Car seats - indecisive and overwhelmed

[Carseatstresss]

My daughter is 14 months old and needs a new car seat. I've been looking at the Joie 360 spin (not the more expensive I size). Would this be a good choice? I'd rather a car seat that is both rear facing and forward facing in case of car sickness.

Can't decide if I want a 360 spin seat or just a seat that can be rear facing or front facing. I've seen a few that go up to 4 years old, which is fine. Willing to pay around the price of the Joie 360 or below. Thanks in advance!

I bought the less expensive 360 spin for my partners car and the more expensive one for my car as the baby is in my car more. The less expensive one goes up to age 4 and the more expensive one up to age 7. My 14 month old seems happy in both and they are easy to use. We got both ours fitted at Halford.

I would get one that can RF to 4 (ish). Both of mine were RF til they started school at 4.5. And importantly, that fits in your car with the tallest one of you in the passenger front seat. Being ERF and fitting properly is much more important than the extra bells and whistles. I didn’t have one with the spin feature. Once they are closer to 2, they just climb up and put themselves in, so it didn’t really seem necessary.

@Endlessironing thank you! It looks really good. So your baby looks comfy and the car seat is easy to use?

Really depends on the size of your baby! What is their height and weight?

It's been 2 months since she was last measured. She was 50th centile for height but has always been a lower centile for weight. I think she's 20th centile for weight.

I found car seats baffling so just chose a brand and went with whatever model they had was right size for DC at the time.

We went with Britax. I think rear facing is more of an issue the more you drive and the faster you go - most of our driving is in 20mph zones in a city. If we regularly went on 70mph roads I'd have gone with rear facing for longer. We changed at about 3.

We have a Joie 360, the older one not the i size. DC2 just about to outgrow it. Great seat, we've been very happy with it. Definitely recommend one that spins, much easier for strapping in reluctant toddlers.

Yo think I'm white knowledgable in this area, as car seat safety is an interest of mine.
You want a rear facing car seat that is Swedish plus tested.
I have the axkid mini kid.
Car seat safety Uk on Facebook has good advice

Personally I would look for a seat that will keep them rear facing until at least 4.5 years old, when they will likely be safe to move to a high backed booster. For a lower centile child an 18kg seat would probably be ok. If you are set on a spin seat then the joie I-spin safe is the cheapest option. For non spin (often easier o get kids into due to the low sides - mine would climb in themselves by 2.5 ish) the britax max safe pro is the most budget friendly - currently on offer for £170 and will definitely last until safe booster age. I wouldn't buy the standard joie spin, it's doesn't score as well for safety and allows forward facing at an age which is unsafe.

DD1 had a joie 360 (old version) until she was 3yrs when I swapped it for a britax max safe pro so DD2 could have the joie. To be honest, the britax is so much nicer for her. She can climb in and out herself more easily and she looks much comfier when sleeping. She was carsick from around 8months and outgrew it at around 2.5yrs ish. But she was also carsick when FF on a bus / train, so as it seemed direction of travel didn't affect it for her (appreciate some other children might be different), we kept her RF.

Baby falls asleep in it on the way home from nursery and I can just spin it and get him out of easily and into the house without him waking so it's suiting us at this age. It does also tilt a little to make it more comfortable for sleeping. As PP mentioned, as I have quite a small car, the passenger seat doesn't slide all the way back with the seat rear facing.

I would recommend against a spin seat personally. I didn't know better and got one with DD1, but when they get to about 2 it's a royal pain in the arse as they sit much higher than ERF seats due to the base so you either have to lift them when they are getting pretty heavy or try and shove them in when they climb and I don't find the spin function that useful with a toddler v a baby. DD2 can get into her Britax Maxway by herself but the spin seat is a bit more of a pain. Plus they don't last as long as the ERF seats so if you want to continue to RF past 18kg then you have to pay for yet another seat.

AxKid, Britax, Avionaut, BeSafe, all do good 25-36kg ERF seats which will do you a good few years.

@welshweasel I looked up the Britax Max safe pro and it says up to 7 years old and only rear facing. I don't want to put a school age child in a rear facing car seat. They'd be cramped too as we don't have a big car like a Range Rover. Ideally I'd like something that's rear facing and forward facing. She's just turned15 months so legally she can travel forward facing, but I might keep her facing rear facing for a couple of more months if I can find the ideal car seat.

@doodleschnoodle interesting! I can't find anywhere that sells the Britax Maxway. Was it rear facing and forward facing?

@Endlessironing we don't have a big car either. Someone mentioned about their child being high up in the seat. Was this an issue?

@BarbaraHoward the spin function looks so useful!

@Carseatstresss I suppose it is quite high but hasn't been an issue for us. Works fine with the mirror I have to be able to see the baby. My car is a Dacia and passenger seat will side most of the way back but not all.

I think the Maxway is now the Britax Max Safe Pro!

And no just RF. Both of mine have/will rearfaced to 25kg.

The main priority is to find one that fits properly in your vehicle.

Something like one in three car seats are wrongly fitted or don't fit properly in the vehicle

There's no point in buying one with amazing safety ratings over an average one if the amazing one doesn't get a good proper fit in your car.

It is wise to keep them rear facing for as long as possible though.

My DD actually found her legs hanging down when she was FF much more uncomfortable than crossed legs RF

Yes! DD1 RF'd (in my Citroen C1 too!) till almost 5 and when we had to switch her to HBB as she is high centile and reached the weight limit, she really struggled with dangling legs. It's taken her quite a while to feel properly comfy.

Yeah it might be better to go to Halfords and get the car seat fitted there

Dont go to Halfords! They are awful at proper car seat advice. Google your nearest town plus car seat retailer and there will be an independent retailer who will most likely be 1000x better than Halfords. Or if you post your approx area, someone might know where your nearest is.

Please don't go to Halfords, please do ask questions on Car seat safety UK on Facebook and please find an independent retailer who can advise.

You do NOT need a large car to rear face a child. It is at least 5x safer to rear face children, ideally to at least four, and older as far as possible. Legal standards for forward facing in this country and pretty poor. Sweden has all children rear facing until aged four at a minimum and they have far fewer deaths of children in road accidents.

You should be able to rear face, using a spin seat, until your child is around four or older, assuming she stays on the 20th centile for weight. However, there are excellent ERF seats out there that could last longer and that your child will be comfortable in.

Look on Which, even if you need a subscription. I did and we had a serious accident and I was super glad thstbour car seats were goodcas they literally saved theirlives. The car rolled over completely and we were upside down but both children were okay.

Don't go to Halfords / they will sell you a seat, even if one doesn't fit properly

Somewhere like the in Car Safety centre is best, but if there isn't one near then an independent place is better than Halfords

Hi OP,
Please consider the advice that some PP have mentioned above about visiting an independent car seat retailer, rather than Halfords.

You mentioned wanting to FF your daughter in a few months when I guess she would be around 18 months old. Whilst this is legal in certain seats in the UK, she would be much safer rear facing for longer. Ideally you would want to RF your child until at least 4 years old. Please look into the safety benefits of rear facing for longer.

My child is almost 7 and still rear facing in our main in car. We have never had a complaint from them that they are uncomfortable. We have had this seat in a VW Golf with plenty of space in the passenger seat. There are more compact seats available if space in an issue.

It’s also really important that you are able to fit any seat you purchase correctly. An independent retailer will be able to help you with this and provide ongoing support for the lifetime of the seat you purchase.

Look at seats which have passed the Swedish Plus test, or those that score highly on ADAC. I wouldn’t concern yourself with Which - they can mark seats higher because of the choice of fabrics, and lower because a seat might use lower tethers to secure (which are easy to do once your retailer has supported you with this).