How much wiggle room does your newborn carseat have?

[LuckyMum1989]

With my DD, we had an ISOFIX carseat. That sucker wasn't going ANYWHERE.

Now we have a different car and are expecting our second and our car is not ISOFIX compatible any more, and every carseat I try to use with a seatbelt fitting feels SO wobbly by comparison. Even when Halfords showed us a fitted one, rearfacing, no movement backwards but wiggle room side to side and can move forwards (i.e. towards the back of the car) when shoved.
I'm so used to a car seat literally having no more than an inch movement either way no matter what I do to it that every carseat looks massively unsafe by comparison.
Watched loads of YouTube videos etc. but none of them show the car seat being pushed back towards the backseat.

For those of you without ISOFIX carseats, how much movement does your carseat have?

none. i pull the belt so tight it's literally imbedded in the seat

That's what I'm used to too! But if the belt only goes over the legs bit (stopping up and down and minimising side to side) and around the back of the seat, there's nothing to stop the carseat moving forwards (towards the back of the car) and baby banging head on backseat. But every video I have seen shows a carseat fitted the same way... I said to the guy at Halfords that I'd heard it should be no more than an inch in any direction, then shoved the carseat he'd just fitted and it shot forward and hit the backseat. And he said that's what the handle stays up for, so the handle hits the backseat, not the carseat... is that right?!?!?

I miss my ISOFIX soooo much! Literally considering buying a car we cannot afford just so I don't have to buy a carseat that's only fitted with a seatbelt 😂

Yes that's right about the handle, it should always stay up. Is your new car very old? I thought most cars have been isofix compatible for years and years now?

Ours were isofix but occasionally I had to fit without and was never very comfortable with how much potential movement there was so I get your concern!

Yes, our "new" car is old. 2005 :(

Can you adapt you car to have isofix rather than getting a different car? I don’t know if that’s possible with your car, just that at a certain stage for some cars it was possible to add isofix to some before it became standard to have it.

My brother gave us there old car seat and that is a seatbelt one and it is very solid and doesn’t move at all. Mine on the other hand is isofix and it moves a bit. I was sold on isofix being the best but between our two car seats I trust ds more in dh’s car with the seatbelt car seat.

You can't easily abd safely adapt a car for isofix it needs to be done at the time of manufacture as it is literally welded into the frame of the car.

I put mine behind the front passenger seat, then push the front seat back to help wedge it in.

Ah okay. The only reason I mentioned it is because I used to have an old Ford focus and I searched - ‘adding isofix to the car’, and it shows selling the parts and videos. I didn’t look any more closely into it. So I assumed it was possible for certain makes/models.

Do you have the car seat handle in the right position? The handle usually should prevent the car seat from tipping up. Halfords are a bit notorious for not getting installs right. Do you know what car seat(s) it was you tried today? You could look online for the manual. This video shows how the handle stops the seat from tipping back, and also handily shows you how much movement is typical with a belt fitted infant carry seat

Yes it's theoretically possible to upgrade Fords specifically. But TBH usually more hassle than it's worth.

This actually might not be allowed depending on the seat. If it's the only way that you can get the seat secure, then it's almost definitely a no. They are usually allowed to touch but should not be wedged against the front seat.

This is quite unsafe, I would suggest getting some advice on fitting your seat correctly as it could put babe at risk if there was a crash.

OP can you contact your car seat manufacturer for advice?

You should be able to pull the belt tightly across the seat and then around the back to keep it secure.

I've fitted our infant carrier using isofix and with the belt. It does move more with the belt, but not a lot, it's very secure.