it might be because she's rear facing. Thankfully she'll be able to forward face at around 15 months. Maybe that'll help with car sickness and make car journeys less stressful and distracting.

I'm considering getting a 360 car seat. Are they worth it? Will it be too bulky in a small car?

As I said I rear face if going on roads where there is a higher speed. I'm happy with the risk of forward facing when I'm in bumper to bumper 20mph traffic. That's a risk I've chosen to take on the balance that a screaming child is a stressful distraction and a collision at 20mph is unlikely to cause injury.

Asking as you're happy hey!

Yes a screaming baby/toddler who is distressed and car sick is so distracting. There's a lot of lucky parents out there with babies who sit quietly and happily in their rear facing car seat, but some of us don't have that luxury! I think a 360 car seat might be ideal, although I need one that'll fit in a small car.

My baby screamed and hated the car seat too but I persevered as I didn't want her neck severed if we had a crash ! I'd advise you to watch some videos of the difference
Rear faced seating should be rammed down people's throats when people get pregnant

She may be crying because she's quite low down and can't see much. So when she goes go a bigger seat this might resolve some of the car sickness. A 360 seat might be helpful for the height but I would absolutely keep her rear facing at 15 months. Yes, the government says you can forward face at 15 months but it also says you don't need a carseat at all in a taxi, which is often the same vehicle driving on the same roads. Would you not use a carseat at all?
I've also come across these things for car sickness, it may be worth exhausting them before turning forward facing.

Mine were both SO much happier once they were out of their infant carriers. Don’t write off rear facing until you’ve tried her in a different type of seat.

And (sorry, thought of more to say!) I say the above as someone who rear faced for longer than average but not as long as I would have liked to. My first rear faced to 4, my second I’ve turned before 4 because he was having meltdowns over being different to his brother, and I felt like we were far more likely to crash if the meltdowns continued. Avoiding crashing in the first place is the first option! So I do get that it’s not as simple as “rear facing is safest”. But I do think it’s worth trying something else, and as I said, moving to upright seats was transformative for us. I love the spinning seats.

Have you tried an alternative car seat? It might be the infant seat they don’t like rather than it being rear facing. We changed to a 360 car seat when ds was 11 months old.

We have a Renault Clio, and a cybex sirona gi. It is bulky, and the passenger seat has to be forward a bit. However it fits and it’s fine. I enjoy the swivel aspect to make it easier to get ds in and out the car. The seat has three reclining positions when rear facing which is great. He can sit fully upright and seams much happier in it, then I recline it if we are going on a long journey/motorway or if it’s after swimming. Ds is 15 months old and we keep him rear facing.

Oh I love the 360 compared to the fixed seat. I love both the swivel function and the recline settings. Although dh is impartial and doesnt actually use the swivel function! He has a fixed one in his car as a backup that my brother gave to us.

To answer your list:

She's in her infant seat she's used since she was a newborn. Windows open yes. No food beforehand.

She doesn't have an iPad and she can't read yet as she is 12 months old. Books, toys etc don't stop her from crying. She's so distressed 😭

Travel bands - I use these as I get car sick. It's a lot worse if I'm travelling backwards. I didn't know there were baby versions?

She can't see out the window. Not sure what an earth belt is. Isofix or belt doesn't make a difference. She never naps in the car

I don't want to give my baby biscuits and sweets or anti sickness medicine. Plaster on belly button is interesting! Never heard of this.

My car was tiny and the car seat fitted in fine. Just no leg room for front passenger!

If you're likely to put her forward facing quite early, then I would not opt for a 360 seat as they sit the child further forward than a forward facing only seat, which is more of a risk to them, and I think the Joie one in particular is tricky to get the harness right on. When forward facing, it is much much more important to get the harness at the right position and tight enough and positioned correctly otherwise they are at much more risk in a crash.

I would probably recommend Britax Trifix 2 or Maxi Cosi Titan (any of the i-size versions) and be aware both of these seats use top tether to fit, which is not optional. These are the best rated normal-price seats which are FF only and they fit younger children better than some other models which have been rated well (e.g. Britax have some 1-12 years ones but they fit better from about age 2-3).

If you have the budget, you could also look at Cybex Anoris T which is supposedly much safer than other forward facing seats as it incorporates its own airbag. It is pricey though.

For all of these seats she must be at least 15 months old to go into them and I would recommend trying to stretch it out as long as possible before making the switch, but severe travel sickness is one issue where FF is reasonable IMO. A lot of the anti-travel-sickness things like the anti static and sitting on newspaper are just a placebo effect and don't really work.

We have the Joie i-spin and I’ve found it brilliant, so easy to get in and out of the car.

Thank you so much! Really helpful. The Cybex Anoris T is very expensive! I will look at the others you mentioned.

EDIT - sorry, I just realised you answered my question.