first time parents, car seat help

[Bubblette]

The title just about says it. We wanted a convertible car seat that would allow RF for as long as possible but as far as I can tell we're stuck with a weight limit of 12kg rf. The Safe and Sound Meridian AHR seems the best bet.

Is there anyway to legally use a non-AU seat?

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm feeling very frustrated with the regulations ...

[katelove]

Hi Bubblette,

I only just saw this post in the Aust/NZ forum. Have you got a car seat yet?

We went with the Safe-n-Sound Compac Deluxe based on this brochure http://163.189.7.150/roadsafety/down...restraints.pdf We also read parent reviews saying it was easy to install/use etc

We would have gone with the Compac as it scored a *tiny* bit higher on the safety scale but it is not being made at the moment. The woman in the shop where we bought it did say that the Compac was being rereleased this month but that, as far as she knew, they were the same seat and the Deluxe just had a couple of extra accessories.

It does only go to 12kg RF though. I haven't seen any which go higher. And, you're right, it is illegal to use a child restraint not made in Australia which doesn't carry the Australian safety tick sticker.

I'd be interested to know which one you end up going with and why if you don't mind sharing.

Regards
Kate