2nd Stage Child Seats

your info starts here...........

Once Baby reaches that magical 9kg/20lbs they can be transferred into a group 1 (forward facing) child seat. This seat will last until they achieve the maximum weight for the group 18kg/40lbs, in age terms normally about 4 years old.

Most group 1 child car seats are secured into the car by using your normal 3 point (lap & diagonal) seat belt but some seats are secured by using the Isofix system (see General Info).

Many experts would agree that this group of child car seats is the most difficult to fit safely in to a car because of a problem called "buckle crunch".

In the U.K. we (quite correctly) take buckle crunch very seriously but some other countries do not share our view as they consider the weakest part of a design will always exist.

So firstly let's try and describe buckle crunch.

Let's pretend you had a pencil and you wanted to break it. If you pulled it from one end and a second person pulled from the other the chances are the pencil would not break. Now if you placed the pencil in both your hands and "snapped it" the pencil would of course break immediately.

In theory we have described "buckle crunch", except you need to replace in real life the pencil with the buckle located on the cars seat belt.

In normal passenger usage the force in a accident is applied down a seat belts length but when placed around a car seat sometimes the seat belts buckle lies across the frame of the child cars seat. In event of an accident the seat is then thrown against the seat belt buckle and it can burst open as the force is going "across" as opposed to "down".

In practice however many car seat fitters definition of buckle crunch varies.

Some people consider that even if the buckle touches the frame of the car seat that is enough to consider the child's car seat as being unsafe in the car.

Other people are more tolerant and define buckle crunch when the buckle lies across (or nearly across) the car seats frame.

In short this is a matter of opinion but everyone would agree if the buckle is laying across (or nearly across) the car seats frame it is without question unsafe to be used in the car you are trying to get it to fit.

Unlike infant carriers, group 1 car seats often lie back so that when little one falls asleep they can be reclined. By this age Oxygen desaturation (see stage 1) is probably far less significant so the angle they are sitting at is less important, though of course your baby would much prefer to be comfortable!

Most group 1 car seats these days can be reclined without releasing the seat belt holding it in place but it is worth checking that you are buying a seat that does have this facility as it is a real pain if you need to adjust the cars seat belt before reclining the seat.

Some people find fitting a group 1 car seat securely can be a bit tricky and if you are prepared to spend a little bit more the better models often come with a "tensioner" which helps to tighten the car seat belt once you have routed the cars seat belt.

The size of the seat is also important as little one will not be so little in a couple of years time and you also need to consider that in winter months they will often have a coat on. Some child car seats can be a bit tall, some can be a bit wide and its a matter of balance between your baby and your car which seat "feels" best.

With the odd exception the only other issue is if the profile of the seat you are looking to buy fits reasonably snugly into the seat within your car.

As you have probably now realised, buying on the web is not on.

JUNE 2010: Update Regarding Rear Facing Stage 2 (Group 1) Car Seats.

For some time there has been a "campaign" in the U.K. for parents to adopt rear facing seats normally originating from Scandinavia.

Experts are very divided on the benefits of these seats.

Here are the two views:-

AGAINST

1. Eurotest crash test results confirm that these seats are little safer than the better front facing seats. At the time of writting Which? magazine has made 3 of the 4 models tested as "Dont Buys"
   
2. In consequence claims that these seats are "5 times safer" appear to be totaly unfounded.
   
3. It can be argued with some justification that Scandinavian accident statistics are better than ours purely because of the size & brands of cars that they drive.
   
4. Retailers find it significantly more difficult to fit a rear facing stage 2 seats than a forward facing seats.
   
5. If sold second hand the risks of these seats being fitted in a dangerous manner are considerable.
   
6. Unless you have a very large car these seats are likely to impact on either the drivers seat or the front passengers seat.
   
7. Some reports suggest that children do not enjoy traveling in these type of seats.
   
8. They are expensive.
   
9. Rear facing seats are NOT tested in high speed rear impact crash tests. (A rear impact in these seats is the same as a head on accident in a front facing seat).
   
10. Only "specialist fitters" are trained to fit these seats and research clearly shows that parents are not specialists.
    
11. They are incredibly difficult to move from car to car.

FOR

1. The BMJ has issued a report confirming they believe rear facing stage 2 seats offer better protection.
2. The Hatfield rail crash proved that rear facing was safer (the most serious injuries occured to those forward facing).