Baby Car Seat/ Travel Systems

[akescpt]

my wife insisted on a rear facing pram. and not the graco one where the car seat faces back. nope didnt want that. had to get the twista from chielino!! and yes it seems everybody is due in august!!

[Breaker187]

Rear facing is best till they are at least 3 years old. Please, dont turn them forward. You cannot attend to them in anycase while crying, best is to stop and then attend to baby.

Read this article: http://extendedrearfacing.org/

Look at this video: You can see the difference - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8mFsXNXOLw

Baby/child not rear facing, neck off, baby rearfacing, super safe....

Interesting article, thanx for that. I suppose the next debate is at what age/weight do you spin them around, but that I'll leave for another thread.

Would the side curtain airbags be an issue if the seat is positioned behind the passenger or driver seat?

Any opinions on the travel systems from Quinny and TFK, Stokke is just waaay out of my league?

[YingYang]

Would the side curtain airbags be an issue if the seat is positioned behind the passenger or driver seat?

I doubt curtain airbags reach that far down. Might be wrong though

[cbrunsdonza]

Hey all
We've got a little one on the way in August and among the million and one things to do, I need to get a car seat.
Now this being our first one, I've got a million and one questions aswell, but I'll try and keep them brief.
What I'm interested in so far is a travel system that has the car seat doubling as a carrier and possibly fit into a stoller.
My q's are as follows:
1. Are their brands to steer clear from and conversely to consider more than others?
2. Is it a case of you pay for what you get, i.e a more expensive car seat is safer that the next?
3. Are there any safety ratings that one could compare
4. How important is the isofix base
5. Where in the vehicle is the best place to place the seat(heard some weird suggestions to this)
6. Does one need to deactivate airbags?
7. Is there anything else in general to consider when buying this sort of thing?

Your opinions and advice is appreciated,thanx.

I go 3 kids so from my experience:

Firstly your going to go through 3-5 seats by the time your child is 5yrs old so buy on demand not in advance. Rule is to use the right size seat and no, price is no indication of quality.

As for airbags, deactivate them and follow the instructions as per manufactorer for the seat.

[cbrunsdonza]

Hey, my first one's also on it's way this August!

We settled for the Graco travel system, and bought the base as well. This was the one we purchased: http://www.toysrus.co.za/p-4119-grac...el-system.aspx, although we went to the Oriental Plaza and got it for cheaper.

We have that one (its now 5yrs old) and the baby seat will last till little one is 6-9mths. Should come with a bracket that you mount permantly in your car and you just clip it in and out.

Good pram, we even go strolling with it on dirt roads and no problem.

[blunomore]

Until what age is it compulsory for kids to travel in a car seat?

[Breaker187]

Until what age is it compulsory for kids to travel in a car seat?

Sad thing is I don't think its compulsory at all, well at least given the horrors I've seen on the road where parents let kids stand freely or sit with a baby in the front seat, but that's covered in another thread on this forum I was reading earlier.

[katangeleus]

We got one of Larenza from Chelino as they seemed more reasonable in price and you can get parts if the thing breaks. Plus the stroller folds up and is pretty compact.

http://www.chelino.co.za/products/tr...&view=category

[katangeleus]

The ISOFIX is an amazing device as it enables you to just click the baby seat in with out having to struggle with seatbelts. Well one seatbelt is needed to wrap around the front for th baby seat but it litrally takes about 2 seconds to release the chair from the car.

[cbrunsdonza]

Until what age is it compulsory for kids to travel in a car seat?

No law but a child should use a booster seat till they are at least 9, sometimes up to 12yrs

[miz_pimp]

Hey, my first one's also on it's way this August!

We settled for the Graco travel system, and bought the base as well. This was the one we purchased: http://www.toysrus.co.za/p-4119-grac...el-system.aspx, although we went to the Oriental Plaza and got it for cheaper.

Exactly the same for me too, hehe! We just don't have the base though, and we didn't buy it at the oriental plaza

It's so exciting knowing there are others also expecting their first in August, lol! Yes, yes, I'm excited, I can't help it!

[Boris Becker]

Congrats

We bought the Graco Pram and Car Seat combo from Baby City. Baby City seemed to have the best prices on those things including the cot, etc. When my first child got older, we got him a Ferrari Booster Seat (got it at a steal from Norwood Reggies for something like R700 after Discovery vouchers). Try Norwood Reggies cos they can't sell their stock and always reduce their prices.

Car Seats a real pain so the base is a good idea. Didn't buy it though. Should have

[Boris Becker]

Sad thing is I don't think its compulsory at all, well at least given the horrors I've seen on the road where parents let kids stand freely or sit with a baby in the front seat, but that's covered in another thread on this forum I was reading earlier.

Child sitting in the middle seat leaning forward into the front, now that is seriously dangerous

[flashsa]

My daughter has just turned 1. We bought the Graco travel system with the pram and clip in snug and safe. Did not buy a base as after a few days you become a pro at wrapping the seatbelt around the snug and safe in tye car and in our house, the LO rides in moms car Monday to Friday and in my car on weekends so a base would have been a waste.

The experts say the child should face rearwards for the first year but by about 6 months my daughter had a strong neck and became much less of a pain in the butt when we faced her forwards and she could see forward! Snug and safe could not be used facing forward and he legs had grown and were hanging over the edge of the snug and safe so we then bought 2x Chellino car seats, 1 for each car as they were only a grand each and a nightmare to fit securely.

Do not mount a car seat in the centre of rear seat. If something comes through the windscreen baba has no protection. Always behind a seat. My wife did put the snug and safe on the front passenger seat often so she could keep the LO entertained (airbag off of course) and the snug and safe has a nice hard shell on the back to protect in case of an impact.

Good luck and to all of you expecting, enjoy the birth and the awesome journey which lies ahead!

[Carol35]

Until what age is it compulsory for kids to travel in a car seat?

My girl used her booster seat until she was about 7. She stopped using it when she was comfortable enough to use the seatbelt without it.

You parents of today have it so easy...lol, we got the expensive peg perego(sp) for our girl child, took the husband and I about 4 hours to figure out how to close it for the first time and using it by myself with baby on hip was impossible. These days it's just the press of a button and the whole damn pram just collapses.

Congrats to all expecting ( in August lol)