[Hayek]

Originally Posted by Juggy

With due respect, vb-san, ignoring a tantrum is easier said than done. 4. Be judicious about your speeds when the belts are not on. We have a rule, not to cross 80, if they are not fully belted up. I've seen a few parents insist on belting up the toddlers and then send the older kid by school bus without a care.

I agree that dealing with tantrums is easier said. But any journey without kids buckled up is asking for trouble. And restricting speeds to 80 is no solution - even a crash at 40 can be dangerous without seat belts.

I have a simple rule - the car will not move if everyone is not buckled up. I have compromised since my child turned 4 to let him sit with an adult seat belt instead of in a child seat but never drive without seat belts (read Superfreakonomics for an interesting perspective). Of course, this falls by the wayside when we use taxis :-(

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Hayek

I have compromised since my child turned 4 to let him sit with an adult seat belt instead of in a child seat but never drive without seat belts (read Superfreakonomics for an interesting perspective). Of course, this falls by the wayside when we use taxis :-(

http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepuls...05/1970336.htm

[Thad E Ginathom]

Juggy, if you think a seat belt or child seat is only necessary at 80kph, please try walking into a wall. Your speed will be only three or four kph, but it will hurt.

Please do not relate safety to speed. What do you think happens to a child (or adult) if they hit a windscreen at 20kph. Or 20. Or 10.

but in my experience with family in the US & France, the kids there are kept actively / passively engaged, (screen time, books, music) and they are talked to constantly. My kids too fall in quietly and are strapped up with their cousins.

It is not at all a question of whether the kids are engaged or not. In UK (at least) it is the law, just as it is the law that adults wear seat belts, and the law is not only obeyed by all, but the reason is understood and accepted by many, if not most, parent drivers.

At those speeds, it would be insane to risk holding them on your lap.

At any speed it is insane to hold a child on the lap.

I'm not a parent. I got my experience of children the easy way --- other peoples'! But my experience and observation absolutely confirms the advice given in recent posts: start right from day one, so the baby/child seat is normal for the child; make it special, the child's own seat; and don't take no for an answer.

Isn't that new baby the most precious thing in parents' life? So why should anyone risk his or her life even on that first trip home from the hospital?

Otherwise, the child's life is dependent on the fact that most drivers, on most trips, don't have an accident. What's the value of life? Chance? Luck? Not good enough!


~

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by bblost

http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepuls...05/1970336.htm

Not saying a child's seat is not better (even though the Freakonomics chapter suggests there is no evidence to show it is at least for kids above 2). But a seat belt is the minimum needed in a moving car.

[Juggy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Juggy, if you think a seat belt or child seat is only necessary at 80kph, please try walking into a wall. I'm not a parent. I got my experience of children the easy way --- other peoples'! What's the value of life? Chance? Luck? Not good enough! ~

Thanks, but we are not talking about being belted in, but about the utility of car seats for toddlers (4+). Seeing as your experience is of the back-seat driving kind, I forgive you for believing the ads by the Bugaboo & Mothercare folk on the utility of the ubiquitous carseat.

Heck, I believed it myself till I viewed this Steven Levitt (the Freakanomics guy) TED talk about their utility in saving lives. Someone posted this talk ABOVE but please do view the data.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levi...aign=ios-share

[Thad E Ginathom]

Seeing as your experience is of the back-seat driving kind,

It can be even worse, having responsibility for other people's children! There are things that one just never wants to have to be in the situation of telling somebody.

If the child is big enough to be held by an adult belt, that's fine.

I believe the basic physics I learnt in school first and foremost, augmented by some rather sharp lessons from the booms of sailing boats!

Sure, I will check out that talk and update my information. Thanks.

[Thad E Ginathom]

<LATER>

Yes, watched the talk. Very interesting. If you are saying that safe restraint is key, rather than the method, then I agree entirely. No need to worship the car seat as such. But then we must be wary of stuff like adults wearing one seat belt around a child on their lap, which is a great way to crush a child.

[motomaverick]

So after a lot of search and research finally got our 4.5 month old princess her own seat. We bought this FisherPrice FP1000 infant car seat plus carry cot from Mom&Me for 5699. The build quality is pretty good but the foremost thing that we were looking for was the support for neck and this seat offered good support.

Though this seat is suitable only till probably 1.5 years of age we decided to go ahead with this and later change over to a more bigger seat. As of now she probably has the best seat in the car with good thigh and lateral support.

[arun_josie]

My son is now 13 months old/12Kgs. Is it fine to move him to a forward facing seat now? Or is it advised to wait till 15 months? His current seat can hold him till 15 months but he has started coming out of it now.

For child seat, normally I look @ Mothercare and Mom&Me. Guys who purchased recently in bangalore, any other good options apart from these shops with more models/brands/better discounts?

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

My son is now 13 months old/12Kgs. Is it fine to move him to a forward facing seat now? Or is it advised to wait till 15 months? His current seat can hold him till 15 months but he has started coming out of if?

Best to stay rear facing as long as possible, that is the safest position. In fact, in some of the Nordic countries, they recommend using larger convertible seats rear facing till 3 or 4.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

My son is now 13 months old/12Kgs. Is it fine to move him to a forward facing seat now? Or is it advised to wait till 15 months? His current seat can hold him till 15 months but he has started coming out of it now.

For child seat, normally I look @ Mothercare and Mom&Me. Guys who purchased recently in bangalore, any other good options apart from these shops with more models/brands/better discounts?

Arun, As Hayek mentioned, its better to keep the baby in a rear facing one as much as possible; because of the better support they offer.
The other factor to look for is how comfortable your baby in his current seat and how tall is he. Very few manufacturers specify the height limits of the baby. So make your best judgement.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

My son is now 13 months old/12Kgs. Is it fine to move him to a forward facing seat now? Or is it advised to wait till 15 months? His current seat can hold him till 15 months but he has started coming out of it now.

For child seat, normally I look @ Mothercare and Mom&Me. Guys who purchased recently in bangalore, any other good options apart from these shops with more models/brands/better discounts?

The MyBaby store near HSR Layout 14th cross signal has quite a few options but the best bet for variety will be the online stores. Since you are already using a seat it would be easier to search online with the dimensions they have mentioned in the site. Only flipside is no trials.

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

The MyBaby store near HSR Layout 14th cross signal has quite a few options but the best bet for variety will be the online stores. Since you are already using a seat it would be easier to search online with the dimensions they have mentioned in the site. Only flip side is no trials.

@Arun - We got our son a Chicoo car seat - which could be used up to about 4 years right from month 3 onwards. The manual of Chicoo states that till year 1 the child seat has to face backwards and should be strapped in such a way that it is behind one of the front seats. This provides support for the child seat and does not rock the seat when car is travelling over uneven roads.

For children above 1 year old, the seat can face forwards, but it still has to be behind the front seats and not in the middle. Also, seat belt is a must for the child within the child seat

Having said all of this children have a mind of their own and it is difficult to make them sit in a car seat for prolonged periods of time. We do indulge him out of the car seat, but it is always on the rear bench and not in the front.

Although i must say, i have seen a few moms driving a car and having their 5 month old babies in a car seat, strapped on to the passenger side, facing forward - Extremely dangerous

Try Chicoo store, Greco and Fisher Price. They can be expensive, but do offer a ton of comfort

[me_sid]

Tantrums or not, child seat is a necessity. Got this "Mothercare" one from Shoppers Stop for around 8K, and IIRC its suitable upto 7 years. The Attached photograph says it all, if the child seat would not have been there, what could I have possibly done, mom out of country for meetings, dad takes his 3 year old son ( who’s irritated since moms not there for a week) for a Lazy Lunch and Son falls asleep while coming back. Who saves Dad? The child seat! Viola you don't need to be a rocket scientist for that. On Top couple of days back there was a panic braking almost at 110km/hr, my wife even with a seat belt managed to sprain her knees, but this seat with this harness didnt even budge. I guess I am happy that I invested on the seat, no matter what people say.

[h@r$h@l]

Guys,

I am one of the "soon to be dad" and i am on a look out for a car seat, but i have a few questions, which i am hoping would be answered well here by the experienced junta.

1. What is the "safe" age for a infant to be put in a child seat?
2. How easy / difficult it is to move the car seat between cars? We have a Fiat Punto & Hyundai i20 and we dont have a "my car" concept at home, so while going on highway we take which ever is available depending on dad's requirements.
3. I understand that over seas new borns right from the day they are discharged from hospital are meant to be on child seats, are they any different that the ones pictured above by @motomaverick & @me_sid.

Btw, @me_sid i totally agree with you on the useage of car seat, its more than safety. Comes in great use when you are driving solo in car with the kid.

Regards,