Car Seat Advice Needed

RedfordML

Hi.
Just after some advice re car seats;

We have a 2yr 7month old, weighs 14.5kg & is currently in the Maxi Cosi Priorifix (isofix group 1) car seat suitable for 9kg - 18kg in weight (9mnths - 4yrs approx).

Our nearly 16month old is now coming up to the 9kg weight & so we had planned to buy her the exact same car seat her brother has - had no complaints about it & has been ideal.

However...fact her brother is only 8lbs off the max weight for his seat, we are now in a dilemma over what seat to buy - do we out our Daughter into our Son's current seat & then buy him the high back booster seat, that covers groups 1-3 age 9months to 11yrs!! This is the cheapest option, but we are not sure how good these multi-group seats really are?!!! Do they really span such a length of time?!!
Please anyone who has been in this situation what would your advice be?

Many thanks.

shortdog

The multi-group seats are designed so that they use them with a 5-point harness, with the seat attached to the car using Isofix or a seatbelt, as the group 1 seats. Once they outgrow that stage, you remove the harness and it becomes a regular high-back booster.
A friends son uses one, and he seems very lost in it - he's 3, but a small, narrow 3, and never really looks secure in it, it also doesn't recline, so he can't sleep in it. It's very wide, and, TBH, I don't like putting him in my car using it, as I don't think he looks safe. However, if your son is bigger or wider, it might be OK for him. However, as your son is 14.5kg, he's not far off the weight of a group 2 high-back booster anyway, so might be OK. On the other hand, if he is a car-seat sleeper, keep him in a reclining one as long as possible.
Is there a car seat specialist (not Halfords or Mothercare) near you who can try out various seats and advise you for the best? You could try your son in it then, too. Some councils also have car seat specialists, who are trained in all car seat stuff - give them a ring and see if they've got anyone who could give you advice.

daveyjp

They are designed up to 11 years old, in reality by 6 or 7 you will be onto a booster seat.

Our group 3 seats came from Toys R us. Both had removal backs so now we only use the booster cushion. Even better they were only about £40 each.

RedfordML

Thankyou both for your replies and your info/advice!!

It is so hard when two children of exact same age can vary so much in size - height and weight!! I have looked into the road safety centre and we do have one nearby, so will go down to them and look into the options available, plus ask about one i have just found which seems to tick most of the boxes:

An isofix fitted group 2/3 maxi cosi car seat and this looks like it will give us the best of both worlds - isofix fitting which have always paid more to have and should in theory see our son through to 11yrs!

rpc

The group 1 seat will be safer while your son is a suitable size for it. It will take quite a while to put on those 8 lbs, in your position I would buy the second priorifix.

What infant carrier do you have? Most are Group 0+ and suitable up to 13 kg. If you have one of those, you've got a bit of time left in the infant carrier. If your daughter fits it, the rear facing infant carrier is significantly safer than a front facing Group 1 seat. With our son, he grew out of his rear facing seat height wise well before he would have hit the weight limit.

pigpen

It depends how much time you spend in the car and whether the older one sleeps in his seat still.

Mine have besafe izi x3 which is rear facing until 4ish but we do a lot of motorway travel and I don't want my children decapitated on the off chance we have an accident at 70ish.

If you just do 10 minute trips round town etc I'd put the baby in the seat you have now and get another seat for your older child.

Mine had the high back boosters until they were 8 and 9 and now just have the booster cushions.

If the baby is still comfortable in her infant seat keep using it, they are massively safer than the forward facing seats.

shortdog

daveyjp wrote: »

They are designed up to 11 years old, in reality by 6 or 7 you will be onto a booster seat.

Our group 3 seats came from Toys R us. Both had removal backs so now we only use the booster cushion. Even better they were only about £40 each.

Booster cushions on their own will be unavailable to buy before much longer, and will be illegal in a few years, a friend works as a road safety officer for the council, and they've been told about it. Some of the high-back boosters (we have a Britax) extend a lot further than others (i.e. Graco), which meand they can be used right up until your kids become big enough to not need a seat at all. My daughter is 10, 138cm (so big enough to not really need a seat, but prefers to use her seat as she struggles with the seat belt position on her neck) and is still using a high back booster.
Booster cushions aren't as safe as the high back boosters, as they give no side impact protection, and the kids can slip sidewards in the event of an accident.

pigpen

adult seatbelts are not 100% safe or effective for people under 150cm so using a booster until this height is a good thing. My 10 y/o is 137cm and still uses hers, we only removed the back because the head rest didn't extend high enough and she couldn't sit back properly in the seat, but it was great for holding the seatbelt in the right place too.

I am 154cm and struggle with the positioning of the seatbelt as it always rubs on my neck. they should have adjustable heights at the top where they attach to the car or clip to the top of the actual seat rather than just the chassis.

fluffnutter

Keep a child in the lowest group possible, provided he or she is still light enough of course. Don't be in a rush to upgrade as the lower the group number, the better the protection typically.

At two and a half, it might take your son some time to gain 8 lbs. I'd probably buy another Priorifix (or similar).

Also, why are you moving your daughter up? My son's over 9 kgs and he's still in his Group 0+ seat (MaxiCosi Cabriofix). I've no plans to move him until he reaches the upper weight limit (which is 13 kgs I believe). He's probably technically big enough to be in a Group 1 seat but provided he's not too big for the Group 0+ that's where he's staying.

rpc

fluffnutter wrote: »

Keep a child in the lowest group possible, provided he or she is still light enough of course. Don't be in a rush to upgrade as the lower the group number, the better the protection typically.

Don't forget about height! Our son grew too tall for his cabriofix well before he would have reached the weight limit. He was on ~75th centile and we moved him up at 11 months when he was still a long way off being 13 kg.

For an infant carrier, they should be moved when the top of their head lines up with the top of the car seat.

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm

they should have adjustable heights at the top where they attach to the car

Many cars do have this for the reasons you describe.

choccybuttons

Hi

We brought the evolva 123 which does from 9months to 12 yearsbut I have bigger gap. My 3 year old went into that seat and his wee brother got his old isofix seat.