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Car Seat Mega Thread! Please post all your car seat questions here!

  • 14-09-2012 12:01pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 4,287 ✭✭✭ariana`


    Ok, any parents of bigger kids have problems finding a suitable car seat for their little one? My son is 2.5yrs and has hit the weight limit for the 5pt harness on any Group 1 or Group 1-2-3 car seat that i can find on the market in Ireland.

    I don't want to remove the harness as i don't feel he's mature enough yet.

    In the USA there are car seats available will a 5pt harness for children up to 65lbs but i can't find any in Ireland. Here the max weight is 18Kg (40lbs) and my son is now 17.8Kg with no clothes on!

    Is my only option to get a seat in from the states somehow :confused:


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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    ariana` wrote: »
    Ok, any parents of bigger kids have problems finding a suitable car seat for their little one? My son is 2.5yrs and has hit the weight limit for the 5pt harness on any Group 1 or Group 1-2-3 car seat that i can find on the market in Ireland.

    I don't want to remove the harness as i don't feel he's mature enough yet.

    In the USA there are car seats available will a 5pt harness for children up to 65lbs but i can't find any in Ireland. Here the max weight is 18Kg (40lbs) and my son is now 17.8Kg with no clothes on!

    Is my only option to get a seat in from the states somehow :confused:

    Aren't the weight limits for the average group 1-2-3 36kg?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,287 ✭✭✭ariana`


    Aren't the weight limits for the average group 1-2-3 36kg?

    Yes for the seat itself. But you are supposed to remove the 5pt harness when the child is 18Kg and use the car's seat belt to restrain them. This is how they go from 9mths-12yrs. The 5pt harness is only strong enough to restrain a child up to 18Kg :(

    My boy is tall & heavy for his age. He's not over-weight on the charts and the PHN/Doctors all tell me he's perfect, just tall for his age. His Mammy & Daddy are both tall.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 23,865 ✭✭✭✭January


    Simon from In Car Safety should be able to give you advice on this. He's very helpful

    http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,287 ✭✭✭ariana`


    Thanks January. I've dropped an email to him.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,693 ✭✭✭Lisha


    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056722093

    Hi

    I had same issue with both my kids. I bought maxi cosi tobi for my daughter.

    She is good in it has never climbed out of belt.

    I had britax evolva for my son. when he was about 2.5 I removed harness from that. I amazed me that so many people did not know that harness must be removed at 18kg in most seats

    best of luck.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭caprilicious


    As an alternative you could try a Kiddy car seat:

    kiddy_guardianpro2_NEW.PNG

    http://www.kiddy.de/en/childrens-car-seats/9months-12years/kiddy-guardian-pro-2.html

    These are suitable up to 36kg/12 years of age & use an alternative system to the 5 point harness.

    I have one I picked up new on Ebay for €180 (the same can be almost €1oo more in the shops here :eek:) & have been using it since my daughter was 18 months.

    Edit to add: I just seen the place January recommended you contact sell these also:
    http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/232?osCsid=u5l7vddug2hj3fno82n6fsmjo2


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,693 ✭✭✭Lisha


    that looks like a great seat


  • Registered Users Posts: 363 ✭✭Little My


    Britax two way elite 5 point harness till 25kgs.

    I'm considering this one myself but haven't decided yet.

    http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/46

    I'm not convinced by the Kiddy - it has very good reviews on Which but I have read user reviews online saying that children wriggle out of the seat belt really easily.

    Also, I contacted the incarsafetycentre about our problem, (we ideally want an extended rear facing car seat with isofix but without a support leg as our car has underfloor storage) and they got back to me straight away, so while I haven't actually purchased from them yet their customer service certainly seems excellent so I can recommend them from that point of view anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭caprilicious


    Little My wrote: »
    I'm not convinced by the Kiddy - it has very good reviews on Which but I have read user reviews online saying that children wriggle out of the seat belt really easily.

    I read that too prior to buying the seat, though unless it's a different model I really don't understand how :confused:
    Please God I won't ever find out either!
    Thankfully despite having the worlds wriggliest 2 year old she hasn't managed to escape from it so far :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 363 ✭✭Little My


    I read that too prior to buying the seat, though unless it's a different model I really don't understand how :confused:
    Please God I won't ever find out either!
    Thankfully despite having the worlds wriggliest 2 year old she hasn't managed to escape from it so far :)

    Yeah I don't quite get it, but we do a lot of driving and cover a lot of distance so I'd still rather have a rear facer. My brother was given a Kiddy second hand by relatives in France and it does look good, but by the time I get his opinion on it I'll already have committed to another car seat for my son. He's just over a year now and nearly out of the baby Britax.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭ Luella Few Gang


    I also found http://www.carseat.se/ very good.

    After trying out a few seats, we got the Be Safe Izy X3 in dublin.For 40 euro difference it was worth it in case anything went wrong. Its ERF anf forward facing. Son is 2 and 3 1/2 ft tall.

    Mods ..Would it be worth having a sticky for to list the car seats we have. We found this on another forum with the offer of going to look at peoples seats to help in the decision making.It really helped us avoid certain ERFs as shops didnt stock all makes.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭caprilicious


    Mods ..Would it be worth having a sticky for to list the car seats we have. We found this on another forum with the offer of going to look at peoples seats to help in the decision making.It really helped us avoid certain ERFs as shops didnt stock all makes.

    Good idea....Not only do a lot not stock them, but as I found in a local toy store that sells car seats they're not aware of the existence of extended rear facing seats either.
    when I queried them I was told "There's no such thing" :rolleyes:


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    My daughter was in the be safe izi until she was nearly 3 1/2 and she is in the kiddy car seat now ,it also says remove the bumper when they are 18kg. She is about 102cm and 16kg.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭ Luella Few Gang


    Moonbeam wrote: »
    My daughter was in the be safe izi until she was nearly 3 1/2 and she is in the kiddy car seat now ,it also says remove the bumper when they are 18kg. She is about 102cm and 16kg.


    My son is nearly the same height and weight and is only 2:D

    Can we get a sticky going as I suggested above


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,834 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    Cybex do a car seat similar to the Kiddy, a pallas 2. It's not the cheapest but we find it very good. I was initially sceptical my daughter would take to the lap restraint but she seems to like it, she uses it as a table or sometime rests her head on it. There is some research to say it's safer than the harness system.

    It starts off as a group 1 seat but after around 3 years of age/15kg it can be changed to a 2/3 seat. I think the fact that it can be used up to the ago of around 11 as a booster seat outweights the initial high cost.

    http://cybex-online.com/uk/carseats/pallas2.html
    http://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-cybex-pallas-2-black/2221c8500/type-i/?cm_re=CarSeats-_-Topnav-_-ImageLink


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,624 ✭✭✭wmpdd3


    ^^^ saw that too, a few shops here have it, but reviews say the material leads to sweating where as the Kiddy has breathable material?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,834 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    I also read that and was a bit worred as our daughter tended to sweat a bit in her previous seats. Bit I haven't noticed it an isue on this one yet, I think the ability to be able to lean forward meaning that she's not always held against the back of the seat must help, the air circulates around her more easily.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    Which have a good write up in the Kiddy seats and it is where we initially learned about them.
    Car seats are nearly harder to pick then buggies and prams!! Safety then practicality then hoping that the seat that matches these suits your car and budget:-)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 23,865 ✭✭✭✭January


    Stickied and made a mega thread.


  • Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Right, trying a "let's cut the bull" boards thread here to get some real-world opinions rather than politically correct ones.

    As a soon to be new parent, like the majority of other parents I've taken a delivery of a maxi-cosi car seat and base.

    I realised early on that what should be a very straightforward thing is in fact ridiculously complicated.

    I have a stereotypical family car, a Renault Scenic. Isofix on the rear seats. Awesome, an isofix base clicks in and it's fine, right? Apparently not. The salesman tells us, "Oh no, the Renault scenic has a false floor (i.e. underfloor storage) which isn't safe with the base". This seems logical because the base has a foot which takes some of the force in an impact. If that's sitting on the lid of the storage compartment, it could break through it.
    Consult the maxi-cosi website and it appears to confirm that you can't install this. Except that when you dig deeper, it simply seems that maxi-cosi just haven't tested it. They won't say it's unsafe, but they won't say it's safe either.
    I would have gone along with this, except that the lids of the storage compartments are strong, and massively reinforced. The salesman also told us that, "If the leg of the base reaches to the floor of the compartment (i.e. open the lid), then you're fine". Except that the floor of the storage compartment isn't solid at all, it's just some felt carpetting over a hollow space. It would be safer on the lid.
    So bull****-senses tingling, I investigate some more and contact Renault. They pretty much ignore any question I have about the storage compartments, but instead send on a list of recommended car seats. All Graco, and lo and behold the car seat bases have legs and recommend that you can place it using one of the seats that have the underfloor storage. So if it's OK for one manufacturer, it has to be OK for another.

    I can't be the only one who's had to deal with this. I was checking the status of most other family cars and it actually looks like they almost all have this underfloor storage which is allegedly unsafe with a car seat base. I'm inclined to think that it's all hand-wringing nonsense to avoid being sued. Can anyone shed any further light on it?

    The second part is actually on the verge of making me angry. Resigned to the fact that I can't put the base in the back, I was happy that it was perfectly safe to install in the front passenger seat, rear-facing, airbag switched off.
    "Well, there is a chance that the airbag will deploy, even if it's switched off. And the government are planning on giving you penalty points for putting kids in the front at all. And you'll have to check with your insurance company, lots of them will cancel your policy if you switch off the airbag". Wait, what? That doesn't sound right.

    At a course with a midwife a few weeks after that, she practically said the same things - "Some airbags deploy even if they're not switched off, and sure isn't Leo Varadkar now going to give you point for carrying your baby seat in the front? And if you switch off an airbag, you'll invalidate your insurance".

    I googled it. There has never once been a single incident reported of a deactivated airbag deploying in a crash and causing an injury to an adult or a child. And no, Leo Varadkar is not planning on giving you penalty points for carrying car seats in the front.

    Seriously, what is up with all the scaremongering? And I have never once read an insurance policy which will invalidate your insurance if you switch the airbag off using the manufacturer's switch.

    In any case, my wife has already decided that the car seat base is going in her car, in the back, rather than in mine. Because apparently my car which si rated one of the safest family cars on the road is suddenly a death trap when you include an isofix base.

    I definitely can't be the only one who's heard all this.

    </rant>


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 985 ✭✭✭Ellsbells


    seamus wrote: »
    what is up with all the scaremongering?

    Welcome to the world of parenting. Its the world of conflicting messages and contradicting information. :mad:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 23,865 ✭✭✭✭January


    I'm going to move this to the car seat mega thread in Newborn & Toddlers :)

    But, as Ellsbells said, welcome to the world of parenting! In my opinion, I just wouldn't take the chance of finding out if it was safe or not to put it in with the underfloor storage. My Citroen Xsara Picasso has underfloor storage and I just have seat belt fitting seats and made sure they were installed properly at the car seat event Mothercare do every year.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,485 ✭✭✭✭Ickle Magoo


    Yep, suddenly all these things which always looked so innocent turn into choking hazards and death traps in the making *head explodes*

    We got the false floors and "legged" isofix seats don't go message too - I couldn't say with any certainty whether that is for good reason or not...my paranoia that crash testing had made them wary ensured we didn't take the chance.

    Not helpful to you now but once out of rear-facing seating, there are other isofix seats which have a top tether type arrangement which negates the need for a base leg...it is rather a false impression pushed that certain cars are family friendly from day 1 tho. :(


  • Site Banned Posts: 957 ✭✭✭leeomurchu


    I have a Renault scenic myself same issue with underfloor storage and I've read all the same differing answers.

    I figured why not just fill it in so in with a plastic bag and filled it up with plaster to remove the hollow so no longer an issue although to be honest I never saw it as an issue. The cover is well reinforced and I wouldn't say a car floor pan is made out of heavy gauge steel.

    Personally I'd never carry a baby seat in the front regardless of isofix air bags being turned off but I won't go down that road it brings out all the crazies :eek:

    You're constantly gonna come across these issues as a new parent wait till you get to the amber beads for teething that's a doozie on here :D

    Enjoy and congrats on becoming a dad :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 9 likedaddy


    ok first baby is yet to arrive and i've the first car seat organised but i'd like to know what ppls opinions on keeping baby rear facing for longer is v's the lap restraint one.
    i want to keep baby rearfacing but my husband doesnt think any baby will sit rear facing for too long. They'll want to see whats going on around them.
    i know in this country it doesnt matter if the car seat can stay rear facing till they're 6 once they start school they are not going to sit in a 'baby' rf seat when none of their friends are. so i've always said we'd turn them before they start but he may have a point. Also do their legs not get very cramped rearfacing for so long.
    Has anyone got a rear facing one and i know they're safer which is why i'm pushing for it but how are they when you're living with them.
    does the lap belt cut down on neck injurys in an accident or has that been tested.
    Sorry this is our first baby and we are pretty clueless on the car seat side of things.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,952 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    If the child doesn't know any different then it is normal for them.
    I had my 3 1/2 year old rear facing until recently and only moved her to the next seat because her baby sister was getting too big for the maxi cosi.
    If you have a google you will find lots of sites explainnig the different types of restraints and seats and the issues associated with them.
    I also found Which a good resource for helping once we had narrowed it down.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,242 ✭✭✭liliq


    we have a rear facing. the way the seat is designed there is a gap for their legs to go down between the car seat and the back seat of the car.
    the rear facing car seats (or many of them anyway) are higher up than forward facing, so the child can often see more out the back and side window than they could forward facing looking at the back of the front seat of the car.
    the one we have goes to roughly 4 years, so he'd be out if it before starting school anyway


  • Registered Users Posts: 9 likedaddy


    could you let me know which seats you have. i've been looking at the swedish carseat website and using google to look up the seats. some ppl on one of the english boards were saying which isnt great for comparing them as they take marks off for hard to clean and fit seats and dont only look at the safety elements.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,242 ✭✭✭liliq


    I have the besafe izi combi x3. got it in tony kealys. there's a mention of an NI shop on this thread that are meant to be excellent for advice, so could be worth an email to them for opinions etc.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 9 likedaddy


    thanks for that. looks like it might be the winner. its a bonus that i can see it before i buy it. was fully expecting to be ordering from sweden.


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