Team-BHP - Child Safety, and SAFE driving on Indian Roads
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Hi Bhpians,

After reading this article,without a second taught I planned to get a baby seat installed. My son is 3 yrs old and accompanies us in most of our travels,so I decided to get the seat fitted in my new Laura Ambient. We had gone to bangalore on saturday and immediately went to Shoppers Stop on J.P Nagar Road. The Sales guy in the Mother care counter was courteous and said he will show us how the seat fits the car and the kid and after we were convinced you can buy it.They had a few models from Mother Care and Britax on display. The later was more expensive so I settled for Mother Care.After the demonstration we were satisfied and decided to buy it,but sadly they dint have the colour I wanted. So finally settled down with the black and Grey model.

Here are the details of the product :
Mothercare Advance - Product Details
Item Number: 5333856_9999
MRP Rs.5495.00

@kar.carthik, this is a good and sound decision and I wish you all well in the efforts for your son to get comfortable in his new throne!
I have bought a similar car seat, but I am not sure how the chest and buckle belts work. What happens when the child grows (maybe around 8 years old) and cannot fit into those belts? Or are they extendable?
The car seat I bought is also similar and shows a weight indication upto 36 kgs
I appreciate advice from any all current users too

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkap01 (Post 2245651)
Mothercare retail shops across the country have many types of car seats available.
Shoppers Stop retail outlets have child seats available.
For online shopping: ShoppersStop.com - Kids travel accessories
Ebony stores also have some models of child restraints.
Childhood in Ludhiana carries some models of car seats
Rama Stores in Chandigarh do have some child seats.

Baby Shop in Kuravankonam, Pattom Kowdiar Road, Trivandrum. I bought my baby seat from here, but I don't have enough data to provide a review. I guess there's very limited choice in Trivandrum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive (Post 2252369)
I have bought a similar car seat, but I am not sure how the chest and buckle belts work. What happens when the child grows (maybe around 8 years old) and cannot fit into those belts? Or are they extendable?

you can see 2 extra slots (two on each side) above the shoulder points, where the belt can be shifted once they grow up. And yes, all belts are extensible. In fact, you can get extra extensions if you need.

Also, Car seats is a big business, It has sometimes been proved that beyond an age of 3, adult seat belts protect a child just as well as a child seat, provided they have been shifted to hold the child in right points. My elder son's (4 yrs) booster seat has a clever attachment, a cord with a loop that pulls the shoulder point to his level (adjustable). One could just get a cord and ensure the safety, but then you are dealing with a billion dollar baby seat manufacturing lobby which influences the traffic laws. You could easily devise something in the land of jugaad until govt decides to make it illegal to drive without child seats. I strongly suggest seatbelt cushions to help with skin damage though. And yes, they can be homemade as well.

something like this, The "seat" itself doesn't serve any purpose. May be some lateral restraint.

Child Safety, and SAFE driving on Indian Roads-girl-booster.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by kar.carthik (Post 2252356)
Hi Bhpians,

After reading this article,without a second taught I planned to get a baby seat installed. My son is 3 yrs old and accompanies us in most of our travels,so I decided to get the seat fitted in my new Laura Ambient. We had gone to bangalore on saturday and immediately went to Shoppers Stop on J.P Nagar Road. The Sales guy in the Mother care counter was courteous and said he will show us how the seat fits the car and the kid and after we were convinced you can buy it.They had a few models from Mother Care and Britax on display. The later was more expensive so I settled for Mother Care.After the demonstration we were satisfied and decided to buy it,but sadly they dint have the colour I wanted. So finally settled down with the black and Grey model.

Here are the details of the product :
Mothercare Advance - Product Details
Item Number: 5333856_9999
MRP Rs.5495.00
  • Group 1-2-3 suitable from 9kg/20lbs to 36kg/79lbs (approx. 9mths to 11yrs). Baby/child faces forwards in a seat with an integral harness secured in the car by an adult seat belt. Seat has removable, washable covers. Up to 18kg/40lbs (approx. 4yrs) always
  • Side-impact protection with head cushions
  • Easy to adjust headrest and 5-point, 1-pull harness
  • Chest and buckle pads
  • Never position a child on a passenger seat fitted with a front airbag - they are designed to protect adults but can seriously injure or even kill a child
  • Mothercare 2-year guarantee

Please do write about what problems you might have faced when you first put your 3 year old in the child seat. Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k (Post 2253149)
I strongly suggest seatbelt cushions to help with skin damage though. And yes, they can be homemade as well.

Thanks vivekiny2k, will return to this thread when I have installed the car seat in April and have some experiences to share! A seatbelt cushion is definitely on the radar as my son did not like the seatbelt tight against his skin. I think Mothercare has one; will try to also look for some cartoon related design as it may help with the introduction - he was too young when he last used a car seat, so not really sure how he will respond.

Mothercare does indeed have the seatbelt cushions but could not find any cartoon ones at the time. Did not end up buying it. The car seat we have has a three point harness with adjustable strap and is quite comfortable.

Hi All,

A very informative thread indeed. I would just like to add that whenever you are out and about searching for a child seat (especially related to ISOFix) please make sure that it has been tested and approved.
The tests for these child seats are mandated in the European countries as per UN ECE Regulation 44 (Google it and you will find the document..)
I do not think there is yet a child seat regulation / approval in India however since most of these seats have been made for the European markets, they would be approved for ECE Reg 44.
One sign to ensure that it has been tested is that seat would be bearing an E-mark approval on its label.
Avoid cheap copies / untested seat designs as these would be as bad as not having them at all!!!

Slightly offtopic: Just curious if anyone has used these child car seats in Tata Nano. I am assuming that the seats should work fine with Nano as well, but just in case someone has any specific observations or comments, I would appreciate those.
Do you guys test if these seats fit well in the car by physically installing them and then purchase? Or do these fit in properly on all cars?

I think it should be OK in a nano too. I found the space in the room to be satisfactory. However, a 3rd passenger in the rear may not be possible in that case.

I investigated the car seat and I found there are three sets of slots for the chest belts. Now I only need to figure out how to move the belts from one slot to another.
should the front of the car seat belt should be worn on top of the chest belts? Or it is not needed once the chest belts are worn? In this case, the car seat belt would go around the car seat and not the child?
Sorry, but I really cannot remember how I used it last

I am also very keen on buying a child seat for my 1 year old baby,but my palio S10 does not have rear seat belts. Is there a way i can install the seat belts?
or alternatively is there a way a child seat can be fixed without seat belts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock18 (Post 2253744)
I am also very keen on buying a child seat for my 1 year old baby,but my palio S10 does not have rear seat belts. Is there a way i can install the seat belts?
or alternatively is there a way a child seat can be fixed without seat belts?

I had them fixed in Maruti 800 in 2002. Maruti service station fixed them for me!
Thus it should be possible in any car!

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive (Post 2253741)

I investigated the car seat and I found there are three sets of slots for the chest belts. Now I only need to figure out how to move the belts from one slot to another.
should the front of the car seat belt should be worn on top of the chest belts? Or it is not needed once the chest belts are worn? In this case, the car seat belt would go around the car seat and not the child?
Sorry, but I really cannot remember how I used it last

the chest belt and the bottom belt are connected by a loop behind the seat, hidden under the cushions. undo the loop, take the chest belt out, re-insert thru the desired slot, connect the loop again.

if you are using the child seat belts, the the adult seat belt should be holding the car seat in place. If you are using anchors to old the seat, the adult seat can be left unused.

once the child grows up, you will not use the child seat belt, rather just put the adult seat belt in the loop, around your child and put clip it just like an adult. (booster mode)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock18 (Post 2253744)
I am also very keen on buying a child seat for my 1 year old baby,but my palio S10 does not have rear seat belts. Is there a way i can install the seat belts?
or alternatively is there a way a child seat can be fixed without seat belts?

you can install seat belts as rkap01 said. but please also install at least one top anchor to hold it together with the seat belt.

Beautifully explained by @vivekiny2k.
Couldnt have put it any better myself.
Cheers
drive safe!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k (Post 2254166)
the chest belt and the bottom belt are connected by a loop behind the seat, hidden under the cushions. undo the loop, take the chest belt out, re-insert thru the desired slot, connect the loop again.

Thanks again vivekiny2k!
I checked the chest belts and they are looped around the back. However, it seems like I will have to squeeze them out from the front towards the back, as I could separate a part from the front. but at the back it seems like a continuous piece without anything to disengage.
I am trying to see what I can do before reading the manual entirely, which will be this weekend.
I would like to get the top tether done, does anyone know where this can be done with reliable results? I think I will go for a beat car in the first few months (waiting for a few launches later this year + some financial restrictions). I will try to look around in the after market till then, but any experiences from people who have done this already?


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