infant car seat quandary

Hi,
My little girl is 6 months old and outgrowing her baby car seat/travel system thingy...I'm a little bamboozled by all the brands and their features that are on the market and would really appreciate some feedback! I've made lots of silly/expensive mistakes with regard to her equipment and don't want to get such a vital one wrong!!
I would like it to last a while and I guess it would be nice if it reclined...Can any one lend some advice to a novice parent!?
Thanks!

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

If you are in Dublin, drop into a shop with good advisors like Tony Kealy's and have a chat. The Isofix system allows you to attach your seat in much more secure & firm manner than the old belt systems, so check out if your car has Isofix fittings.

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

Here is a link to the Which report from 2004 on children's car seats safety.
[broken link removed]

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

just bought a britax isofix seat (9m to 4y) for the little monster - he had an infant seat that was to last until 12m but he has outgrown it at 7m -

isofix is good - you can check car models on site below

britax http://www.britax.co.uk/
have a good site and tony kealys were excellent
M

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

Thanks great suggestions...that which report is quite scary! Britax looks like the one to go for my little monster!

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

Yes, I am thinking of Britax too. My girl is 6.5 months and should be looking at the next size seat. One comment I heard about them is that they don't have very good recline, but that won't be a problem if she doesn't nap in the car too often.

I've heard on another discussion that Bebeconfort will be coming out with a new Isofix carseat soon, but not sure how reliable that information was. Tony Kealy seems to be the most reliable shop regarding fittings and information about compatability of the seats, defenitely go there if in Dublin, otherwise Smyths are usually the best value (or Roches, but they don't have sale on Britax as they said it is only a new one )

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

Tony Kealys are great as they will let you try the seat in your car, show you how to fit it and generally really know their stuff.

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

Can anybody recommend a good place in Limerick to buy an infant car seat and get good advice? Most of the obvious places (Mothercare etc) tend to be in places without a car park outside, which means the assistants cannot show you how to fit...

Re: infant car seat quandary!!

jrewing said:

Most of the obvious places (Mothercare etc) tend to be in places without a car park outside, which means the assistants cannot show you how to fit...

Click to expand...

Buyers can always read the instructions and failing that have the shop assistant demo how to fit it in the shop, as there are usually car seats on display for baby seats. Tony Kealys is the place to go in Dublin.

I have a Brittax car seat which still fits a 2 1/2 year old since 6 or 8 months. Good recline and difficult for them to get their arms out.

I got one in halfords in Derry. they will fit it for you and everything. there is a Halfords in Limerick as well.

Just remember that ISOFIX is a standard childseat connection so Britax may not be the only brand doing seats to fit.

I would suggest doing a search on ISOFIX first and then the brands will come from that.

I'm not discounting britax, they make a fine seat, it's just better to research all available seats thats all.

HTH

The difference is that BRITAX (or Romer in Germany) were the only manufacturer to offer a "universal" Isofix car seat - i.e. to take the time/money to validate the fitting in various makes of car - that is the basis of their list on their website.

Whilst Isofix is "standard" the seats must be approved for each car separately - as it depends on seat cushion shape/size etc. It's also not as standard as you'd think - some cars are easier to fit than others. Note that some cars require a "top tether" to attach the seat to a third anchor point in the roof or boot.

When we were buying (c. 4 years ago) Ford and BMW did not have a single car in the approved list - now they do - but they DID offer their own-branded Isofix car seat through their dealers.

We've bought two Isofix Duo seats and can thoroughly recommend them.

SSE

I don't think its possible to get recliner seats for the 9month to 4yr old group. I think these are only possible after 4yrs.

I have a Klippan seat that we used on both our boys from 9 months. It is now being used as a booster as it detached. Very sturdy.