#Blogtober17 – Why you should always research the car seats you buy for your child!
It’s Day 3 of #Blogtober17 with HexMum and today’s prompt is: Cars. I could say quite a bit about cars but I’ve actually chosen to talk about child car seats and why you should always thoroughly research the car seats you buy to protect your children.
My View on Car Seats
Over the last few years I’ve been actively following Facebook pages dedicated to Extended Rear Facing. ERF is the safest way for your child to travel and with the growing market of ERF seats there really is no reason why your child should forward face before reaching 18kg. (Even better 25kg). A few weeks ago The ERF Mission posted about Killer Car Seats. As I read through, I couldn’t believe people would actually consider them capable of protecting their child in a car accident.
The whole purpose of a child’s car seat is to protect them should you be unfortunate enough to be involved in a crash. Car seats may well be expensive but can you really put a price on your child’s safety?
Our current car seats
I’m a firm supporter of ERF car seats and we currently have two of them in our car.
Joie Stages
This is Anwen’s car seat. She is 4.5 months and 10.5kg. The Stages rear faces from Birth to 18kg (five point harness) and forward faces from 9kg – 25kg (five point harness up to 18kg). Unless you have giant children like me, the Joie Stages should last rear facing to the age of 4.
Axkid Minikid
Up until recently, the Minikid was Macsen’s car seat. Now it is Enfys’. Enfys is 25 months and weighs 11.5kg. The Axkid Minikid is a true ERF car seat that is rear facing only. There is no forward facing option. It has a five point harness and is suitable from 9kg – 25kg. Unless you have huge children, the Minikid should last up to the age of 7.
Macsen’s New Car Seat
Now Macsen has reached the 25kg weight limit my only option for him is a high backed booster with the adult seatbelt. I researched them thoroughly. After much deliberation I chose the Britax Romer Kidfix XP SICT (I’ll leave the full review of this for a different post). It is amazing though and so much better than the big heavy Graco Nautilus we had before.
Car Seats that Kill
Let’s get to my main point though. Research, research and more research. The post I read from The ERF Mission showed examples of ‘car seats’ that aren’t actually car seats at all. I never thought anyone would actually buy them as car seats until I saw someone recommend them to a Facebook friend. I was completely gobsmacked.
These ‘car seats’ are nothing more than dining chair booster cushions. They do not comply to safety regulations in the UK nor any other country. This is what happens to them in a car accident.
They are not real car seats, they are not safety tested and, in the UK at least, they are completely illegal.
If you see them for sale, report them. Don’t buy them and share this post to make sure no-one makes the mistake of buying these to use as a car seat for their child.
Lucy | Real Mum Reviews
Car seats are one of those things that you should never try and cut costs on. Safety of our babies is so important!
Raimy
Thats bloody scary!! I can’t believe anyone would recommend these!!
Heidi Brown
I am a fellow ERF supported – Huge! I don’t push my opinions on others but I do try my best to explain why ERF is so much better. I had a Besafe IZI Combi before I moved to the JOIE Stages which I love. Little man has now gone forward facing, but I think I will get another stages for the princess when she outgrows here maxi Cosi cabriofix. well done for raising awareness!
Nadia
Well done for sharing this! It is really is so important that people know x
Rhi
It does astound me all these shops selling off the booster seats knowing that legislation is changing and they might not be usable. Those eBay ones – there are no words. A good post!
Tatiana Sieff
I never even thought to research something like this. Thank you for the info – very important!
Linda
wow makes me shudder that manufacturers would actually sell car seats that are not up to standard :O Luckily I don’t own any of the brands mentioned above!
five little doves
Such an important blog post and such a great campaign to remind others to research. I always say to friends always buy the best car seat you can afford, it’s the main thing I have spent money on when it comes to my kids.
Rhian Westbury
Choosing the right car seat is so important, and it’s always so important to get a new one if you’re in an accident even if it’s a small one and the car seat doesn’t look damaged. It’s not worth the risk x
Cardiff Mummy Says - Cathryn
I think the extended rear facing car seats are brilliant. They were barely around when my eldest two children were little. I remember a friend trying to get hold of one without much luck at all. It does amaze me how some people just don’t seem to care about car safety at all. We were in a car crash a few years ago and I am so grateful to know my children were so safely protected.