Discovery Home & Health

Hi there oh wise ladies,

We are starting to think about the next car seat and i was wondering if anyone had any advice or experience - good or bad - to share? Is it best to go for one that lasts from 9kg until age 4 or 11, what are the pro's and con's of this?

Thanks everyone

hey,

u deffo need internal harness, and i think the longer they last the better, i paid 30 pound for one out of argos that is nice and simpl easily moved from car to car and it will last till there 11 years old

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/376027...htext%3ECARSEATS.htm

thats the one ive bought but i got it in red, and i think its fab

Hey Noo - we have the maxi cosi tobi.....

costs a small fortune - but so worth it IMHO ... it lasts until 4 as I thought the ones that last until older just don't look like they would be comfortable both when little and older, but thats my opinion.

The tobi we have is in DF's car as thats the one we use for long journeys, it reclines so is fab for when the monkey needs a sleep - and I can recline it from the front seat - there is just a leaver you reach around and pull.it also has a tension indicator to make sure you pull the straps tight enough and they loosen really easily when you are taking them out - so you know it will always be set right...

Maxi Cosi Tobi

It comes in a million different colours / patterns now too

I have a cheapy one in my car (£50) and it does the job for small journies, occasionally, but I wouldn't trust it for long motorway trips etc, and tho it reclines - its nowhere near as simple to do as you have to move the whole seat - so you then need to ensure its fitted right again if you do recline it - hence, I leave it put!

Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.

Noo,

I cannot believe Maddie still fits in a stage 1 car seat - Connor's been out of his for about 5 months because we couldn't carry him any more!!!!!

We've got a stage 2 seat, it was actually from birth to 4 years by Bebe Comfort. It's great as it lies back so he can sleep and also the sides adjust, as he gets bigger; they get wider (and boy don't we need it). Like this one;
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/BruHome/BruTravel...elBebeConfort/729353

We're getting this one though as it's cheaper for DP's car!
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/bruhome/brutravel/brutravelgraco/701904
I looked at quite a few and couldn't believe the lack of padding in some especially around the bottom area, seriously check some of them. My bum would go numb if it's not well padded. That one's cushioned everywhere!

It's a bit of a minefield. I'd recommend going and looking at a few and see which ones you like. Most importantly you must get one which fits your car!

xx

We have the maxi cosi too and it's great, DS loves it must be comfy as he goes to sleep no problem when we're on long journeys.

i chose that one after seeing the reviews in M&B magazine, i'm also getting the stage 1 one for new LO.

good luck.

Hi Noo weve got the Britax first class carseat and I really like it. Its very padded and it’s a combination carseat so actually we could have bought this right from the start!

http://www.mothercare.com/gp/product/B001251RHC/sr=1-33...&n=44470031&mcb=core

x

We have the Maxi Cosi Tobi too its fab, I bought summer cover too which keeps it clean
I love it, my son falls asleep in it and it reclines. I agree its expensive but well worth the money easy to fit too even I managed it!!!! I would not recommend the ones that are up to age 11 as they are nt as compfy and lets be honest by age 11 it will be all manky and tatty! I went for comfort when buying for my kids. The other one I had for my other two was a Britax Renaissance (I cant spell it sorry)! That relines too.

But I deffo recommend the Maxi Cosi Tobi. xx

http://www.mothercare.com/gp/product/B00116RRR6/sr=1-9/...&n=44471031&mcb=core

I have a diff colour to that and you can get them a bit cheaper and NEW on ebay x

Noo don't talk to me about car seats!!!! We spent nearly 4 hours in mothercare on Sunday trying to a Group 1 (the next stage up) car seat that fits in our car - it's a ford mondeo zetec and you would not believe how many seats they tried!!! My friend had similar hassle with her car and we didn't believe her when she said there was only one seat in the whole of mothercare that actually fitted properly in her car - then we tried it ourselves!!!! So I think you're best off going down to mothercare and getting them to try different ones to make sure you get one that fits in your car. You can always buy it off the internet cheaper once you know which ones fit. We got the Britax SI in the end (as it was the only one that fitted - even the other Britax ones didn't fit as well!!!) which lasts up til 4. We didn't see the point in getting one up til 11 as what 11 year old is going to want to sit in a baby's car seat????

hope this helps
Loocy xx

Loocy I wonder if this is a Ford problem bcos a friend of ours had the same prob with a focus. We had no problems with our citroen or now with our Vauxhall Meriva and we tried a few in too.

x

Thanks Girls, you are wonderful as ususal!

We also have a mondeo zetec so will get myself down to mothercare to see what fits before even starting anything else!

Thanks also for the advice about the age ranges. I wish we'd got one that fixes in your car from birth and then just turns around because i never take it out of the car. Never mind, you live and learn!!

Thanks again xxxxxxxxxx

Good morning ladies. Can i just say that please, please go careful and take your time choosing your car seat. I was in a car accident with the twins in October and if it wasnt for the car seats things would have been alot worse than one ending up in hospital with concussion. You think it will never happen to you, but the other idiots on the road dont take into consideration the fact you have kids in the car. Do your research and get the shop to fit them into the car properly with you, at least then you know how to put it in correctly if you have to move it.

At our Mothercare (and im sure this should be as standard through out all Mothercares) they will make sure it fits correctly into your car but then they take it out and you have to demonstrate to them that you are able to fit it correctly incase you need to remove it in the future. They won’t actually fit it in for you ready to drive away if you get me!

x x

If you get one in Halfords they will arrange an appointment and have it actually fitted into the car to drive away (they put it in to show you, then you do it with their guidance and they check its all correct before you leave.

Ok Noo - I'm Mrs Anal when it comes to car seats - its a well known fact around the other childminders in my area!!! I have done soo much research and even spent a small fortune for a Which? subscription so I could read their test results on all the car seats!!!

I agree with old mummy - other road users are total idiots and your car seat could be the difference between serious and not serious...sorry to sound a bit scaremongering!

I went with Which?'s best buy reccomendations for safety with all the car seats I have had (and I have loads!). Like Musswells and others, I LOVE the maxi cosi Tobi - safe, idiot proof when it comes to installing it and yes ok expensive - but very very worth it. I also have a Britax Renaissance (although these are harder to find these days...) which is fab as it will fit with just a lapbelt so you can use it in the middle of your car if you want to. Both seats go in solid as they have a metal "foot" that comes out the bottom of the seat after fitting to make the belt go rigid tight. Brilliant.

Don't get one that goes up to 11 - Which? are quite critical of combination car seats as each stage is unique and needs different safety features. Stick with 9 months to 4 years. Go onto manufacturers websites - I know that Britax.com do a fitfinder search where you type in your car make and model and then it will tell you which seats will in theory fit in your car - will save you alot of time when you go to visit Halfords and Mothercare!!!

Go to both by the way as I have found they have different opinions as to what is a good fit in your car. (well my local stores do anyway!!)

Finally if you want to save a bit of money (and apologies to anyone who works in halfords/mothercare!!!) I always go to both stores, get them to fit the seats I'm interested in, show me how to do it and then I tell them I'm going away to think about it....and order the one I've chosen online from eg Kiddicare or somewhere like that. Naughty I know but I have a total of 9 car seats for various ages and stages due to my job and I have found I've saved a fortune doing this and I haven't compromised on safety as I've checked they definately fit first!!

Good luck!

noo

sorry to bang on but forgot to say do for god's sake make sure Maddie is over 20lbs before you put her forward facing - even if her feet hang over the edge of her baby seat - this is apparently better safety wise as before 20lbs even if baby is 10 months old, the neck isn't strong enough to hold up in a crash.

Sorry I must sound like such a wierdo - but I have really strong views on car seats and wouldn't want you to put maddie at risk from an inexperienced sales person! Go with Which? every time - they are even more anal than me!!!