[Closed] Car seat for a 2 yo?

From about 10 months on we've had our boy in a cheap forward facing seat as he loves seeing the world go by.

My daughter is nearly 2 and I've used this one since she finished in a maxi cosi

http://www.mothercare.ie/britax-evolva-1-2-3-high-back-booster-car-seat-with-harness-black.html

It looks and feels very comfortable - harnesses are heady to use and the cover is wearing very well despite her smearing it in raisins and rice cakes on a daily basis.

Well, of course it wouldn't sit right with you. Am I right to assume that your neighbors are offering you a used car seat? Because it sounds like they do. Maybe I’m wrong and they are offering it because… reasons. But that seems very unlikely. Anyways, you should [url= https://carseatresearch.com/what-to-do-with-old-car-seats/ ]never use a used car seat[/url]. A used car seat does not guarantee safety. If anything, it is dangerous to use.
Be it as it may, "a Maxi-Cosi" doesn't really tell us much. Can you elaborate? They make, like, hundreds of car seats. And what about your car? Does it have [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isofix ]ISOFIX connectors[/url] (also known as LATCH)? Because if it doesn't, that makes your options rather limited.

See I really don't get the paranoia about used car seats. I plan to use our firsts car seats for our second. Technically that's used. Other than a bit of dirt how can a second hand car seat be less safe. Unless we are referring to the very very small chance that said car seat has been in an accident and the parents have decided to sell it on knowing that it is damaged. Quite unlikely in my opinion.

We have a maxi cosi it clips into a isofix base and does the job. Front / rear facing, we were told the law has changed and they need to be rear facing. My wife wanted to buy one of those silly expensive twisting jobs but I managed to talk her out of it and save a few hundred £

We have had and my sister has used the Kiddy Infinity seats. They have a bolster not a harness. Forward facing. The idea is I think that the bolster spreads any crash / sudden restraint loads over a very large surface area.

They weigh nothing so easy to move between cars and were highly rated for safety especially in non isofix cars. (Info from Which testing a few years back so may not be 100% up to date).

Ours went in one of those seats from about a year from memory and swapped up before they were 4 but can't remember exactly when (they're fairly big weight and strength for age). I think the newer versions are more versatile in age range.

It looks like they'll get hot but never did in our experience.

[url= https://www.kiddyuk.com/car-seats ]link to current models[/url]

I can only speak from personal experience and we've never had a crash so I can't comment on their survivability, but we've got these and they have held up well to wear and tear over 7 and 5 years of use. Very solid construction, lots of growing room, easy to fit and they look like ejector seats.

Recaro Young Sport [img] [/img]

Here in Norway (and Scandinavia in general) the advice from the health authorities is ALL kids under 4 should be in rear facing seats

and do not buy used seats - maybe not been in a crash but could have been dropped and damaged or similar

our 2 year old is using the maxi-cosi priori seat that his older brother and sister used before him. we've had it for 6 years and its given us good service. theoretically it should fit him until he's 4 but i reckon at the rate he's growing it'll fit for another year before we need to change it.
that recaro seat that Harry has looks really good though

[quote=darrell ]and do not buy used seats - maybe not been in a crash but could have been dropped and damaged or similar

I wouldn't buy one ebay or gumtree, but in fact we did use ones our next door neighbour gave us for a while. As mentioned above, I don't see how that is any different from our current situation where youngest is using the car seat his older brother used before him - not given that we knew it hadn't been crashed or abused. If you don't know your neighbours very well that may be different.

Another happy Recaro user here. 😀

Well, not me obviously, my arse would never fit.;)

Rear facing for as long as possible. Its safer and there are no downsides*. We got to nearly 4 before she got too big for it. She could climb in and out of it fine (besafe izi). I would still have her in one now if there was a suitable model available.

* the commonly listed arguments against are a load of horse shite imo.

See I really don't get the paranoia about used car seats. I plan to use our firsts car seats for our second. Technically that's used. Other than a bit of dirt how can a second hand car seat be less safe. Unless we are referring to the very very small chance that said car seat has been in an accident and the parents have decided to sell it on knowing that it is damaged. Quite unlikely in my opinion.

It's not about them being used, per se, rather as you say being second hand and potentially not knowing if they've been crashed, dropped, damaged etc. I think of it much the same as a second hand bike helmet. We've happily handed our seat down from one sprog to the next, I guess it's up to you whether you are confident the neighbour is providing you something that hasn't been damaged previously in some way.

In terms of recommendation ours have gone.
0-1- Cybex Aton 2.
1-3- Cybex Sirona (rear facing)
3+- Cybex Pallas

In theory the Sirona should do until he hits 4, but it's a bit short so has gone in it at 3.

Can't fault the 4 Britax seats we have (2 in each car). All are made to the same high quality, straps etc all have a solid feel.
Think 2 of our are the Evolva 1-2-3

Also, like bike helmets, car seats have a lifespan (presumably as they are reliant on polystyrene for shock absorption, which degrades over time), so I guess if it is on its 2nd or 3rd owner you may not know the age of it.

[quote=tenacious_doug ]It's not about them being used, per se, rather as you say being second hand and potentially not knowing if they've been crashed, dropped, damaged etc. I think of it much the same as a second hand bike helmet. We've happily handed our seat down from one sprog to the next

Which as I said, depends on how well you know your neighbours. Our neighbours' oldest is also only 4 years older than our youngest, and I doubt anybody would buy a new one given that gap between their own kids.

I'm sure the plastic degrades with time, because plastic does age and fatigue, but I don't think it's an issue of polystyrene absorbing shock - that's not the point of a car seat at all, hence you're talking about a rather longer lifespan.