Registered User
Car seats??
Okay so i have each different person telling me something different about installing car seats.
The public hospital said i msut have a capsule not a car seat! And now i am going with a private hospital and my ob has said a car seat facing the rear is fine and as long as i am confident its in properly its fine.
Then i have other mums telling me that i have to get in installed by Kmart tyre and auto or someone like that?
I just need a straight answer?
What happens if i get it installed and then if i want to change it to another car a week later do i have to get it professionaly installed again?
Please tell what im suppose to do
Registered User
Capsule or Rearward facing car seat suitable for infants are both perfectly acceptable.
You may put it in yourself - follow the instructions it is NOT difficult nor unsafe to do it yourself.
You can choose to get it fitted, but it is completely UNnecessary
HTH
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
Have a look at your QLD roads site. They have all the info you need.
A capsule or rear facing seat are both acceptable.
If you need talk to your local mechanic or Maternal Health Nurse or even the local police.
Registered User
You can get the fitting checked for free by Qld Ambulance or they can fit it for you (not sure of the fee)- just need to ring up & book an appointment. But no, it doesn't need to be professionally installed & its fine to use a rear-facing convertible seat.
I had mine professionally installed for my first child as I wasn't entirely confident that it would be in correctly. With my second child we installed it ourselves as we had taken the other one in & out lots of times & had the confidence we were doing it the right way. Did you know that most large chain baby companies will install them for you for a minimal fee?
As for the capsule, that's not true at all. Legally your child needs to be in a rearward facing seat, capsule or otherwise doesn't matter.
Registered User
This is a really greyish area to be honest... re: Qld Ambulance. You can't actually book for a fitting of your own seat/capsule. They only take bookings for installation of capsules you are hiring through them. I actually asked the guy when I was returning the capsule for Elijah if he could check my seat fitting as it didn't seem right to me (and it wasn't - DH hadn't done it correctly)... now he did do it, but not overly happy as they are back to back bookings for capsule installations as it is, however he wasn't going to let me leave with it not installed correctly either. He said they aren't allowed to charge to install or check owner provided seats/capsules because they aren't allowed to make a profit.... STUPID GOVT.. could use money from charging people to fix the roads or something... anyway, they are already flat out without the extra traffic it would create if they did do this.
There are places which do installations and yes a lot of them I believe are tyre install places. Hope this helps in some way. Oh and no you don't have to use a capsule either, rear facing Aust approved seat is fine.
Registered User
If there's no anchor point, you need to get an approved person to install that (most cars have them already), otherwise, you can do it yourself. Just make sure the back of the carseat isn't touching the back of the front seat, and if it's a split-back back seat that you have the car seat next to a door, and not in the middle (as in the case of a hatch back that has two seats come down together IYKWIM).
Registered User
Kidsafe (near the Royal Children's in Bris) will check carseats for you. Any carseat meeting current safety standards that is reversible and says 'suitable from birth/infant' etc is legally suitable. Most are quite simple to install yourself.
Registered User
Like all the ladies have said you dont have to have your car seat proffesionally installed but if you are unsure on how to correctly install it (as some people install theres incorrectly) then go see a proffesional and they more than happy to show you how, but if your car doesnt have an ancor point or if other cars dont then you need to get those installed proffesionally.
As for capsules and car seats either are fine. But money wise a car seat will save you money as you will have your bub in one from birth to about 4 yrs old, where as a capsule is birth to 9ish kilos.
Registered User
Thanks for answering that guys! That helps!
She also said that if you dont have it professionally installed your insurance is void.... but once again what if you change cars all the time?
Is that true at all?
Registered User
It is safer to have it installed professionally, and better to not move it from car to car but of course it is up to you. I always get mine installed by a professional. They fit them so tightly that they dont move in the case of an accident. Of course this is my own opinion.
Registered User
I think you need to speak to someoe else- this woman has no idea.
No- not having it professionally installed has NO bearing whatsoever on your insurance... Not sure which insurance she is talking about, but it has no bearing on anything
Registered User
We had a capsule for DS2 and it was professionaly fitted and never removed from our car during the time we had it.
My DH has fitted the carseats for the boys both times but if you are not confident doing it yourself it may be a good idea to get it professionaly installed. For us there has been ocassions when we have had to remove the carseats (not so much when it was rearward facing) and each time we have done this ourselves. As your baby grows you may need to remove the seat to be able to adjust the straps. It's such a crucial thing to have the seat installed properly whether it's done by yourself or a professional and if you're not certain it's in correctly definately get it checked.
Registered User
Not entirely true. I have had the child seats for our girls fitted with the ambulance here, and they actually advertise that they will fit child seats for free, even if you're not hiring from them. Even the baby stores around here promote getting child seats fitted with QAS.
Here, there is a guy that does child seat fittings all day long out of the one of the sheds at the ambulance station. And they don't charge.
Life Subscriber
What does it have to do with insurance? Legally, there is no problem with doing it yourself as long as it's correct.
If you have never installed one before, it might be an idea to go to Kidsafe or somewhere and get them to show you how to do it the first time. Once you've seen it once, it's not hard to do again. We are constantly moving seats between cars, and when you've done it a couple of times it's so easy and quick. But the first couple of times might take you a while.
Registered User
Jodi, that makes me wonder if it's different in different areas because definitely in Brissy they won't book for your own seat. We have tried it 3 times now. We tried for Oskar's seat when I was returning his capsule, then we wanted them to check Oskar's new seat and Elijah's seat too but they just wouldn't book in for it. They said they just have too much work as it is. However, the man didn't turn me away but I did have to wait for booked in cars with Oskar and I waited a good half hour or more because he said it wasn't done properly and couldn't let me leave like that.
Re: insurance, I don't get that either. How would this lady know what the policies of insurance companies are?? It's nothing to do with insurance!
Life Subscriber
Yeah, it makes me wonder - insurance for what? A poorly fitted car seat places the baby at higher risk of injury in an accident or sudden stop, and financially you could probably be fined if the seat is fitted incorrectly. But insurance - WT??
When we had ours professionally installed, the man that did it gave me a signed sheet of paper saying that if it was not in the car & the police checked then we could be fined. I accepted that & my husband thought it was a load of rubbish. We ended up asking a friend ours ours in the police & she said that she didn't even know such a paper existed. She said all they check is to make sure the seatbelts are on.
It seems to me like a lot of people don't know the regulations so they make things up.
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