Rearfacing car seat for older baby?

bogtotty

I've just been reading up on safety tests for car seats and it appears that rear-facing car seats are five times safer than forward facing ones for children up to the age of 4 years old. I'll shortly be buying a seat for my son who will soon reach the 11kg limit on his current seat (he's 8 months old).

Does anyone here use a rear-facing seat for their older baby/toddler/young child?
Do you know of any available to buy in Ireland rather than online?

If so, please PM me your recommendations as I haven't been able to find any to buy in Ireland and would like to try before I buy.

[Mods please indicate if recommendations can be posted in the forum rather than pm-ed]

Nevyn

The dicussions and suggestiong can be had on thread.
Part of the purpose of this forum is so that parents can share info.
The mods only crack down when we see someone who works for a company/shop pushing info which is shilling.

emmiou

I researched this a little when buying my son's second car seat but couldn't find one in Ireland. I think maybe Sweden was the place to try and get one from - Volvo have one?? Good luck!

Moonbeam

http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplayA_51+2298_10751_-1_14569_85865_10001_14569

After a lot of research this was the best one that I found.

JoeyJJ

My daughter would be bored alot quicker in a rear facing seat now that she can express herself and understand us so I'd be wary of getting one you might have a frustrated child. I would consider this.

silja

We have the Graco ComfortSport, which is rear-facing until 30 pounds.
We used it rear facing till the twins were 2 years old (weighing 26 and 27 pounds), which is the recommendation where we now live.

For what it's worth, we had an accident when the twins were 16 months old (aquaplanning into a Florida swamp/ trees), the kids were unharmed but the State Trooper told us they'd likely have been in hospital if they'd been forward-facing.

ocokev

JoeyJJ wrote: »

My daughter would be bored alot quicker in a rear facing seat now that she can express herself and understand us so I'd be wary of getting one you might have a frustrated child. I would consider this.

I agree. Once they are big enough, forward facing is much better for them and you you have much more interaction with them when they can see you. I also take the head rest off the passanager seat so she can look see things out the front window.

bogtotty

Thanks for the tips/links.

JoeyJJ wrote: »

My daughter would be bored alot quicker in a rear facing seat now that she can express herself and understand us so I'd be wary of getting one you might have a frustrated child. I would consider this.

I've considered that but I'd rather have a bored child than a potentially injured one (and I mean no disrespect to the vast majority of people who use forward-facing seats as I know they are the norm). I have a high tolerance for whinging and I've been told that some of the rear-facing seats are high enough that the child can see out the window, and that if they never go forward-facing they don't know the difference so don't complain.

They are quite a lot more expensive than forward-facing ones, aren't they?

Moonbeam

It is down to supply and demand.

Generally iso fix seats are more expensive then belt fitted seats and rear facing ones are more expensive then front facing ones.

Rearward facing isofix ones are really expensive but at the end the day we put our kids in car seats to protect them in case of an accident that hopefully will never happen and if that accident does happen we want them to be as safe as possible.

LegacyUser

My OH and I spent ages looking at all the reviews and asking around when our little girl (now 14 months) grew out of her first car seat. We ended up with a forward facing one (Maxi Cosi Priori fix) which we really like - and more importantly, she seems pretty comfy in it too!

We started off wanting a rear-facing seat for exactly the same reason you do and we found two places in Dublin that stock them. Check out Team PR Reilly - they stock an Italian made one from the (unfortunately named) Bimbo company or Baby Biz - they have another one, I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the manufacturer.

We didn't like the Bimbo one as the seat felt very hard with very little padding and we really didn't think it'd be comfy, particularly for longer trips. But the biggest problem with both that seat and the Baby Biz one was their sheer size - they're HUGE! We've a BMW SUV which is a pretty decent sized car and if we had bought either of them the front passenger seat would've become pretty much useless. We'd have had to push it so far forward to fit either rear-facing seat that only someone with no/tiny legs would've been able to fit in it. (My OH is over 5' 10", prefers being driven to driving herself, and gets car sick if she sits in the back so that wasn't going to work!!)

According to "Which?" - the independent UK consumer magazine -the seat we got in the end is rated as one of the best they tested recently. Check out their website - you used to be able to pay £1 and get access to their reviews for a month and I think you still can.

Absolutely, certainly, definitely do not buy a rear-facing seat on-line without actually seeing it - and checking to make sure it will fit in your car! - first. Maybe there are smaller ones out there but we couldn't find one. Yes, the research says rear-facing is safer than forward-facing but that's safer - nobody is saying a good forward-facing seat isn't safe. And from a safety point of view, all the literature says the best thing you can do is make sure the seat - any seat - is installed properly. In end, for us, although safety was the paramount consideration, we had to factor in practicality and comfort too.

Best of luck!

Tabnabs

Been there! wrote: »

Absolutely, certainly, definitely do not buy a rear-facing seat on-line without actually seeing it - and checking to make sure it will fit in your car! - first.

I seconded this very good advice. On a recent trip abroad we borrowed a rear facing seat and it would only fit into a large volvo (with the front passenger seat pushed right forward). These seats and their fittings are much larger than the standard forward facing seats.

bogtotty

Been there! wrote: »

Absolutely, certainly, definitely do not buy a rear-facing seat on-line without actually seeing it - and checking to make sure it will fit in your car! - first.
Best of luck!

There's no way I could buy it online. I drive a very small car and sometimes have problems trying to fit the infant baby seat into it. I seriously doubt one like dyflin used will fit in. Changing the car is not an option. Guess we'll have to make the trip to Dublin to try them out!

themysteriouson

The Britax 1st Class can be used rearward and forward facing and is suitable up to 18kgs. Handy if you want to keep them rearward for now but decide to turn them around later on. Rearward is definitely the safest way to travel but unfortunately most carseats here will not have the option of facing both ways.

If your worried about it fitting in your car check out the britax website which have a fit finder application so you can enter your make and model and they will tell you what fits although nothing beats getting someone trained to physically fit it in your car.

neeb

Tony Kealys in cork stock 2 rear facing seats

borderlinemeath

The britax elite is a car seat that is suitable for a child up to 4 yrs of age.
It can be purchased up in Belfast but as far as I know is not available in ROI.

As other posters have said the rear facing seats that are suitable up to 4yrs are a lot bigger and bulkier and do not fit all cars. Also as they use all the footwell space the front seat has to be fully forward and so is barely usable as a seat unless you have a very big car/jeep.

There is a huge amount of pressure put on parents to ensure the safety of there child while in transporting them in cars....BUT...if the car seat you want - or deemed to be the safest in Which magazine doesn't fit your car then it is not the safest for your child and can be detrimental to their safety in the case of an accident.

BostonB

bogtotty wrote: »

... I have a high tolerance for whinging and I've been told that some of the rear-facing seats are high enough that the child can see out the window, and that if they never go forward-facing they don't know the difference so don't complain....

Thats not the problem. After a certain age (and a lot earlier than you think) if they are not content they'll eventually just get out of the straps. Usually silently.

January

There are devices to stop them escaping the straps.

borderlinemeath

adrieanne__x wrote: »

There are devices to stop them escaping the straps.

As far as I'm aware, these are not legally available in Europe.
They used to be on the market but they were banned. In the event of an accident the emergency services need to release a child as quickly as possible and they were outlawed because of this.
They are still available in US/Australia though, but the laws are different.
A lot of car seats sold in the US are not safe for use in Europe either.

BostonB

Rear facing is always safer even for adults. Theres no disputing that. Military transport aircraft often have rear facing seats.

But you can't see what they are going if they are rear facing, and unless they are high they can't see out and will want to try and get out. If you have an accident and the child is half out of the seat, thats not what you want either. Thats usually the battle. keeping their straps on and in the seat.

I guess if you can overcome that, and get one that fits your car then its a good idea.

Jip

Only coming across this thread now but it is something I've been keeping an eye on, there was only a letter about this in the Car Clinic of the Sunday Times the other week, here it is

Q. We have two children under three. I’ve heard that rear-facing car seats (as used by babies) are safer than forward-facing models and so it’s wiser to use them for older children as well. Is this true, and if so, can they be bought in the UK?

AL, Birmingham

A. The majority of rear-facing child car seats sold in the UK can only fit a baby up to 29lb (13kg) in weight, after which infants are typically switched to a forward-facing seat. There is, however, compelling evidence that rear-facing models are safer for children until the age of four, according to a 2009 study in the British Medical Journal.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents advises parents to keep children in rear-facing seats as long as possible (usually until the top of the child’s head is above the top of the seat). Rear-facing seats suitable for children up to 40lb (18kg) are common in Scandinavia, and some retailers import these to the UK. Rearfacing.co.uk lists them, and Securatot.co.uk has a useful guide. It’s a good idea to check a child seat fits your car — and your infant — before you buy

As has been said, they're not that easy to get a hold of at the moment, even in the UK by the sounds of things.

caprilicious

This place sell them in Belfast;

http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/shop/rearward-facing-seats.html

I've never been there just came across a link on another parenting website & thought it might be useful

Just out of curiosity, how would a child up to 4 years old fit in one? would their legs not get scrunched up?

Moonbeam

I have to say I am very happy with ours now that it is installed and in use!
There is still plenty of room for a front seat passenger too,which is what I was a little nervous about.
we got the be safe izi kid combi (izi kid 3 with isofix) from kiddicare.com
http://www.hts.no/en/news/view_news.php?id=165

pearljamfan

definitely stay rear facing as long as you can, i kept my little boy that way for a good while, i cant remember how long! basically until his legs looked too squashed up and he needed more space, id say he was 2 anyway. it doesnt matter if its not as interesting for them, its whats safer!! u can buy toys and mirrors for the back headrest anyway, he had a farm steering wheel thing he liked.

i had the britax 1st class SI i think, just check, because i think a lot of them can be used rearfacing, they dont have to be specifically advertised as so.

caprilicious

ooh found this one too, bit cheaper than the ones on the other website but without the benefit of seeing it up close before purchase as its in UK;

http://www.kiddisave.co.uk/store/product/3589/Britax-First-Class-Plus-2010-Micky/?gclid=COm7-aXf-aACFSU8lAodT3W4vw

neeb

I think the britax first class plus is only rear facing until 13 kg, check before you buy.