Being a parent is hard, no one would ever dispute that. From the moment you announce your impending arrival you’re faced with a barrage of conflicting information and advice on how you should feed your baby, how you should wean your baby, how you should limit your child’s screen time to ensure they don’t turn out like us iPhone obsessed parents (god forbid!) Occasionally though, you’re provided with advice/information that is so much more than a choice and once you’re aware of that information, there's no going back from it.
Let me take you back six years and a bit years, here I am a flustered first time Mum, my tiny nine month old in her infant car seat slung over my arm. I’m at my local weigh clinic and as I’m popping baby’s clothes back on post-weigh, I’m asking the health visitor when I should be putting my baby into ‘a big girl car seat’. What I meant was a forward facing group 1 car seat. Super excited for my girl to reach her next milestone, the health visitor told me as soon as she reached 9kg and/or 9 months old she was good to go. Now, I’m so excited and I head off and post to Facebook (remember when that was such a thing) asking my fellow parent’s which car seat I should be getting, I’m thinking something cute and floral because, why not?! And this is when someone first mentioned the idea of extended rear facing to me - to this girl I am eternally grateful.
I have spent the last six years brushing up on my knowledge on car seat safety - the passions you develop as a parent are something else, aren’t they. Science has told me that to keep children rear facing for as long as possible is always safer, and this is exactly what we have done. You will be astounded, as most people are but my almost 7 year old is still rear facing and I could not be more proud.
We were so delighted to be given the opportunity by Pramworld to review one of the world leading extended rear facing car seat manufacturer’s latest model, the Axkid Minikid 2.0. We have previously purchased the original Minikid and are so happy with our seat choices!
Firstly, the Minikid is approved from 0-25kg meaning this single seat can take you through to approximately 7 years of age or when your little one reaches 125cm - how’s that for value for money. Axkid do recommend that you use an infant carrier from birth until baby can sit unaided, this is always the safest way.
The Minikid is a belted seat meaning, installation is not as easy as your infant Isofix seat but there are lots of super helpful tutorials online and I managed to single handedly install it with minimal swearing - always a good thing. The self-tightening tether straps make the installation so much easier and when you wiggle the seat, they tighten themselves up - how ingenious. Similar to other rear facing seats, there is an adjustable leg that needs to be in contact with the floor of the car, this is easily adjusted to fit your car with one single button.
The foot of the seat is adjustable to allow you to find the correct amount of incline for your child. With Nora being older, we have the seat as upright as possible to ensure maximum leg room - you can see from the images that she isn’t at all squashed. You would incline the seat more for a younger child and you can even get angle adjusting wedges from Axkid for the smallest of children (avoiding the dreaded head flop!). You do however, have to set the incline position before installing the seat, meaning you can’t recline the seat if your little one falls asleep - for example.
Fastening your little one into the seat could not be easier. The straps adjust easily using the release button at the base of the seat. Once you buckle the straps and pull to tighten, the headrest automatically adjusts to the perfect height for your little one, removing all of the guess work. Both children seem super comfy in their seats, neither have complained, which believe me, they would if they needed to! The seat covers are also removable and washable at 30 degrees which is a huge plus point for us.
The Minikid 2.0 measures 44cm in width, 62cm in height and 56cm deep and weighs in at 11.4kg. We easily fit two of these seats across the back of our Ford Kuga and an adult can still fit in the middle seat. The seats are available in a number of colourways, and the seats are clearly designed with aesthetics in mind along with safety. We have the petrol grey version and they look great in our car.
The new Axkid Minikid 2.0 has passed the strictest crash test in the world - the Swedish Plus Test, it is Rollover approved by VCA and has won many notable awards. As a parent, this hugely fills me with confidence, knowing I’m keeping my children as safe as possible is a huge weight off my shoulders.
You can see from the images that neither three year old Woody or seven year old Nora struggle for room in these seats. Their legs are comfortable and we have covered many a mile safely fastened into these seats. I would and do recommend the Axkid Minikid to everyone and anyone. We know extended rear facing is the safest option and for our family, the Minikid ticks the most safety, comfort and convenience boxes.
