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Original poster

bloody carseats and soding new law

62 replies

lazybluealien · 22/09/2006 20:12

having been car seat free for more than a year, i am now having to go back to two car seats in the back, with a nine year old squeezed in the middle.
i actually think they are less safe now than they were before.
i need to buy dd a new car seat as she cannot continue to sit in the car seat she has, or shell be strangled. at 3.5 she is far too big for it.
any suggestions on what to buy that doesnt cost a hundred pounds: pleasee.

OP posts:
Fayness · 22/09/2006 20:56

alittlebitshy - i really would'nt worry too much about the junior. The side impact protection could better, but it is worth baring in mind that when the child is using the high back booster seat, it's the lap and diagonal seat belt in the car that would save the child, not the booster seat it's self (unlike 2nd stage car seats) We had a 45 hour conversation about this at recent car seat training course, and the junior is fine, though not top of the range. Like many have said, it's a trillion times better than nothing at all.

alittlebitshy · 22/09/2006 20:58

nah, not in a box per se. took it out, put it together, and kepy box as i'm thinking about transporting it like that as less change of getting mangled in baggage handling.

As i'm not planning for it to be a permamanent car seat I'm going to try and calm down and hope that we're safe in NZ on the roads. Then I can start again when I decided the car seat has had it's day lol.

It does amaze me that people are so different. To me, thinking about taking my tall 3.4 dd out of her car seat is a big thing - a year ago I would never even have sat on on a high back booster let alone on nothng, and , as i say, she is a tall girl.

alittlebitshy · 22/09/2006 21:00

thanks fayness. And I am only contemplating this booster for our trip away cos i know my dd is sensible enough to understand that the seatbelt is there to help her, so won't try and wriggle out if it. If i had any doubts i would risk incurring exces baggage and take her normal seat!

Original poster
lazybluealien · 25/09/2006 16:58

not been able to get acess tot hecomputer since i started this thread. first thing i did was order two of the wrethced graco ones. should have read this email first.

yes, i still think that dd was safer in the adult seatbelt than she is in the current car seat. shoot me down if you want to. but the adult seatbelt with the shoulder bit under her armpit is safer than being high up int the five point harness thing which she is always completley out fo. and which she can climb out of herself without me realising.
booster seats without the back are very precarious ime. and kids are constantly falling out of them. which is why i think they are useless and havent used them. they gather dust in the garage.
i dont think i am at all irresponsible. i dont pretend to be perfect however. and that is what allowws everyone to throw cheap shots my way.

OP posts:
Original poster
lazybluealien · 25/09/2006 16:58

and why am i being made to pay vat on the carseats?

OP posts:
beckybrastraps · 25/09/2006 17:00

Shoulder strap UNDER the shoulder?

Clary · 25/09/2006 17:02

at OP's op and subsequent posts.

Have to agree with 3andnomore and now must parp myself off this thread.....

hulababy · 25/09/2006 17:04

A 3.5 year old should be in a booster with a back, not a cushion only.
And an adults seat belt must NOT be under the armpits. To be safe it needs to be fitted properly.

Have you thought about using one of these with the booster: Autosafe car safety clip

Really your child IS safer in a car seat than without.

mustrunmore · 25/09/2006 17:07

As a non car owner,so not in a car often, so I haven't fully checked, can someone just clarify... is ds1 (3 in Nov) allowed in a seat with a removable back or not now? He's in one, with the integral harness. I did look at the new regs, but there were a couple of contradictory bits in there, and I didn't get back to it But before you all call me irresponsible, we're hardly ever in a car, so it hasn't been urgent for us to find out.

PandaG · 25/09/2006 17:09

Hula - I agree that 3.5 yo should be in a booster with back - my DS at nearly 7 is too. What evidence do you have to support that, was trying to persuade a friend of mine that a booster cushion was not suitable for her nearly 3 yo DD

mustrunmore · 25/09/2006 17:13

did I read the rules wrong then, that a toddler of ds1's age should be in a one piece seat, and not in a booster with back until age 4?

beckybrastraps · 25/09/2006 17:15

My dd is in a stage 1,2,3 seat (Britax evolva), which does have a detachable back, but also has an integral 5-point harness. We had to buy it as she is too tall for her stage 2 seat, but not yet ready for a booster seat (she's only 2.7). It will lose the harness later and use a seat belt, and eventually the back will come off and turn it into a booster cushion.

LIZS · 25/09/2006 17:16

types of seat is judged by weight not necessarily age. A harnessed one should be fine for a 3yr old but a heavier one (18kg up) could use a booster with a back.

hulababy · 25/09/2006 17:18

The ones with no back are designed for children aged 6 and over. Under age 6 they shoudl have a back - helps protect in side impact crashes.

beckybrastraps · 25/09/2006 17:19

Well yes. Dd is actually heavy enough for the booster seat but I don't trust her without the harness.

hulababy · 25/09/2006 17:19

No evidence PandaG - just used the recommendations from the carseatsafety website.

liquidclocks · 25/09/2006 17:21

Lazybluealien - please follow this link and click english, crash tests, and then the top few in the list are boosters being demonstrated on a side impact crash. I can't find them now but they used to have a video of a crash at 25mph (I mean, who drives that slow?) with a dummy of a 3 year old and what happens is the child actually slides from under the belt and crumples against the seat in front because the position of the lap part pf the belt is wrong. It was very sobering to watch. After watching that test I would never take my child in a car without a booster unless it was a real emergency - they might as well not be weraing a seatbelt at all.

iota · 25/09/2006 17:27

why should small children use a booser and not just a seatbelt? To prevent thtem from suffering from the kind of injuries described here:

Two children, aged 6 and 8 years, were each restrained with an adult seat belt in the rear seat of a car. As they approached a bend, their car collided with an oncoming car which had lost control and crossed into their path. Both children received severe bruising over their abdomen, but the younger child also fractured his spine leaving him paralysed for life. The location of the bruising with the younger child, (high above the area that the belt normally passes over), was further evidence that he was not well restrained by the adult seat belt. This child should have been using a booster seat or cushion which would have raised his seating position and allowed the seat belt to fit properly. Parents should be more aware of the importance of these booster systems because many older children are being put at an unnecessary risk.

from \link{www.aatrust.com/files/reports/01022004_seat_misfitting_report.pdf - \here}

mustrunmore · 25/09/2006 17:30

Thanks LIZS; that was the site I'd looked at, and still wasn't clear! When it says that if their head is higher than a one piece seat they can go into a backed booster, surely diff models are slightly diff heights?
We'd also already bought hte same seat ds1 has for ds2 to use in a while (needed it on hol at relatives for ds1, so thought we'd get it and keep it); can I now not use this for him when he leaves his stage one seat? Will I need to buy a huge one piece thing?
I'm sorry i'm being so thick about it

LIZS · 25/09/2006 17:35

Depends on the seats, what are they ? Don't think there is huge variation in the head rest height of a Stage 1 unless it is a convertible one (like the Evolva 123). But if he isn't heavy enough for a stage 2 yet then yes you'll need a different one.

liquidclocks · 25/09/2006 17:35

mustrunmore - look at the original instructions your seat came with, if your child is within the height/weight constraints it will be fine, even if the back part is removable. This is just something the companies use to extend the life (and therefore saleability) of the seat. I think it's that the child must be over 15kg and 95cm to use the high back booster as oppose to the group 2 seats.

mustrunmore · 25/09/2006 17:41

So if ds1 or ds2 or whoever I'm trying to work out do reach the minimum weight or height limits specified on the seat itself, I'm ok re the law?

LIZS · 25/09/2006 17:45

Think so, but the recommendation for a booster cushion (ie no back) has changed from 15kg which may be on a label to 22kg to allow for the 6 year old and above rule. So a label alone could be deceptive I suppose but pretty unenforceable unless it is obviously wrong fro the child using it.

mustrunmore · 25/09/2006 17:48

i wouldn't dream of taking the back of for a long time, so thats not a prob. I was just getting very worried about it not being a solid one.

LIZS · 25/09/2006 17:50

If it has a harness chances are it is a Stage 1 2 and 3 seat so should be fine.