Car seat advice/recommendations

[damzel]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma regarding car seats. My daughter is only 2 and 9 months but very tall and about 16-17kg (I think). She's grown out of her group 1 but seems a bit young for the group 2 which use just the car seat belt to keep the car seat in place. Whilst some group 2's come with the 3 point harness, it's only appropriate until they're 18kg which isn't too far away. Also, because of her height, the straps points are too low at the back, forcing her shoulders down when they are tightened - this is the problem that we have now.

My main concern is that she will be able to get out of the normal seat belt (she's always trying to get out of the 3 point). Does anyone have any thoughts/solutions for this?

I am also keen to get one that is not too upright as she still sleeps a lot in the car - can anyone recommend one that's good for a snooze without the head roll?!

Cheers as always x

[Norfolkvillas]

Hi there, not sure if my recommendation would count, as my little boy is only a year, so I don't have any experience of using our car seat with a 2 yr old. However, I thought I'd post anyway, because ours doesn't have a harness at all - instead it has a kind of cushion that you place on your child's lap and then strap the seatbelt over that. If you google it you'll see what I mean. It's the Kiddy Infinity Pro (this one goes up to age 4 I believe, but there's a similar one in the same range that goes up to age 12).

It doesn't recline very far, but my son sleeps well in it either lying back, or by resting his head on his arms on the cushion, in which position he looks perfectly comfy.

The other (and main) plus point is that it was rated number one for safety, and performed way better than its nearest competitor.

Kiddy is a German company, but if you look on their website, there are videos in English comparing their seats to traditional 5 point harness seats.

Hope this helps!

[The Nappy Lady]

Hi Damzel,

If I were you I would speak to the man at Babycare in Petts Wood:

Babycare (Petts Wood) LtdBabycare (Petts Wood) Ltd

25 Station Square

Petts Wood, ORPINGTON, Kent BR5 1LZ

01689 896 665

He really knows his stuff, and is genuinely interested in safety over anything else. He has been on training courses with the various manufacturers and stuff, and I think he might be best placed to offer advice.

Having said that...I believe the guidance goes by height and weight more than age, and it sounds like she has certainly grown out of the current seat - no good if pressing down on her shoulders (maybe this is encouraging her to try to escape it, as cannot be very comfortable?). The key thing with seats is that they offer the head protection - i.e. wings either side of the head, so look for that in any seat you move up to. Ours doesn't recline, I too wish they did sometimes when poor DD1 is lolling in her seat on a longer journey. Not sure about the escaping thing, but maybe the Petts Wood man will know of a larger seat with a 5 point harness. If not - bullying and bribery combined??? I simply sat my daughter down and told her the facts about a child I know who ended up in a wheelchair because he slipped out of his shoulder strap, and then was in a crash which broke his back. She was about 4 when I told her though, and may seem cruel, but it did the trick, and she always wears her seatbelt now, and no it didn't give her nightmares.

Hope you manage to get sorted.

[damzel]

I've not seen the Kiddy Infinity range before and whilst I can see the benefit with a baby, I think the bumper at the front would be in the way of a toddlers books and games - (Molly, the steering wheel is a winner btw, thanks for that! Oh, and the retro phone has a date on the back - 1987 so not quite our era...)

Anyway, back to car seats - thanks for the Babycare tip - I think I'll go down there at the weekend. As for the scare tactics, whilst I completely support it, my kid is still at the "you tell me not to and I just have to" stage (when does it end?!)