Car seat without own belt for 1 yr old

[littlefrog]

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this, but here goes.

CM came to collect DS in the car today (v unusual, she usually walks) and I saw her car seat for the first time. It's a sort of booster seat with sides thing, but it doesn't have its own straps - the car seat belt is the thing that's holding him in.

I was quite shocked, and am kicking myself for not having looked at her seat earlier (he's been there a month). Is this actually legal? I thought that seats had to have integral belts.

And if legal, is it safe?

hmmm not sure on legallity but deffo not somthing I would do!

There used to be some like this - Britax Ranger and Supercruiser (now a Fisher Price one), Klippan did one and so on. They are offically suitable from 9kg and are stage 1 and 2, so can be legal. Howver Which ? slated them safetywise in their review a few years ago and subsequently there are only a few on the market now. So you need to check that what she is using is a Stage 1 seat and perhaps also state your preference for one with a harness but if she has more than one child using it during the week she may simply find it more convenient.

Good point, LIZS, I will check the age bracket. It seemed a good size for him, so I'm sure it was once upon a time ok. Maybe I should just say that this is something I'm worried about... I'm going to post this in the CM section because I am now wondering if they have a legal requirement to have up to date equipment.

I bought a M&P car seat from Argos about 6 months ago that was listed and labelled as group 123 - it didn't have an integral harness and I took it back as soon as I realised! Checking their website now it looks as though the same seat (or a very similar one!) is now listed as group 2-3 only (i.e. 15Kg+), strangely
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3760639/Trail/C%24cip%3D1500012028.Baby%2Band%2Bnursery%3E C%24cip%3D1500012044.Car%2Band%2Bbooster%2Bseats%3EFC%24Brands%3DMamas+and+Papas.Mamas%2Band%2BPapas .htm

I don't think they're nearly as safe as an integral 5pt harness.

Btw the one I swapped it for is only £30 but does have a proper harness:
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3754494/Trail/C%24cip%3D1500012028.Baby%2Band%2Bnursery%3E C%24cip%3D1500012044.Car%2Band%2Bbooster%2Bseats.htm
Again it's a booster style one and lightweight, we only use it as a spare for short low-speed trips in taxis etc. Maybe this would be a safer option for your CM?

oh that's interesting, kasha - thank you. Maybe that's the answer for us then. we're in central london so it's v short slow journeys - but still, you do want something solid enough, don't you! And if it's light then it won't be a pain for her to take in and out of the car all the time.