Moan about car seats

[tammybear]

Sorry if my subject title has thrown anyone off. I just wanted to moan about my exp and his family who were down this weekend. They only see dd every 3 weekends (if possible) and today they brought a car seat, which I thought was pointless as they could just borrow the one Ive got because its not like anyone else is going to use it besides dd. Well anyway, they wanted to take dd out in the car but she got really upset so they decided to just walk down to the park. So whilst they were gone, me and mum nosed into their car to see the car seat.

the one theyve brought is cruiser plus

Me and mum are not happy with it as dd is 18 months, but she is really small as she was premature. She only weighs 10kg, and it says they recommend children over 10.5 kg to sit in it. It also uses the car seat belt so I think that dd is going to just wiggle out of it, and it will rub against her neck. I told this to exp's dad who kept insisting that the assistant recommended it etc and wont listen to me, and was even saying the car seat that we've got wont last dd that long (bldy cheeky bstrd!!!) Sorry!

I dont feel happy with them taking dd out in this car seat, but I would like other people's views on it just so I know Im not over reacting or anything.

Thanks xx

Agree they've gone a bit overboard and understand why you are concerned about it. Could you offer them to borrow yours until she reaches the minimum weight, or suggest they go back and exchange it for one with an integral harness which could be removed to form a booster seat later like the Trio. They probably spoke to the assistant based on her age rather than her actual weight and as it is not going to get that much use in the short term it was probably the best value for money they could get for their purposes. It is classed as suitable from 9 months or 9kg, although the Britax recommendation is as you say a bit heavier because of using the adult belt. Our dd is also small and even almost 3 so I wouldn't feel 100% happy about using it but she would probably be fine. We have used the previous Super Cruiser model for ds (who is older) in a hire car and I have to say it is one of the best of its type. My mum has a similar Mothercare one which she bought of her own initiative for ds (although she rarely sees him) and that was far more fiddly to fit and insubstantial.

Hope you manage to resolve it.

well i said to exp's dad that i dont think its a good one, but he kept saying the assistant recommended that one. but like you say, i keep wondering what did they say to her/him? im not sure what they're doing about it, as when they left, it was a bad atmosphere. i did tell exp i thought it was a waste of money and they could just borrow ours. but the reply i got was "well its our money". idiots

Message withdrawn

If you're worried about where the seatbelt will be on your DDs neck, buy one of those seat belt adjuster thingies and insist that they use it. It sounds like they're only trying to do the right thing but I wouldn't let her use it until she is above the minum weight recommended by Britax - they know their seat best!

Personally, I wouldn't be happy with my DSs using the adult belt at that age. DS1 has only just gone into using his booster seat without the integral harness and he's 5! DS2 (3) uses it occasionally now but not without the addition of an adjuster in addition to the adjusting channel the belt goes through on the booster seat.

hi, tammybear, I wouldn't be too upset about this. The car seat belt attaches to a clip just below the headrest, which adjusts up and down, so she shouldn't be able to wriggle out of it, and you can get a little padded cover for them, if it is a problem. I think they probably did not make too bad a choice, it is a good make, and she will fit it very soon. I would be pleased that they had the foresight to realise that if they wanted to take your dd out in the car, they'd need a seat. My parents didn't and swapping our Britax Renaissance between cars is a real pain. Why not go with them for the first few trips, to make sure your dd is comfortable, and gets used to her grandparent's car?

I think this is a no-brainer: if it says the seat is only suitable for children over 10.5 kg, your dd should only use it when she is over 10.5kg. It might be a great car-seat, but if it's not going to protect your DD from death or serious injury in the event of an accident, and you've got a car seat that will protect her, why on earth does anyone want to take an unnecessary risk? I don't think you're over-reacting at all, I think your xp is making a problem where there needn't be one. Your DD will be big enough to fit the whizzy new car seat soon, and that will be the end of the problem. Meanwhile, he can behave like a grown up and put his DD's safety first.