Where to buy in EU

specifically Germany. I don't know where to look for a good car seat. I currently have a prmo viaggio which goes til 13 kg and she is ~7, so I may have sometime, but I like to look
I also don't want to wait until she is 12.9k and ? cm then have to find one immediately. I like to read about them and people's opinions. The ones I have seen in the stores are ff and use a seat belt instead of a 5pt belt. I have looked on amazon.de and the ones they have are similar.
It really bugs me on amazon.de that put how comfy it is and that it has a cup holder, but never mention if it has isofix (although when I search isofix there are quite a few, but it never says in its description isofix?) and they never say RF or FF.
I have also looked on amazon.co.uk and had similar results.
I don't remember it being this difficult when I got her Radian in USA, maybe I just don't remember.
anyway I have heard stories about a volvo seat that is rf til a really high weight, but I haven't seen it anywhere. anyone know where to find a good seat(online or irl)?

britax's german brand is called Romer (double dots over the "o"). You might do an internet search for that brand and might find seats similar to Britax that way.

Since I don't speak German most of my online searches have been for British companies selling overseas. You might look for a Mothercare store; they sell car seats - Maxi Cosi and Romer/Britax. It's a UK company.

You'll have issues with RF in the EU, as the regs as I understand them are to FF at 9kg, so it's assumed if you're looking for a non-infant seat that you're naturally going to FF. I have heard of Scandanavian car seats that RF for longer, but haven't found them.

ISOFIX is hard to find, here in Turkey at least - I think it's less common than LATCH is in the US. Heck, car seat safety is less common here than the US!!

sothere just aren't rfingseats, that's the problem. I guess I have to abide by the rules. I really need to find more info on why they think that is safer, before I actually believe it.
where did you find your info on regs in the eu? I want to see them. I don't even know where to start!
another thing I noticed on her seat is that it says it is for use in Germany, UK, France and Italy (I think maybe one other place too), so I don't even know if I could use one from anywhere other than those countries. Like I said I don't even know where to start on trying to find info on the seats here!

ps I love Turkey. It is so beautiful!!!

Check the phonebook. When I was in Heidelberg, I liked to shop at BabyOne. They had one seat that could be used RF to 40 lb--the HTS BeSafe Kid.

Here are the ÖAMTC crash tests German/Austrian seats (Kindersitztest), if you're interested..

The German Britax/Roemer seats only rear face to 13 kg (28.6 lb), and I think most kids would outgrow them by height well before then. Right after I left Germany, Graco came out with a nice looking 3-in-1 seat that looked like it would allow extended rear facing. Ah, here it is: the Duologic, rear facing to 18 KG (39.6 lb). I also see the Graco Junior Mini (13 KG). Teamtex/Nania has/had a couple of convertibles, but they only went RF to 10 KG (22 lb)--pathetic! The Brio Zento, on the other hand, is a Swedish seat available in Germany that can rear face to 25 KG (55 lb)! One of our members reviewed that one here.

There *are* seats with higher RF weight limits. It's just a matter of finding them. High-end baby stores are a good place to start.

lil96 said:

sothere just aren't rfingseats, that's the problem. I guess I have to abide by the rules. I really need to find more info on why they think that is safer, before I actually believe it.
where did you find your info on regs in the eu? I want to see them. I don't even know where to start!

ps I love Turkey. It is so beautiful!!!

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I got the regs from the tag on the car seat I bought here, believe it or not. I don't have it anymore, but the owner's manual states that: "The Maxi-Cosi Priori has been approved according the the strictest European safety standards (ECE R44/04) and is suitable for children weighing 9 to 18 kg (approx. age 9 months to 4 years). "

These links might help...
http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/standards/r4403.htm
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php

On the second link, at the bottom of the page they go into the regulations and what's available in car seats in the UK.

FF isn't safer, it's just what's been authorized so it's what's done. Better than nothing, I guess - car seats aren't mandated here in Turkey so 99% of the time you see the baby sitting on an adult's lap - even on TV shows. No one bats an eye at it, though it freaks me out when I have to do it in taxis.

Turkey is beautiful - I love it here!

Hope this helps...

FF isn't required at 9 mo/9 kg. It's just what is most common. There are seats in Germany that do RF to higher weights. They're not as easy to find, but they are out there.

Also, "Europe" is too big to generalize. While lap babies may be common in Turkey, German law requires a child restraint until 12 years/4'11", and rear facing to age 4 is the norm in Sweden.

UlrikeDG said:

FF isn't required at 9 mo/9 kg. It's just what is most common. There are seats in Germany that do RF to higher weights. They're not as easy to find, but they are out there.

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You're right, and I apologize for being unclear on this. It is not required, just what seems to be allowed. Had I a seat that RF'd and accomodated DD's current weight/height, I would RF her. Given the difficulties I've had, I can sympathize with her difficulties finding a seat in Germany.

UlrikeDG said:

Also, "Europe" is too big to generalize. While lap babies may be common in Turkey, German law requires a child restraint until 12 years/4'11", and rear facing to age 4 is the norm in Sweden.

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You're right. Turkey is way behind the rest of the continent in protecting children on the roads. I was relating my experience as an example that not every place has the safety culture found in the US, thus hopefully explaining why the OP is having trouble finding what she's looking for. I am grateful to hear Germany's requirements - gives me an idea of what we would need in terms of car seats should we visit Western Europe later this year.

Perhaps the OP would be best served contacting her embassy/consulate (other posts indicate she may be a diplomat or dependent) to get information on requirements and where to buy seats that meet her specifications. Surely there are ombudsman/liaison types to help with transitions to new countries?

Again, my apologies. When we moved here last year I was lost in a sea of foreign-ness, and as we are not attached to a company or embassy, there was no one to help me figure out what was and was not required, allowed, etc. In my zeal to help, I have likely made matters more confusing. I will refrain from commenting in the future.

LOL, well, Germany's still not *great* for rear facing seats, but there are a few options now. IME, the best place to find those options is a high-end baby store. Toys R Us may carry them, occasionally, but the variety is definitely better at the "fancier" stores.

As for creating confusion, don't sweat it. There may very well be someone traveling to Turkey who stumbles across this thread. We all started learning somewhere, and most of us posted some not-quite-100%-accurate information along the way.

thanks, i found some great info on kidsgo,de about adac,de and some others (in casr anyone else is looking)

Glad to hear it! Also, as far as I can tell, ADAC partners with ÖAMTC to do the crash testing, so those results should be the same. If you're an ADAC member, though, you can get the results in their magazine every year.

my husband is in adac. their selesction still scares me though, they didn't list any rear facing after the 0+ group (0-13K). The next size group 9k-18 were all front facing, but at least on adac, they say they are front facing.
I almost gasped when I read on there that there are still 2pt harness seats. The majority of the seats (I saw) are 3pt harness and later that gets taken out to make a high back booster type seat with the seat belt (suggested at age 4).
I am just really scared of their seats, I know they test them, but...
Before my lo was born, I seriously researched and reviewed all information I could find and felt I was getting a very safe seat. So now I truly believe a child must be rfing for as long as possible, 5 pt harness, etc.
I am in this dilema!
I hope over the next few months I'll do some research tht helps to change me to hav more faith in these seats lol

As I said, there *are* rear facing seats that go to higher weights in Germany. It's just a matter of finding them. If you can find the Brio Zento, for example, that seat is extremely nice. The trend does seem to be moving in that direction, it's just going slowly. Rather than looking for research to support the "old" way, I'd be looking for new seats that conform to the newer trend.

hopster67 said:

britax's german brand is called Romer (double dots over the "o"). You might do an internet search for that brand and might find seats similar to Britax that way.

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Römer doesn't offer any ERF seats. Only their infant seats, to 13 kilos, rear face. (I understand German, so I looked at their German web site.)