Don't care if the child might get bored. . . I safely make good progress, especially if on the motorway so no contest on rear facing. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U

The question is can anyone advise where they've attached the floor tether straps? The floor fixing of the front seat rails are quite far forward. Might have a look under the carpet so the seat travel doesn't get fouled.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Things to bare in mind;

What if you get hit from behind?

How easy is it to install the seat into the car?

How easy is it to install a child into the seat?

Are these rear facing child's seats approved?

Thanks.

Having tried them - Swedish plus test approved (70mph instead of the 30moh testing most EU seats get), easy to belt in and tether when attached, easy to install child (magnets to hold the srrps out of the way!).

I'm now arguing with OH that in a rear end collision forward facing would actually be better . . . Which as the front assist works pretty well is more likely. . .

But apprently front end collisions are still more likely and serious. E.g. going into the back of motorway pile ups . . . But not if stationary at the back of the queue. Swings and roundabouts.

We didn't fit the floor tethers, ours had an extending leg which locked at the right length, and then was ISOFIX'd into the back seat with an anti-rotation hoop pressing against the rear seat-back.

Did you buy crew protection with the additional rear air bags ?

I actually decided against it at the time.

Should i add it to my regret list alongside self parking (front sensors/lane assist) and xeons?

Rear facing car seats for children up to 15months is mandatory for new seats sold in Europe for several years & I believe its recently introduced in the UK also?

Its part of the new "i-size" régulations introduced recently in the UK.

 

It seems testing authorities now all recommend children are kept in the rear facing seats for as long as possible.

 

Seats designed for the i-size standard are also tested for safety against side impacts & I believe have to be safe to use for vehicles fitted with side impact airbags.

 

 

http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/child-car-seats/article/how-to-buy-the-right-child-car-seat/i-size-child-car-seats-explained

 

https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules/using-a-child-car-seat-or-booster-seat

Most car seats designed to be rear-facing use ISO-fix and an extendable leg to the floor to prevent the seat from rotating in an accident.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to use a seat in a rear-facing position using just straps.

I can't view the YouTube video from work so perhaps I'm not understanding the question correctly though.

Cheers. It's a group 1+ seat rated up to 25kg (isofix only allowable on its own up to 18kg) seatbelt is stronger. The floor tethering is to stop the seat rotating around the seatbelt/isofix, pushing the seat into the back of the car seat.

Seat should arrive tomorrow. I'll have a play at attachment points at the weekend.

For better safety the little ones are better off in the rear seats.  the octy has got the anchor points on the back of the rear seats that can be used to secure child seat straps, but they aren't used by isofix seats and isofix seems best to me.  My daughter rides around in a Joie i-anchor, having been in a gemm, both attached to the Joie i-base.  http://www.kiddicare.com/p/Joie_i-base_Advance_in_Black.htm?kc_brand=Joie

The seat anchors to the isofix points easily, and the leg stops rotation.  You'll notice 2 blue bits on the top of the base on either side, they are used to anchor the seatbase, to a car, via the seat belt/lap belt if it has no isofix points.  Or as I do for belt and braces, as a back up attachment.  DD seems comfy in the seat and usually falls asleep in the car, although as she gets older (13 months now) she is awake more often.  Weight wise she could well be about 4 before she outgrows that seat, its sturdy and rated to quite a bit, and can stay rear facing or swap to forward facing.  I suspect size/ leg room will make rear facing unpractical long before that, and you wouldn't fit a bigger seat into an Octy.  I also suspect that boredom and an unhappy DD will force us to swap to forward facing before then. Its not so bad if mum is in the car too as she will sit beside her on the back seat and play/comfort, but if its just me and DD and DD is getting upset its hard to ignore her.  That made me think about putting her in the front but the Octy, like all cars I think, has no isofix points in the front, so DD stays in the rear....with toys.  All is well....until the toys get dropped.....half way through an hour long drive yesterday DD started to cry and cried for 5 mins.  I realsed why as I opened the door on arrival to lift her out, and her 'Sophie' toy fell on the ground...ahhh, DD had dropped Sophie and cried. 

Thanks.

Having tried them - Swedish plus test approved (70mph instead of the 30moh testing most EU seats get), easy to belt in and tether when attached, easy to install child (magnets to hold the srrps out of the way!).

I'm now arguing with OH that in a rear end collision forward facing would actually be better . . . Which as the front assist works pretty well is more likely. . .

But apprently front end collisions are still more likely and serious. E.g. going into the back of motorway pile ups . . . But not if stationary at the back of the queue. Swings and roundabouts.

The rear facing seat (RFS) is still the better option, even taking into account the possibility of a rear end collision. The forces your little one will be subjected to are not going to be the same as a front end collision with a front facing seat. As a front end collision is more likely, and a RFS is much MUCH safer in that scenario you should sleep soundly knowing RFS is the best option on balance.

I hadn't realised there was a choice. In my experience, seats for babies face backwards while toddlers face forwards.

Myself and partner had the same deliberation about a year ago for our two year old. We went for rear facing in the end. http://www.mothercare.com/car-seats-and-carriers/cybex-sirona-combination-car-seat/LA6021.html?cgid=cat_carseat&dwvar_LA6021_color=Happy%20Black#pmax=400&pmin=300&start=4 He's quite a tall lad and it still rear facing quite happily. 

 

Is a bit pricey but crash test reviews rated it highly. We didn't buy it from mothercare but went to a car seat specialist (in Milton Keynes I  think?) and tried out lots of models and they gave great advice. The seat is usually in my car but is easily transferred to my partners car (golf). Obviously i am a bit bias, but I would prefer isofix points rather than anchored with straps; it seems like a more solid system for most types of accidents. 

By the way, we noticed that pretty much most of the rear facing seats tend to more expensive! 

We went through the same deliberation. Rear facing is undoubtedly the best way but many are very large seats and need the front seat sliding forwards also leg room is limited as they get taller.

 

We used the rear facing group 0+ seat as long as possible, then went to this:

 

http://en.recaro-cs.com/child-seat/recaro-monza-nova-is

 

We found it gave some of the benefits of rear facing but was able to keep them longer than a standard rear facing seat. Using the bolster well over the age of 4 with some.

 

There is no right answer, a lot depends on the car and usage. In a serious accident, unfortunately I believe all bets are off and sometimes it is just down to luck. Often the best way to protect the child is what the car does itself. (ABS, stability, curtain airbags etc) 

We went for this (when i started the thread actually, just needed some mounting advice) http://www.besafe.com/product-int/izi-plus/

 

 

The footplate pushes the seat forwards to tension the seatbelt, as does a clip - much stronger than isofix (which is for ease of installation, and was great for the baby seat). "It’s important that children travel rearfacing as long as possible. ISOfix are approved from 0-18 kg. BeSafe iZi Plus is therefor beltmounted and approved up to 25 kg."

 

The floor tethers mean there is far less sideways movement and pulls the seat down onto the foot, which would reduce any movement off the seat (our current isofix baby seat easily moves in the octavia's open fixing points).

 

The suggested attachment point for the floor tethers are through the seat, but I went for the floor rails instead. Whilst this fouls the movement of the front seat fully backward, the rail is a stronger point, and the size of the rear facing seat stops the front seat travelling backward beyond this anyway. I had considered undoing the floor mounting bolts and attaching an angle bracket (supplied with the car seat) between the rail and floor, but don't have the right bit - or the exact torque (which i could mark).

 

 

Hmmmm. We didn't like the Isofix system as it retains its position during a side impact, having seen the depth of some of those side impact videos and having rear airbags we wanted the seat to be able to be moved.

Gotta admit though the crew protection is a biatch when your having some fun in the car on your own and it opens the windows and tightens the seat belts just cos your a little bit sideways

Hmmmm. We didn't like the Isofix system as it retains its position during a side impact, having seen the depth of some of those side impact videos and having rear airbags we wanted the seat to be able to be moved.

Gotta admit though the crew protection is a biatch when your having some fun in the car on your own and it opens the windows and tightens the seat belts just cos your a little bit sideways

Lol, can you drive? You refer to going sideways frequently. It could be interpreted as 'loss of control' :-D just saying.....