ISOFIX was invented because too many mummies and daddies couldn't get the carseat installed tightly enough with seat belt. Remember that it should NOT move more than an inch where the seatbelt is! If it moves more than an inch, it is NOT tight enough!

So ISOFIX was invented as a convenience, to give mommies and daddies TWO methods to choose from to get their carseat installed tight enough. Use isofix OR use seat belt, do NOT use both, unless your carseat manual says you can.

It's because they are so fragile that it's even more important to get the RIGHT carseat for them. You cannot put a newborn in a carseat designed for a 9 month old!

Please choose a car seat that specifically says it can be used from newborn. And follow the instructions of the carseat for use with the correct size.

For example, with the Combi Coccoro, when newborn, it has an insert, so the baby lies down just as if lying in your arms, but SO MUCH SAFER!

Make sure when you install the carseat, you also install at the correct angle. You can roll up towels or buy pool noodles from toys r us to put at the bottom front of the carseat to get the correct angle. From How to Use a Pool Noodle:

The correct angle is normally written on the car seat itself. You can see a line that tells you the line has to be the same as the ground.

Once baby is older, the seat can angle to sit up more towards the back of the car, but never angle to lie further back, because not safe. You also take out the newborn insert after a certain weight limit.

From Rear Facing Car Seat Myths Busted.

Once your baby is too heavy to rear-face according to the manual or there is only an inch left between your baby's head and the top of the carseat, you switch to face forward and when the top of the ears reach the top of the carseat while facing forward, THEN you have to buy another carseat.

This post has been edited by hanishoney: Jan 9 2015, 11:54 AM

If all you have is seat belt in the front, then that's all you have. What I suggest is that you push that front seat as far back as possible and rear-face your child for as long as possible. The Diono Radian will allow you to rear-face your child until 20.5kg, and yet it's very slim. However, it's also very tall, so I'm not sure if it can fit into the Kancil. Try to contact a shop and see if they'll let you just try it in your car before you buy?

Personally, I think you should try to find a car with seatbelts at the back. Even if you have to find third hand or fourth hand, seat belts at the back of a really old car would be better than a brand new car with no seat belts at the back. A full-grown adult flying from the back towards the front (because the full grown adult is not belted in) can injure anyone sitting in front. If your car only has seat belt for driver and for one passenger on your side, then no one and nothing should be seated at the back, to be safest.

This post has been edited by hanishoney: Apr 28 2014, 03:08 PM

He looks like he fits really well in it!

Enjoy shopping! Make sure to check that whatever car seat you get will fit well into your new car too, ok?

The brand is not as important as the type. Rear-facing for babies and five-point-harness for all kids until they can sit upright properly without being reminded/scolded.

And also not as important as if it can install correctly in your car! If rear-facing, make sure you can get the angle correct (see my earlier posts) and make sure that the carseat cannot move anymore than one inch where the seatbelt or isofix belt holds the carseat.

Also, no point in putting in a carseat if you don't strap your baby in for the carseat to hold your baby safely in an accident! 1. Make it snug. 2. If there's a chest clip, put the chest clip over chest bone, not over soft tummy.

Today, I was tired. Didn't have enough sleep. I was dropping off my husband to his training center on my way to work. It was jammed. I thought the car in front of me was moving, but he braked instead and I didn't brake in time. I rammed right into his bumper.

Luckily, no children in the little Kancil I hit. But both driver and side passenger came out rubbing their heads. They hadn't been wearing their seatbelts, so their heads knocked straight into the windshield/dashboard. I am so worried for them. They say they're ok, that it was just a little bump. But head injuries are funny things and it can take 24 hours to really find a problem.

Please please please buckle up everyone in the car properly. You may be the best driver in the world, but you can't prevent another car from hitting you in a traffic jam!

This post has been edited by hanishoney: May 6 2014, 02:21 PM

I didn't say brand is not important. I said brand is not AS IMPORTANT as type. Ferrari offers 7 types of carseats. One for newborn, two convertibles (from newborn to 3-4yo), two for front-facing harnessed (from 1yo to 8-9yo) and two boosters. No point getting a ferrari seat that fits a 6yo when you have a newborn!

If you look back at my comment that you quoted, the reason the word Diono Radian is red is because it is a link directly to a Malaysian shop selling the carseat. The price at that shop, last I checked, was RM1099. If you google "Diono Radian Malaysia" you'd find more Malaysian shops that sell it too.

Anything you want to buy in Malaysia, you can google the item and add Malaysia at the back to see if any shops are included in the results.

This post has been edited by hanishoney: May 20 2014, 10:25 AM

Not all carseats remove the need to put pressure on the seat to tighten the Isofix belt. What I remember is that Combi Coccoro still must and so does Diono Radian. My understanding is that if there's a belt involved, whether seat belt or Isofix belt, you have to put pressure on the seat. Always read the carseat manual for installation instructions carefully.

Airbag WILL KILL a baby in a rear-facing infant seat. DO NOT PUT ANY REAR-FACING CHILDSEAT ON A FRONT SEAT WITH AIRBAG.

It is SAFER to put children at the back, IF there are seatbelts. If there are no seatbelts at the back, then baby is safer strapped into an age-correct childseat that is strapped into whatever seat that has a seatbelt.

That being said, ANYONE who is NOT belted can injure everyone else in the same car during an accident. So everyone should buckle up, not just to protect themselves, but to protect each other.

This post has been edited by hanishoney: May 30 2014, 10:24 AM

Can google for YouTube videos on airbag vs carseat and show your MIL. Very horrific.

Glad your baby is safe! Make sure to replace your carseat yah. Carseats are only one-accident use only.

Maybe you could take a picture so we can see how the seat is installed?

Also, safest place to put your baby is at the back. Please don't put in front.

Different carseats have different expiry dates, though yes, every carseat has an expiry date. Can read the manual to determine the expiry date, or google [name of carseat] expiry date.

Take a picture of how baby is positioned in the seat?

Even if you could turn off the front passenger airbag, it is still safer to put baby at the back. If you are driving alone with baby, it is best to always pull over to attend to baby instead of attending to baby while driving, which is NOT safe. When driving, your full focus should be on driving so that you get where you're going safely. It takes only a second for an accident to happen.

I tell you this as a mama who drives alone with her baby everywhere. My baby sits at the back, and I plan frequent stops along my route to check on my baby. But if you're really uneasy, you could install a carseat mirror, so you can take a glimpse of your baby while driving. But again, must be careful to make sure your main focus is on driving!

Today, while searching for info for a friend becoming a new parent, I found this excellent article. I feel like if you read nothing else, you should read this.

http://carseatblog.com/26847/new-parent-ca...u-need-to-know/

There are many car seats that can turn from rear facing to front facing. They're called convertible seats and I actually don't like "infant" seats that cannot convert from rear to front because I think they're a waste of money.

That being said, just because your carseat manual says you can turn your baby at 6 months old, doesn't mean you should. It's SAFER to face the rear of the car than to face the front. You should rear-face your child up to the maximum weight that your convertible seat allows or when there is less than an inch of carseat left over your baby's head, whichever is earliest.

http://carseatblog.com/5168/why-rear-facin...-rf-link-guide/ has a lot of info explaining why you should rear-face for as long as possible.

My father-in-law bought a fisher price for his own car to drive his grandson around. And I think it is HORRIBLE. Like plastic, and impossible to get a snug, tight install rear-facing. As soon as they could face-forward my son in that carseat, we did, because it was far more secure, but even then, still shaky. The lockoff is RUBBISH and pops off! It feels like a TOY, not a carseat that will protect my baby. If it wasn't for the fact that my father-in-law has never been in a car accident, and his cars are all high end with great safety features in general, I would refuse to let my son be in that carseat.

I wish I could say better things about the fisher price car seat, but sadly, I can't.

Err, MOST carseats will have 5 position harness. In fact, American safety standards ban any carseats not using 5 position harness. So recommending Joie Stages on the basis of having 5 position harness is like if someone ask you what fast food restaurant is best? And you say research McDonald's..have fries.

The best carseat is the carseat you can install correctly in your car and you can secure your child in it correctly EVERY time. Because an incorrectly installed carseat is MORE DANGEROUS than not having a carseat at all. In an accident, if your carseat is not installed correctly, it can fly and INJURE people. Try to read the manual before you buy. If you cannot understand the manual, or no one in the shop can teach you how to install your carseat, DON'T BUY. It would be money you waste ADDING injury to your child instead of PROTECTING your child. Better spend the money on medical insurance!