Baby seats. . . .

[Tfsi_Mike]

Like the Pebble

The recaro is good VFM (and will look great in the car  ) as it lasts so long.

To get it straight ISOFIX will go in any ISOFIX ready car but are brand specific to child seat?

[LouCyffer]

Correct. Isofix is a mounting standard. There is no standard between base & child seat, so no cross brand compatibility. But any isofix base should fit any isofix equipped car. The golf has 2 isofix rear points, no facility for front passenger seat mounting, and no facility for mounting on the rear seat central area (where the armrest is).

[Tfsi_Mike]

Correct. Isofix is a mounting standard. There is no standard between base & child seat, so no cross brand compatibility. But any isofix base should fit any isofix equipped car. The golf has 2 isofix rear points, no facility for front passenger seat mounting, and no facility for mounting on the rear seat central area (where the armrest is).

Bit of prior planning when shopping then.  Recaro do a nice newborn seat and the sport seat will last after that

[LouCyffer]

Make sure that you can get an adaptor to fit the recaro newborn seat to your chosen pram.

[neg]

Maxi Cosi for new born with ISOFIX base, so much easier to put in/out the car.  Then we moved onto the Recaro Young Sport I think it is - a great seat.  We didnt go for ISO on the second as I found the seat sat much higher with ISOFIX and it wasnt going to be taken in and out anyway.

[vRStu]

Indeed, because the Recaro is soo much better value for money we bought one for each car rather than keep swapping.  It's not hard to fit anyway but there is no need.

AFAIK the Young Sport doesn't support ISOFix, so really you're just buying it for the 1st seat but I would recommend getting it for the 1st seat.

[Tfsi_Mike]

Thanks again 

[Tfsi_Mike]

Features:

Safety plus: multi-adjustment headrest and large-area side protection
High-quality cover materials: from innovative, trendy microfibre or fashionable Bellini. All covers are removable and can be machine-washed at 30°C
Comfort and safety: Central adjuster for harnesses and patented belt tensioner
Easily fitted: simply secure the seat with the car’s own 3-point harness
Extremely long useful life: 1 seat for children from approx. 9 months up to 12 years (9 - 36 kg)
Comfort for parents: practical carry handle
Safety plus: integrated 5-point harness for group I, 3-point vehicle harness for groups II and III (5-point harness recommended until 18kg)
Safety plus: height-adjustable shoulder harness with energy absorber
Comfort and safety: the one-handed harness adjustment automatically adapts the harness when the backrest is adjusted; this virtually eliminates the possibility of maloperation
Comfort: Rest position with one-handed operation

Rest position.  Is that a tilted 'lying down' position?
 

[E30Dom]

We used the Graco travel system to start with, which had a base you strapped down, and the carry cot clipped into... very handy if they're asleep...

Can Highly recommend this for upto 4 years...

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en-GB&rlz=1T4GZEZ_en-GB&q=isofix+britax&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9359019059913873586&sa=X&ei=NMAUTvzDEYKEhQeA5qnkDQ&ved=0CGEQ8wIwBQ#

Dom

[DaveB@Vagbremtechnic]

+1 for maxi cozy cabriolet, make sure you get the family fix base and no th easy fix base, it's another twenty quid but will take the pebble seat which is the next seat along.

Icandy is very gucci, iv got the double twin candy conversion and it's not the best tbh. Also candy are not the biggest of cots so if you have a bruiser expect it to last 6 months tops, my icandy bigrig was £1400 all told so not great value

[red-snake]

[big al]

Big Al's wife here. I used to work checking car seats as a road safety officer and it's terrifying the amount of people who don't have the right car seat or have the right seat incorrectly fitted. Here's a few pointers...

- Not all child seats fit all cars, do your research and check what seats fit your car.
- Don't just go to Halfords or Mothercare and buy any seat. They're paid on a commission basis and will be told to push certain brands rather than help you choose what's best for your car and child.
- Any good retailer should let you take a seat out to try it in your car. This is vital as, for example, some ford focus' have different length seatbelts from year to year and even a manufacturer recommended seat might not fit   Crazy, I know.
- Fit your seat as snugly as possible, if you shake the seat it shouldn't move at all. In fact, you should be able to shake the whole car by shaking the seat.
- I know your child's car seat will probably dent your car seats but it needs to be snug for the safety of your child. What's worth more, your upholstery or your baby?
- It is recommended that small babies only stay in their car seats for a short amount of time (can't remember the exact figure but 2 hours springs to mind) due to the fact that American studies found that prolonged periods of time in a car seat can restrict their breathing, for this reason travel systems aren't great for newborns.

Have a read of this website. It's not the best looking or laid out site but Vicky and Cathy know their stuff, big time.
http://www.childcarsafetyseats.co.uk/index.html

If you're in or near Essex, visit them and you can try loads of seats out in your car with their advice.
http://www.childcarsafetyseats.co.uk/in_car_safety_centre.html

Finally, please don't turn your children forward facing too soon. Keep them rear facing for as long as possible. Have a read of this website...
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/

Watch the crash test videos and see the difference between forward and rear facing.
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/gallery.php


Thanks.

[Tfsi_Mike]

Big Al's wife here. I used to work checking car seats as a road safety officer and it's terrifying the amount of people who don't have the right car seat or have the right seat incorrectly fitted. Here's a few pointers...

- Not all child seats fit all cars, do your research and check what seats fit your car.
- Don't just go to Halfords or Mothercare and buy any seat. They're paid on a commission basis and will be told to push certain brands rather than help you choose what's best for your car and child.
- Any good retailer should let you take a seat out to try it in your car. This is vital as, for example, some ford focus' have different length seatbelts from year to year and even a manufacturer recommended seat might not fit   Crazy, I know.
- Fit your seat as snugly as possible, if you shake the seat it shouldn't move at all. In fact, you should be able to shake the whole car by shaking the seat.
- I know your child's car seat will probably dent your car seats but it needs to be snug for the safety of your child. What's worth more, your upholstery or your baby?
- It is recommended that small babies only stay in their car seats for a short amount of time (can't remember the exact figure but 2 hours springs to mind) due to the fact that American studies found that prolonged periods of time in a car seat can restrict their breathing, for this reason travel systems aren't great for newborns.

Have a read of this website. It's not the best looking or laid out site but Vicky and Cathy know their stuff, big time.
http://www.childcarsafetyseats.co.uk/index.html

If you're in or near Essex, visit them and you can try loads of seats out in your car with their advice.
http://www.childcarsafetyseats.co.uk/in_car_safety_centre.html

Finally, please don't turn your children forward facing too soon. Keep them rear facing for as long as possible. Have a read of this website...
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/

Watch the crash test videos and see the difference between forward and rear facing.
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/gallery.php


Thanks.

Thank you Mrs Al, lots of food for thought 

[Tfsi_Mike]

Any advice on talking SWMBO into these...

http://www.recaro-cs.com/produkte/kinderwagen/recaro-akuna.html

[andrewparker]

We have the iCandy Apple and Maxi Cosi combo. I'd particularly recommend the Maxi Cosi seats.