I have the mamas and papas cybex and I think it's brilliant. I can easily lift it out and put it in my partners car and I don't have to worry about him fitting it correctly as it's so easy. My little girl is now 2 and it's still going strong.
Totally agree with the mums who are talking about rear facing seats. And Britax are shooting themselves in the foot saying it is difficult to install. I too bought a Britax rear facing seat from incarsafetycentre and it fits onto an ISOFIX base, so is very easy to install and remove, as anyone who has used ISOFIX will know, they just click in. The base itself is slighty more tricky but so worth it for the peace of mind, and for the ease of moving the seat itself from one car to another.
I predict that eventually Britain will catch up with Scandanavia in making it compulsory to keep children rear facing longer. One day people will look back incredulous at the memory of 9 month olds in forward facing seats the same way that we remember in amazement that when we were children we didn't have car seats, and only seat belts if we were lucky. When it has been proven that rearfacing is safer, why on earth this has not been publicised and adopted by UK seat manufacturers I cannot imagine.
I have seen on another site that there are some other companies other than Britax now marketing rear facing seats in the UK, so maybe this is something you could consider for the review panel. An example is the Volvo seat that someone put a link to, but there were others, I can't remember the brand names.
You're right that there's now a number of rear-facing car seats for older babies and toddlers on the market. We have reviewed some MFM, the BeSafe iZi Combi X3 and the Brio Zento. We've also reviewed a large number of Group 0+/1 car seats (car seats that span from birth until 18kg/roughly 4 years of age) that start life as a rear facing car seat, then can be forward facing once your child's weighing over 13kg (the end of the Group 0+ weight range). However, I think what you're talking about is more along the lines of keeping your child rear-facing for as many years as possible, like the Brio and the BeSafe. These are certainly car seat types we're eager to review! We'll be keeping our eyes out for brands to hit the UK so we can get tests underway.
I have a large 2.5 year old boy who is incredibly talk and weighs 19kg. Technically should still be in a 5 point harness but is too big for the seats up to 18kg. He's too young to be in just a high back booster though right?
Don't understand why any of these are on here as you can get a good quality rearward facing car seat (which is much safer) from birth until they're 18kg which can then be forward facing until twelve for just under £200. The car seats shown just seem less safe and a waste of money.
I am disappointed to see so many fw facing only seats in the top 10. They are not safe and there is no way on earth I would put my child in one.
To anyone doubting the superiority of rear facing, there are plenty of youtube videos. (and I am sure you can find more academic studies if you are so inclined)
It concerns me that the Jane Grand has won a Gold Award when it's been classed as a "Which" Don't Buy with a score of 0% because "Isofix connectors failed during frontal impact crash testing in Group 1 mode".... It seems there are massive differences in the way products are tested, how can a Which "Don't Buy" be voted as the best seat to buy with MFM?
Hi MotherOfCats, thank you for your comments. We have contacted Jane directly in regards to the Which? safety alert and we'll post an update once we have heard back from them. Thanks so much for bringing it to our attention.
Hi this review advises you can use a forward face car seat from 9 months, I understand you advise rear facing is safer until 4 years. I thought legally you could not forward face until 15 months.
Legally, under the UK ECE R44 03 & 04 law you can use car seats in the forward-facing position from 9 months: that law has been around since 2006 and still currently runs in the UK. However, in 2015, a new law was introduced, the ECE R129 or i-Size law, which runs alongside the older ECE R44 03 & 04. The newer ECE R129 law says children should not sit forward-facing until at least 15 months. The things to understand is that both laws are legal and running together at the same time. Eventually, in about 5-7 years the R129 law will be the only law, and by that time, we expect law makers would have made even more laws requiring parents to keep kids rear-facing for longer. The thing with these laws is that they have to give parents, car seat makers, and car manufactures time to make changes. So, they will start recommending the new law straight away, but understand that it can take years before they can phase out an old one. However, as we say here at MadeForMums, from a safety perspective, rear-facing for longer is safer and the longer your baby can sit rear-facing, the better.
I wish Group 1 rear facing car seats were promoted a bit more to parents in the UK and Ireland as they are much safer than forward facing. I long to see the day there is an article about 10 of the best rearfacing car seats! We are so behind other countries when it comes to this and I believe parents should be made aware that there is another option. At the moment you really have to look hard to find a UK supplier of rearfacing seats. Why suddenly turn a baby forward when it weighs 9-13kg? A child's skeleton is very soft as it has not yet solidified into bone. During a crash if the head is catapulted forward the neck is vulnerable to great forces (a child's head is large and heavy in proportion to their body) and may stretch so much as to cause the spine to snap (internal decapitation). The rib cage too is soft and cannot protect the internal organs. In rear facing seats the neck and spine are better protected because the child is flung into the back of the seat and the force of the impact is distributed along the whole back of the seat.
I would never have known about rear facing car seats if I hadn't done my research on the internet. All parents want the best and safest option for their children and at the moment they are being kept in the dark when it comes to car seat safety.
Replies
Totally agree with the mums who are talking about rear facing seats. And Britax are shooting themselves in the foot saying it is difficult to install. I too bought a Britax rear facing seat from incarsafetycentre and it fits onto an ISOFIX base, so is very easy to install and remove, as anyone who has used ISOFIX will know, they just click in. The base itself is slighty more tricky but so worth it for the peace of mind, and for the ease of moving the seat itself from one car to another.
I predict that eventually Britain will catch up with Scandanavia in making it compulsory to keep children rear facing longer. One day people will look back incredulous at the memory of 9 month olds in forward facing seats the same way that we remember in amazement that when we were children we didn't have car seats, and only seat belts if we were lucky. When it has been proven that rearfacing is safer, why on earth this has not been publicised and adopted by UK seat manufacturers I cannot imagine.
I have seen on another site that there are some other companies other than Britax now marketing rear facing seats in the UK, so maybe this is something you could consider for the review panel. An example is the Volvo seat that someone put a link to, but there were others, I can't remember the brand names.
Hi Victoria,
You're right that there's now a number of rear-facing car seats for older babies and toddlers on the market. We have reviewed some MFM, the BeSafe iZi Combi X3 and the Brio Zento. We've also reviewed a large number of Group 0+/1 car seats (car seats that span from birth until 18kg/roughly 4 years of age) that start life as a rear facing car seat, then can be forward facing once your child's weighing over 13kg (the end of the Group 0+ weight range). However, I think what you're talking about is more along the lines of keeping your child rear-facing for as many years as possible, like the Brio and the BeSafe. These are certainly car seat types we're eager to review! We'll be keeping our eyes out for brands to hit the UK so we can get tests underway.
I actually think the besafe extended rearfacing car seat is the safest one.
I have a large 2.5 year old boy who is incredibly talk and weighs 19kg. Technically should still be in a 5 point harness but is too big for the seats up to 18kg. He's too young to be in just a high back booster though right?
Help! X
To anyone doubting the superiority of rear facing, there are plenty of youtube videos. (and I am sure you can find more academic studies if you are so inclined)
Hi MotherOfCats, thank you for your comments. We have contacted Jane directly in regards to the Which? safety alert and we'll post an update once we have heard back from them. Thanks so much for bringing it to our attention.
Hi Pink99, thanks for your question.
Legally, under the UK ECE R44 03 & 04 law you can use car seats in the forward-facing position from 9 months: that law has been around since 2006 and still currently runs in the UK.
However, in 2015, a new law was introduced, the ECE R129 or i-Size law, which runs alongside the older ECE R44 03 & 04. The newer ECE R129 law says children should not sit forward-facing until at least 15 months.
The things to understand is that both laws are legal and running together at the same time. Eventually, in about 5-7 years the R129 law will be the only law, and by that time, we expect law makers would have made even more laws requiring parents to keep kids rear-facing for longer.
The thing with these laws is that they have to give parents, car seat makers, and car manufactures time to make changes. So, they will start recommending the new law straight away, but understand that it can take years before they can phase out an old one.
However, as we say here at MadeForMums, from a safety perspective, rear-facing for longer is safer and the longer your baby can sit rear-facing, the better.
I wish Group 1 rear facing car seats were promoted a bit more to parents in the UK and Ireland as they are much safer than forward facing. I long to see the day there is an article about 10 of the best rearfacing car seats! We are so behind other countries when it comes to this and I believe parents should be made aware that there is another option. At the moment you really have to look hard to find a UK supplier of rearfacing seats. Why suddenly turn a baby forward when it weighs 9-13kg? A child's skeleton is very soft as it has not yet solidified into bone. During a crash if the head is catapulted forward the neck is vulnerable to great forces (a child's head is large and heavy in proportion to their body) and may stretch so much as to cause the spine to snap (internal decapitation). The rib cage too is soft and cannot protect the internal organs.
In rear facing seats the neck and spine are better protected because the child is flung into the back of the seat and the force of the impact is distributed along the whole back of the seat.
I would never have known about rear facing car seats if I hadn't done my research on the internet. All parents want the best and safest option for their children and at the moment they are being kept in the dark when it comes to car seat safety.