Question carseats in germany

amyg530 · Oct 20, 2008

i have a friend whos pregnant with her first and is currently living in germany. i gave her some carseat info and shes also been on this site but she was having trouble posting so i'm doing it for her. i think shes going to try to order a US seat online and have it shipped to her but i was wondering what seats would be avalible to her there. looking for infant seats and also convertables that could be used with newborns

it'd be so much easier to help her if she was still in the states with me

featherhead · Oct 20, 2008

You said she is currently in Germany... does that mean she is staying there, or moving back? If she lives in Germany, she probably shouldn't be buying a US seat. I think infant seats in Germany generally go to 13 kg (29 lbs) instead of 10 kg (22 lbs). At least this is what I heard when doing research for my SIL. I know a few german moms in my church who are using german Maxi-Cosi infant seats for their babies (illegal, but what can I do). They look like really nice seats, though I don't like the 3-point harness, and no chest clip. Otherwise, I really have no idea what is available in Germany.

UlrikeDG · Oct 20, 2008

Why does she want a US seat? If it's a US military family, she can order from just about any store and have it shipped to her APO address (AAFES even carries Britax and Recaro seats, sometimes for cheap!). If it's not a military family, she legally needs to buy an ECE seat. There are some that go to higher rear facing weight limits (including the Swedish Brio Zento), but she'll have to search them out to find them.

If she'll be traveling back to the US and wants an American seat for that reason... well, there are a couple of scenarios.
1) She could buy a US seat and use it illegally in Germany. (She'll probably have to have a friend of family member ship it to her, which will be expensive!)
2) She could use her German seat when she travels. It won't be airline certified, but German airlines may not let her use it on the flight anyway.
3) She could purchase a spare seat and have her friend/family in the US keep it for her to use when she's here. This is probably the cheapest and legal-est option.

UlrikeDG · Oct 20, 2008

German seats are discussed here among other threads.

amyg530 · Oct 20, 2008

shes military. i gave her the link the this thread and told her to check the AAFES website.

maybe she can buy a HW RF seat and then i could play with it

UlrikeDG · Oct 20, 2008

You can also post on the shopping and deals forum for AAFES coupon codes. When is she due? If she can hold off 'til the February Britax sale, she might be able to get a fantastic deal. Seems like they've usually got a deal of some sort in December, as well. Otherwise, she can check AAFES.com or regular US websites (most ship to APOs now) and pay what the rest of us pay.

mykidsmylife · Oct 20, 2008

Yes Aafes has branched of stores in the online mall shopping area that sales seats. This includes the True Fit. Also Amazon will ship to her APO..

I would say to check out the exchange, but most of them here only have the scenera.

There isnt a German seat that is a convertible (I checked two stores) and they allow foward facing at 9m. I get to watch my neighbors (2 of them) put their tiny 9m old fowarda facing every morning.

UlrikeDG · Oct 20, 2008

myboysmylife said:
There isnt a German seat that is a convertible (I checked two stores)

Yes, there ARE German convertible seats. Check out the link I posted above. I found them at Toys R Us and BabyOne among other stores. No, they're not the most common seats, but they are out there.

mykidsmylife · Oct 21, 2008

Yeah I checked ToysRus and BabyWaltz here and they didnt have any. Also the employees have never heard of them so they are definetly not in my area. LOL.
BabyOne also doesnt have any out here. My German friend checked for me..

I guess it is just my area. Thanks for the links. I am going to send them to her.

lil96 · Oct 22, 2008

I love my EU peg perego car seat. It is so easy to install with isofix, I feel I never have to worry about it. I think isofix is 1000 times easier than latch, my vote is to go for an ECE certified infant carrier. In the winter it is easier to keep the seat warm inside the house and carry the baby out like that.
There are conv seats they are more difficult to find, but they are there. just ask adventuredad (seedish seats are ECE and can be used in Germany)
the word for rearfacing is entgegen der fahrrichtung, sometimes babywalz has a few, but they don't like them, so they suggest the ffing ones. Also at BW you can special order almost any seat you want(at least the one here).

Adventuredad · Oct 22, 2008

If she plans on staying in Germany for a while I would just buy a regular infant seat to start with. She might want to consider moving over to a Swedish rear facing high weight seat after that, at 6-8 months which will keep her child rf until 55 lbs. Those are usually outgrown by height but it means rear facing until 4-5 years.
I use the Britax Hi-Way but common seats foreigners buy are also Brio Zento, Britax Two-Way, Maxi Cosi Mobi, and Britax Multi Tech. The seats are of course certified for use all over Europe.

lenats31 · Oct 23, 2008

I agree with Adventuredad.

She can buy the German Römer/Britax Babysafe infant carrier with ISOFIX. and use the the ISOFIX base with the Britax Fixway - a rear facing group 1 car seat to 18 kg/40 lbs

The ISOFIX seats are VERY safe seats. You will not get anything better than that from the USA.

OR she can buy ANY other ISOFIX infant carrier and get a large RFing high weight car seat later.

The infant carriers have a 13 kg weight limit, and will last until the child is at least 1 year old heightwise

Lena

UlrikeDG · Oct 23, 2008

OK, well I'll disagree.

I'd go with US seats. She can get one that rear faces to 35 lb that will probably get her to at least age 4 rear facing, AND she'll be able to use it on the plane and when she gets back to the US.

lenats31 · Oct 24, 2008

She´ll need a lot of luck if her daughter is going to make it to 4 years at least in an 35 weight limit RF seat. 2-3 years is more realistic.

Anyway, she can bring her seat from the US and use it legally in EU because she is on a vacation only.

Lena

Adventuredad · Oct 24, 2008

I think rear facing in a US 35 lbs seat is unusual:twocents:

MsFacetious · Oct 24, 2008

Adventuredad said:
I think rear facing in a US 35 lbs seat is unusual:twocents:

Rear facing past 1 year in general is unusual. But if the parent understands the safety concerns involved, that is different. It isn't going to matter whether it's a Marathon or a Two Way, if the parent is determined to keep the child RF they will. Ali was rear facing in a Boulevard until 4 years old when she hit the weight limit. Many parents still won't keep the child RF past about 4 years old even with a Swedish seat. Some just see it as too weird and something they can't get past.

So, it would also depend on what this particular person plans on doing. If she's only going to RF until 3 no matter what, then a Swedish seat might be a bit pointless. Especially if they are coming back to the US in the next few years.

Depending on when they are coming back here, if they are at all... I would likely use an infant seat over there. Then evaluate whether a 35# or 55# RF seat is more practical. Making that decision before the kid arrives is kind of difficult.

lenats31 · Oct 24, 2008

OH, she lives in Germany.

She can´t use a US seat legally, as they are not ECE approved. She may be faced with criminal charges if her baby gets injured on European roads in a USA car seat. She is not a visitor if she lives here, so can´t import and use a US car seat based on that.

The same thing goes for me, if I get caught with the Regent

Importing and using a foreign car seat is a parental decision, and one must know about the risks involved with it.

She can buy and use all seats that are ECE approved in Germany no matter where she buys them. So considering the fact that she can rearface her child from 0-55 lbs legally even tough these seats are hard to come by in Germany, her child can ride in an EU car seat from 0-4 or 5 years of age VERY VERY safely,if she plans to ERF that is.

If she plans to FF, then there are plenty of seats with a foot prop that goes from the base of the car seat to the floor. It does the same thing as a top tether.

Lena

UlrikeDG · Oct 24, 2008

lenats31 said:
OH, she lives in Germany.

She can´t use a US seat legally, as they are not ECE approved.

It's a US military family. They *can* use US certified seats under the Status of Forces Agreement. Further, if they're traveling back to the US with the seat, they'll need it to be US certified.

lil96 · Oct 25, 2008

Just a question if they are only travelling back to the USA, do they *have* to have a USA seat? Like me a US citizen living abroad, I *could* use my ECE approved seat while visiting USA? Or do I have to use a USA seat? which I only happen to have since the baby lived in USA for 6 wks.

Adventuredad · Oct 25, 2008

I you live in Europe and go back to US for vacation you can use your European ECE R44 certified seat. If there would be an issue you could then easily back up that you're in fact living in Europe but have a US citizenship.

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