Children's car seat

Feb 3, 20225 min read

How do we choose the right car seat for the little one?

The car seat is one of the most important purchases for the child, and in order to be able to choose the most suitable car seat, we have documented well beforehand. For us it mattered:

1. The seat should be tested and approved

By law, all car seats sold in Europe must comply with ECE standard R44 / 04 (or 03). This standard categorizes car seats by the weight of the child. In July 2013, a new car seat classification system was introduced: i-Size (UNR 129). An ECE R44 approved car seat has been tested for front and rear impact, and a UNR 129 approved safety system has also been tested for side impact (the most demanding requirements set at this time).

2. The seat should be appropriate for the age and height of the child

Car seats are classified into 3 groups: car seats for babies (shell - we talked about it here), car seats for children and wheelchairs (we have not yet arrived here). First of all, the age and height of the child determines which group you should choose.

baby car seat (shell): this group is intended for newborns up to the age of about 12 months, plus or minus a few months depending on height. As a parent, you need to take the next step when the tip of the baby's head touches the top edge of the shell and the baby can hold its head firmly.
car seat for children - According to UNR 129 (i-Size) regulations, children must travel with their back to the direction of travel at least until the age of 15 months, we kept Patrick up to 2 years and 3 months, after he didn't want to sit anymore and I preferred to move him with the face in the direction of travel. The child has overtaken the car seat when the highest point of the ears reaches the highest point of the headrest set to maximum.
the high chair: the last group, that of the high chairs with backrest and headrest. This car seat will be used by the child for the longest time. According to Romanian law, the child must use an approved car seat until the age of at least 12 years or a height of at least 135 cm, depending on the value reached earlier.

The groups are marked as follows: group 0+ (newborn up to 13 kg), group 1 (from 9 kg and up to 18 kg), group 2 (15-25 kg) and group 3 (22-36 kg). In principle, if we know how many kilograms the child weighs, we will know which group of seats he falls into. Depending on the child's characteristics - age, weight, height - there is a scale that you can look at and see if it develops better in height or better in weight and you recommend a chair in that age category.

3. Easy and safe installation

With ISOfix in the car, we opted for this attachment. The ISOfix system provides a solid, permanent connection between the car seat and the car, reduces the risk of incorrect installation and is very easy to use.

4. Be suitable for the entire period of use

Make sure that the car seat will provide the child with the maximum safety and comfort necessary throughout the use. The best car seat is the one that grows with the child in several steps. Search features include: legroom, height adjustability, adjustable sleeping position and adaptive side impact protection.

The decision can be difficult given the wide range of products on the market. To help you out, here are some things we've been paying attention to:

The chair should grow with the little one, both in height and in the legroom.
Traveling backwards in the direction of travel up to the age of 4 is proven to be 5 times safer. Make sure that the car seat allows for installation with your back to the direction of travel and provides enough space to follow this recommendation.
An ISOfix-installed car seat can be moved more quickly between cars and is easy to install.
An approved car seat has been subjected to ECE R44 / 04 and UN R129 (i-Size) impact tests, providing an even higher level of safety.
Consider side impact protection! Side impacts are the second leading source of serious injury, and the little ones are in a high position in this type of seat, so they need extra protection.

How to install the car seat correctly

In the case of a car seat installed back to the direction of travel, it has been calculated that the survival space is 25 cm (as well as the distance between the steering wheel and the driver's chest must also be 25 cm).

In the case of car seats installed facing the direction of travel, studies indicate a survival space must be 55 cm (because in the case of these seats, the forward movement of the head area and lower limbs of the passenger child due to port inertia -impact is much higher).

It should be noted, however, that there are car seats in the Extended Rear-Facing category (those seats that are used exclusively with the back to the direction of travel until the age of 5-6 years), in which manufacturers, following tests, recommend supporting the headrest child seat by the front passenger seat or installed less than 25 cm from the front seat. Most of these seats are very safe, being impact tested (Plus or ADAC testing) and having additional shock absorption systems. If you have a car seat in the Extended Rear-Facing category, it is good to check the installation recommendations in the seat manual.

ADAC tests - Whatever your choice, you need to check if your product has ADAC tests. These tests are performed by EuroNCAP, which deals with everything related to the safety of a car when it leaves the factory - tires, brakes, belts, etc. The same goes for car seats, they are tested by ADAC, which is a member of EuroNCAP. Important detail about ADAC grades: 1 means perfect, and 5 is the weakest grade. It's just that the final grade, which we see, is an average of safety, comfort, the installation procedure (how easy it is to assemble and disassemble the product), the degree of pollution (how polluting for the environment are the materials from which it is made the product). Therefore, this note is not just a safety note. A chair may have a grade of 2, but at safety it should have 1.5 and sit less comfortably. Or, on the contrary, it may be better in terms of comfort and worse in another respect. And so on.

What we chose

After much searching we decided to buy Joie i-Spin 360 (link). I admit that I was emotional, although I read a lot about all the selection criteria and the important scores for this category.

Patrick is very comfortable, he never cried in the car, I didn't have any problems with the car ride or with him not wanting to sit in his seat. He stayed with his back to the direction of travel for up to 2 years and 3 months, after which he did not want to stay and we preferred to move his face to the direction of travel.

Click here for the ADAC result performed in 2019 (we bought it in 2020) and click here for the 2021 Stiftung Warentest result.

XOXO

Baby P & Mom R

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