Fitting childs car seats

[Johnboy]

I have 2 small grand children at the mo. and I have to carry them periodically in the California using suitable childs car seats.

The latest safety info on childs seats is that they are designed to face backwards for small children up to a certain age. My daughter has invested heavily in the latest car seats with the highest safety rating - these are rear facing. However changing seats out from car to car is a logistical nightmare - with several cars, a complicated family and another baby on the way.. !!!

So at the moment I have installed a front facing isofix seat (complete with tether etc) onto the single seat which I have rotated to face backwards. I am absolutely sure this is equally as safe as the dedicated rear facing childs seat installed in a front facing car seat - if not more so !!!

I have searched the internet and can find no mention of this arrangement, and the instructions in the VW manual on childs seats, (despite being rather voluminous) do not address this issue directly. Obviously child car seat manufacturers don't expect the vehicle seat to be facing backwards.

The VW manual implies that you can use the rotating seats facing backwards for adults, so I can't see why this should not be suitable for a child seat. In which case surely I have the safest setup to comply with current regulations.

So my question is..... do Cali owners use the rear facing seats when travelling??
Do any Cali owners fit the child seats in the swivel seats facing backwards??
Does anyone know an organisation that can comment on this specific issue.?

This is driving me nuts because I end up having rows about this.... especially when it concerns child safety.

John

 

[Camperfamily]

My wife takes the subject of rear facing car seats very seriously and we’ve done both of the setups you mention. I can’t comment on the relative safety of each option but we got comfortable with both setups.