Complete novice wants to get bike with child seat behind. Advice?

[Lawks]

Do the seats tend to fit on most bikes, or should I be very careful to get a bike that is child seat compatible?

Do I buy the bike first or the seat first?

Will a helmet be too heavy for my 11 month old to wear? Are there special light baby helmets?

Anything else?

Do you have any friends that are into bikes that could help you? If not I would find yourself a good independent bike shop that sells 2nd hand.

Whilst bikes are not particularly complex, they still need to be put together right to be road safe. Similarly I'd want to be triply sure that the child seat I'm putting my DC in is fitted correctly and safely so I'd prefer to pay and get them to do that for me. I think most seats are compatible with most bikes, but that way you can make sure that the seat you plan to buy is suitable for the bike you've got your eye on.

Even if you buy a bike elsewhere, you might want to consider taking it to an independent store for a road-safety check.

You can get special light (and appropriately sized) bike helmets for children that are adjustable.

In the Netherlands babies usually travel on the front of the bike (thus) until they are at least 18 months or so.

That's not me BTW!

I would use a good local bike shop and avoid halfords.

Get the bike and child seat from the same shop and be cheeky and ask for discount on the seat as you are buying both.

get the bike shop mechanic to firt the seat and make sure you get a service for 6 weeks time fro the bike when you buy it.

make sure aswell you get a puncture repair ket and a little bag to attach to the seat. Nothing worse than being stuck it a punctore and habing to walk home with baby

yes you can get light weight helmets for abies - I got mine in france though.

Get a seat with feet places and straps - it is much better.