Team-BHP - "Child Seat" for Babies & Kids

Mod Note : Excellent post by Sawnil at this link

Hi Guys,
I've been reading a lot of discussion on safety measures in cars and safe driving habits in the forums here. However we seem to be silent on safety of children travelling in cars.
I'm planning to buy my first car soon and want my 2 yr old kid to be safe in it, right from day one.
I would like to buy a kids car seat along with the car.
Any idea where can I get one in India (Pune, Mumbai preferably) ?
Cheers,
k36

Check MG road in Pune...Donna Karan (in the complex behind Aurora Towers) and the Toy Store (After the Bata showroom when following traffic) just might have them. I think I had seen them in Shopper's Stop too.

Hey K36,

Finally met someone who thinks like me. I too have a baby who will be one in a few days. I also invested in a car seat. Whilst I got mine from the US you get plenty of them in Mumbai. Please buy a good reputed brand like Graco. If you want you can pm me and I can tell you where to buy them from. You get several types including the new Sparco look alikes. The price ranges form around 3k to 8k for the good ones.

Viper

K36, Get a Britax. Trust me we got 3 car seats (one for each car) and our son preferred the Britax every time so that is the seat that is in his mom's car. The Graco and Evenflo don't even compare to Britax.

When we were looking for car seats I asked my cousin in the US and my god father who has 11 grand kids (12 if you include mine). They all said Britax. Then a friend gifted me the Graco and a relative gifted me the Evenflo.

Surprisingly I don't find many other parents looking for car seats. Some "educated" ones even drive with their child in their laps (between them and the steering wheel).

Also get a car seat that can hold your child till he/she is at least 18kgs. After that a booster seat will do. If you cant find a booster seat get your local mattress maker to make you a booster. The idea is so that the seat belt crosses your child's chest and not his/her neck.

to attach a home made booster to the car's seat you will need car seat covers and some Velcro. the car seat covers are only to protect your car's seat.

Thanks to all for these suggestions. I am also in pune and i have seen those seats in pune centrl & shoppers stop. Very soon i will be going to buy one.

Well, my ? are

* Are these seats safe for new bourn babies ? Else what is the min age recommended ?
* Are these seats meant for rear seats only or we can put them in front seats also ? Is it adviseable ? Sometime mothers need to drive alone and keeping child in the rear seat will be difficult.
* Does these seats have provision to attach trolley or something else i.e rollers to carry them outside car. else we have to carry a seprate trolly for that also.
* How to clean & care those seats ?

Please give your valuable feedbak on using child seats.

Thanks & Regards
Amitabh

Thanks Guys. I'll check the stores you have suggested.

Navin: Which Britax model do you have? Can it be used on the central rear seat (using 2 point seat belt)?.

Amitabh: There are different kind of seats available for babies/kids of different weights/ages. A large variety of seats are available for newborns. In fact, in US some hospitals/maternity homes do not give discharge to the new born unless they verify that your car has a properly installed infant car seat. Use google to study before you buy.
Cheers
k36

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitabh_kaushal

* Are these seats meant for rear seats only or we can put them in front seats also ? Is it adviseable ? Sometime mothers need to drive alone and keeping child in the rear seat will be difficult.

It is advisable to always keep kids in the back seat. I know this is not practical in most situations, but I am planning to train my kid to be comfortable in back seat once I get my car.
When I travel in some relative's car, and my kid is on the front seat in my or my wife's lap, he tries to reach out and play with the gear knob, steering and whatever else he can grab !!. That's what forced me to think about getting a car seat in the first place.
Cheers
k36

k36, thanks for bringing up this topic.

I too have a 4 month old angel. She is sitting on my wife's lap when I am driving. Now that she has gained neck control and her back is also fine, I am also on the lookout for a baby seat. I just wanted to ask this question on this forum, but you did it earlier. I will lookout for seats in malls and see what I get in Bangalore.

Me too got a 11 month old girl :)! And for the last few months I have been scouting around for a car seat for her. Have seen few but I am not able to make up my mind on which 1 to buy. All of them were priced around 5000.

I saw one in Lifestyle which was like a car seat on a stand. The seat could slide backwards by about 4/5", I guess to make the baby rest fully against the seat. Was priced at 5850.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakhon

For babies under a year old, it is best to buy a baby seat, i.e. one that faces rearward. This helps minimize jerks to a tender neck, amongst other benefits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by airfoil

For babies under a year old, it is best to buy a baby seat, i.e. one that faces rearward. This helps minimize jerks to a tender neck, amongst other benefits.

Good point. I will check that out.

Deepak, In Bangalore you can check at the Baby Shop on Ulsoor road. He keeps quite a good range.

I think till they are 4kg, it has to be a rear facing one and from 4-18 front facing and from 18-xyz a booster seat. There are models available which can work as all three. DOnt know whether they are good comfortwise though.

Also make sure that the seat is reclinable. Otherwise you will see that the poor kid has a lot of difficulty sleeping on long drives.