lewandkate

Hi guys,

can we take our kids booster seats to Perth?
They are high back and only need a seat belt across the lap!
Or is it the same as car seats you just can't take them?

Thanks in advance

Kate

JenJen

Woah there why can't you take car seats????

I second lewandkates questions does anyone know what the laws are on car seats over there do the kids have to be on booster seats til they're 10 or whatever it is????

I know our friends had some weird car seat where there was a strap that hooked onto like the parcel shelf or back of the seat but I can't remember the older two sitting booster seats although that may be because we didn't take them out while we were there?

Jen

BillandAbby

Thought you might be interested in this thread.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399901

I was gutted to find that my expensive Britax Car Seats were no good (The Oz Government has its own criteria which apparently means that almost all UK Car Seats aren't suitable).

Abby

mandtooz

this is really interesting one, i read the same type of threads in preparation for coming here, gave my 4!!! car seats away , ready to buy new ones, which we did on arrival, BUT they are pants compared to my old britax style cars seats left behind!! my youngest children are 4 and 2, and by using ozzies weight charts got their carseats sorted, i got them from a baby/child specialist shop and they are nothing more than polystyrene covered with thin material!! certainly not attached to the car, we were told that this was for younger babies? and these types of car seat style booster chairs are the norm in EVERY shop.....................if the ozzies did online shopping i could show you?!!

will have a look anyway and would also be interested in the law!

Caroline G

We took our Britax car seat which we used upon our arrival however in order to be propertly insured your insurer will insist that the children's seats have the Australian Safety Standard Mark.

Luckily our son was ready to move into his next seat here anyway.

They do sell Britax goods in Australia but under the name Safe 'n' Sound. Here's a link to their site http://www.britax.com.au/ I purchased my Aussie one in a baby goods Warehouse but Kmart and Target sell child seats too.

Looking at the seats the main difference with the baby seats is that the Australian ones have a central locking strap which is attached to a fixture on the back of the back seats. The boosters look the same to me and our attaches using the belt only.

Maybe, email Britax in the Uk and see if they confirm whether the booster seats are made the same way in both countries.

jothefw

I tried mailing Britax with no luck - tried to get proof that our UK standards are equivalent or better than Aus ones with no luck!

Agree that Aus seats aren't as varied but Target did have the bigger, better seats although prices are higher than would pay in UK. I decided just to get the small booster sections and boys are fine in them although don't give same piece of mind for side protection etc ... mind you I often drive 30 mins into town and only pass 3 cars so perhaps my risks are lower now!

comet555

I wonder about my Canadian carseats. We also have a Britax but it does have the tethor strap that attaches to the vehicle. So I wonder if it would be ok? I suppose I'll have to email or call Britax to find out.

Also I have a 3 year old (3.5 by the time we arrive) who I think can go into a booster seat in Oz, although in Canadian they have to be 4 years. That would save us buying a seat if she could use a booster seat there.

comet555

A little off topic.... but does anyone know what age of baby can go in the bassinets? I have a 4.5 month old baby who may be between 6-9 months by the time we go. I'm just wondering if he'd fit in it.

jothefw

My mum used to be an air hostess and she reckons about 7 months - or sitting up as dangerous (but she stopped being a hostie before I was born so who knows!)

And I put my then 3 yr old into a booster seat and again I think that's on weight and height recommendation!

ps - could you send - 10 c of cold over as hit 44.5 here yesterday and air con wasn't working well enough!

comet555

LOL.....If I only I could send some cold weather your way!!

I think in Canada, booster seats aren't really by age. I believe it's 40 lbs and 40 inches tall which most kids don't reach until they are 4 years old. That's why I wrote 4 years.

I think I looked into Oz booster seats a while ago and the height and weight were lower, maybe around 36 inches?? Can't remember, I'll have to check it again.

DunRoaminTheUK

Depends who you fly with. When we flew Cathay to Sydney in November 2005 they allowed a two year old girl to sleep in a bassinet next to us. The fact that she looked like a car crash victim when placed into the basket didn't seem to really affect the situation.

Airlines have different criteria as they don't all use the same types of bassinet.

Just be aware that some airlines actually leave the final decision to the discretion of the check-in staff on the day you check-in. If your child is borderline candidate then you might find yourself flying all the way to Australia with said child on lap.

DunRoaminTheUK

This is an emotive subject for me. Britax is a British company with obvious high standards in design and safety for all of their seats and the Australian government are implying that the seats are effectively unsafe for use in Australia. That's just plain ignorant and blinkered.

comet555

Just out of curiousity can you use Ozzie seats in the UK?

I know in Canada there is also strict regulation and I doubt I would be able to use an Oz or UK seat here.

DunRoaminTheUK

In the UK they must conform to a standard defined by the UN (UN ECE Regulation 44.03) which I guess makes it a European one rather than just a UK one?

Consequently, you are right, you cannot use an Australian car-seat in the UK BUT my real point is a desire to see better communication between states and regions to establish if other international standards should be permitted for use in Australia (and vice versa).

I can import my car (seats and all) into Australia from the UK but I cannot import a car-seat? Go figure...

Jacqui

I had Britax seats for my kids years ago in the UK. Used to wash the covers fairly regularly, and I'm sure they were made from the same thing - polystyrene covered with thin material! Our eldest daughter (nearly 16) never went in a car seat as a baby - we took the pram off the frame and strapped it across the backseat - perfectly ok back then - we did secure the pram with the seatbelts and fastened the pram cover in place as recommended by the manufacturer Silver Cross! Babies 2 and 3 were put into car seats though.
When we bought our Citroen people carrier, we opted for two of the rear passenger seats to have built-in booster seats - push a button and the seat moved up and clicked into place for a toddler, then if needed for an adult, you pushed another button to release and the seat dropped down into the normal position, great idea. I've never seen that on any other cars since that one.