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Original poster

baby-start@argos car seats any views???

23 replies

MommyTsang · 03/04/2006 20:05

Hello Folks , We are about to purchase a new car seat for DD who is aged 2 1/2 she is currently in a 9 month to 4 yr seat, which her 9 month old brother will be going into. We dont want to spend a ludicrous amount on a seat, and have noticed Argos do some cheaper seats made by Baby- start . Does anyone out there have any feedback you can give me about these seats. ie. comfort, ease of fitting and most importantly can a child sleep ok in it ? Any comments welcome.

OP posts:

NannyL · 03/04/2006 20:07

Although as far as im aware those exact seats havent been independantly tested (IE by Which? magazine) BUT similar seats have scored very poorly in indepenadnt crash tests and I personally would NOT put a child in them!

Waswondering · 03/04/2006 20:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

PinkTulips · 03/04/2006 20:15

we have one of these and its great, very easy to fit and dd seems comfortable in it. we go on quite a few long trips and she quite often falls asleep in it. they are safety tested although i'm not sure to what standard and i don't have the booklet close at hand. they also have very secure, comfortable and easily adjustable harnesses.

SenoraPostrophe · 03/04/2006 20:17

they wouldn't be on sale if they weren't safety tested.

tbh which reports wind me right up in the scare-mongering stakes.

Original poster

MommyTsang · 03/04/2006 20:49

Thanks for the info everyone, Pink Tulips, which seat do you have? seat belt type or 5 point harness? and how old is DD? I agree about the which? reports, they can be very useful, but also overly critical. Safety is important, but the standards for this country are very stringent for car seats.

OP posts:

NannyL · 03/04/2006 21:06

Pinktulips are you aware that several car seats that are safety tested and conform to all the BS / EU regualtions etc can in some cases still kill the child (lierally the crahs test dummies in the car srashes would be dead) or offer VERY little protection in a crash?

also the car seat test only have to test at 30mph hitting a wall head on.... not very realistic of most crashes (unfortunately)

NannyL · 03/04/2006 21:09

Mommy Tsnag just notice your post.... Unfortunately car seat tests in this country are NOT very stringent at all. Which is completely mad IMO...

makes me soo cross that these seats that have proven to be unsafe are still on sale in this country.... which they ARE.... you only have to go into argos / halfords / mothercare / john Lewis / Toys R us TODAY and they are there on sale

Original poster

MommyTsang · 04/04/2006 08:37

bloomin 'eck, now i'm worried !!i think that its back to the drawing board for me. i will do some homework before i make a decision. I know there is someone at the local council that can also give advice about car seat safety, so i'll try there also. nannyL thanks for the advice.

OP posts:

Original poster

MommyTsang · 04/04/2006 08:52

If anyone is interested i have just found this site www.childcarseats.org.uk It gives you advice and who to contact at your local council with regards to all things car seat.

OP posts:

PinkTulips · 04/04/2006 21:59

she's 14 months and it's the solofix one that turns into a booster seat when older.

NannyL-thanks for suggesting that i'm going to murder my child by putting her in a seat that cost less than 200quid! not everyone can afford to spend a fortune, would you prefer i put her in with none as your suggestion seems to be that i'd be better off!

starlover · 04/04/2006 22:07

you don't have to spend £200... there are plenty of car seats which came out well in which report for a lot less than that!

I for one wouldn't risk my child's safety by choosing a cheap, unsafe carseat!

I can't remmeber which toddler seats came out well, but the maxi cosi priori was a good 9m-4yr one, that is on sale at glasgow pram centre for £85 atm

starlover · 04/04/2006 22:09

and nannyl is right btw... the safety standards are not very stringent and many car seats are incredibly unsafe, even expensive ones

PinkTulips · 04/04/2006 22:13

look, not in the mood to get in an arguement. spent the absolute most we could afford, 85 might be cheap to some people but it's really not to us. at the end of the day, i'm not one of those knackers riding around with the baby on my lap so i don't see why someone should jump down my throat. we didn't have the net when we got the seat so no access to which reports or suchlike to tell me what a horrible irresponsible parent i was being so shoot me!

NannyL · 04/04/2006 22:14

Sorry but when did i suggest gonna murder putting your child in a car seat costing less than £200 ...

Oh and also some of the most expensive car seats have proven to be the most dangerouse especailly some mama and papas products..... but then also many cheaper brands are rubbish as well. It seems price is not a reflection on the safety of the seat at all

one of the safest "baby" car seats costs less than £50... and the safest 9 - 18kg cost alot less than £100. (excluding the ISOFIX ones)

Also at no point did i say or even mention that no car seat at all would be safer... and come September that will be illegal anyway!

It angers me personally that car seat manufactures can get away with selling some of the seats they do... and that retailers like mothercare tell outragouse LIES that they are all as safe as each other... Blatently NOT... Im sure you purchase your car seat in good faith.... much more needs to be done to get the crappy car seats of sale as IMO they should NOT be sold.

I cant imagine anyone (except manufactures of rubbish car seats) having a probelm with that!

starlover · 04/04/2006 22:15

no-one is jumping down your throat... so far as I can see NannyL just pointed out a fact to you about car seats...

apologies for trying to be helpful!

red37 · 04/04/2006 22:22

OMG
we have a mamas and papas car seat

NannyL · 04/04/2006 22:23

thank you starlover for your support!

Its not pink tulips or mine(or anyone else that we are likly to know) fault that the testing for car seats is soooo poor and that such dangerouse unsafe seats support BS and EU standards

If no body purchased these seats tho then the companies may stop making them...

That isnt gonna happen while shops tell us they are all "as safe" as each other, so can only happen when people find out for themselves what and what not to buy!

Mamas and papas, Graco, Britax, Mothercare and other well know brands are all guilty of making car seats with poor safety standards... not just the cheap ones!

NannyL · 04/04/2006 22:26

Forgot to say most of the brands make good car seats as well

red37.... so you have the currentish M&P car seat for 9 - 18kg? that one is very good

!ts maddening that choosing a car seat is such a lottery

PinkTulips · 04/04/2006 22:26

so i'm not the only bad mother out there?

sorry for being defensive but your original comment did mention killing my child NannyL and that does tend to set me off, no matter how well meaning the comment!

starlover · 04/04/2006 22:27

apparently britax are now selling their unsafe ones under the fisher price brand so beware of those too!

this is just a rumour I heard on here though, so may not be true!

NannyL · 04/04/2006 22:32

if you read my post you will see that it was the crash test dummies that were killed or injured in the independant tests.... NOT your child

I also pointed out that that exact seat had NOT been independantly tested... so by definition was not saying that in that seat the crash test dummies were killed as we dont actually know...

maybe the June 2006 which magazine will have more information on it?

Also sorry if i had offended you... I didnt intend to but i was only trying make Mommy Tsang aware that it may not be a particularly safe seat to choose as she was asking for advice about it!!! and i make NO apologies for that...

its a fact and in the context of her post I think she wanted to know!

Stephanie7762 · 23/12/2016 12:02

Hi there, I am new here and am currently searching for a baby seat (6 months). I was hoping to find a post dedicated to baby seat reviews, but apparently haven't found anything. Comparing prices, quality and materials. I thought of going with Graco Baby, but apparently they do not have a lot of reviews avail online. I am wondering maybe someone had these seats and can share their opinion on that?

Stephanie7762 · 26/12/2016 08:00

Finally ordered a seat I wrote about, now waiting for the thing to come (www.carid.com/baby-car-seats.html). Having compared prices and quality online, I decided to stop on this one. What I also liked is a pretty good back rest construction with additional support cushions. Will share more details as soon as I get it delivered.

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