So to any other parents out there that can enlighten me or share their experiences with car seats, it would be greatly appreciated.
Anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for a good rear-facing/convertible car seat? Our little guy is 6 months old and pushing 10 kg...yeah, he's a hefty one! He is outgrowing his current car seat and we are looking for a rear-facing car seat that can be turned around to front-facing once he's old enough. But, I am slowly learning that there are NO rear-facing car seats available here. Seems insane to me since babies are not ready and do not fully develop the muscles in their necks to withstand a front-end collision until they're at least 1 yr old. But perhaps things are different here...I don't really know.
Huh? We've seen plenty (& bought one). The choice was based on buggy compatibility, so we went with a Maxi Cosi. If you go for the more expensive/specialist brands, I personally think they are all the same (or at least similar) in terms safety.
Really? Maxi-Cosi makes them? Ok, I'll take a look. I don't know...maybe I'm ignorant but I seriously haven't seen any. But I'm not surprised...I can find Pringles potato chips in one Kanton but can't find them in another. That's Switzerland for ya!
I think he means stage 2 car seats not the baby one. Stage 2 rear facing ones have to be imported usually from Sweden.
Aha! I knew I wasn't going crazy!
Yes, our little guy is 6 months old. He still needs to be in a baby car seat...not a toddler one.
Hmmm...looks like I'll have to do more digging.
There was a conversation about rear facing stage 2 car seats on the Ex Pat Moms Yahoo group, everyone who used them had to import them. Sweden was the usual place to get them since they are very popular there. If you get no specific answer here then you could join the group to get the info. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Expat-...n-Switzerland/
Oh, OK .
I've just looked a the Maxi Cosi web-site though, and the model we have is for up to 13 kg ( http://www.maxi-cosi.com/gb-en/carseats/baby/cabriofix )
Group/weight class:
Group 0+
For baby’s from 0-13 kg
Birth until 12 months
I must admit I've not seen any "swivel" seats, so I'm ignorant on that front (and many others of course )
Britax-Romer have them for children up to 15 months/13 kilos. I think that's going to be the limit with any manufacturer.
Found this as well if you are going to go for import from Sweden: http://www.carseat.se
This is why I LOVE englishforum! Thank you guys for the overflow of information! Seriously, you guys are faster than google!
Going to check out that Swedish website now. I guess the VAT is going to kill my budget but safety is first and foremost and my little guy is worth every cent.
If you export it from Sweden, you shouldn't be charged VAT. Only on import to CH and then you'll charged Swiss VAT rates, so don't let that put you off... although the killer might be the postage
We got a Roemer-Britax one that was from 0-13 Kg (group 0-1). Works rear-facing and then front-facing. I have seen them in Switzerland.
After that we just needed to get a group 2-3.
Not much help to you though with your big baby though they do slow down putting on weight -especially when they get really mobile.
We never bothered with the group 0 as we couldn't see the point of carrying a car seat around though others like them.
I've been thinking about this since the OP posted.
Are rear-facing seats that much safer?
We were involved in a rear-on collision, we (*ahem* I ) ran into the back of a stationary car at around 70-80 kph - I had seconds to break, so assume that loss of speed was minimal.
All 3 of our children walked away with no physical injuries - all forward facing seats. Indeed I was the only one with chest pains from the seat belt. So what's the evidence to show that they are so much better, or is it just for the really young ones (who should be facing back anyway)?
Thanks for sharing
Depends on who you ask. In Sweden they think it is child abuse to put a child in a front facing seat. I guess they never get hit from the rear up there......
I did a lot of research and I honestly didn't come out much the wiser. At the end of the day it boils down to risk. The risk to get hit in the rear is probably higher but the impact smaller.
Volvo sells rear facing, stage 2 seats in Switzerland. Go to any dealer and they are on display.
The Römer Baby Safe Plus capsule does until 13kgs. My son was in that seat for 15 months.
Nope they are not. Car seats for children aged 2 and above are no safer than using just a seat belt. I posted on another thread with links to the research that proves this. Basically in a nutshell parents are being guilt tripped into buying these seats when all that is really required is the car manufactures to make seat belt adjusted that allow the seat belt to be at the correct height for a child. What we are not told is that the manufacturers statisics are their seats versus a totally unrestrained child i.e. no seat belt at all.
Not just guilt trip - they're a legal requirement!
I guess the key point is that the seat belts are not adjustable, so in this instance car seat is better than no car seat.
The other thought that just popped into my head is that little children can squirm out of a normal seat belt more easily than a child seat - we definitely have to strap our youngest in nice and tight after several instances of him getting his arms out. If it was a normal belt he'd be clambering up front to join us in seconds
Hey all,
this is good info! I have a question regarding car seats...we are moving from the US in a few months to Switzerland and I have car seats currently. Laws in the US are pretty strict with car seats so what are the rules for kids in seats in Switzerland. My kids are 6, 4, and 2.
Thanks!
Have a look through this thread - it'll probably answer most of your questions: http://www.englishforum.ch/family-ma...itzerland.html
Good luck with the move.