Booster or high back seat for 7 year old

Cruixer

Hi there,

Looking to get a car seat for 7 year old girl, about average size for her age. Legally her weight allows a group 3 seat (booster), although some sites seem to encourage the use of a group 2/3 seat for as long as possible for safety reasons.

The problem is that we tried them out today and they all seem fairly tight around the shoulder/arms, and they don't seem all that wider than the old seat that I presume is group 1 and she should probably have been out of some time ago. The main reason we have been prompted to change the seat is that we have a long car journey next week and want her to be comfortable.

I'm just wondering if anyone with kids of 7 and up can comment on whether they are using group 3 booster seats, or the 2/3 high backs?

Regards,

Kenny.

rach_k

At that age, she should have a seat or booster with a high back for the additional side impact protection and better seat belt positioning at the shoulder (also the headrests are good for sleeping in the car!).

My daughters went from rear facing car seats into high back boosters at around 5 or 6 years old.  The high back boosters then lasted until they no longer needed any kind of seat (11 for my oldest but only 9 for my youngest as she is very tall and we couldn't find a booster tall enough).  There was no need for backless boosters, ever, because the high back boosters lasted until the seat belt would sit in the correct place without anything.

We had Cybex boosters - they get wider as you extend the height.  Both kids were very comfortable and the head rest can be titled back.

ZaSa1418

Where did you try them? Was it somewhere like halfords or an independent shop?
My daughter outgrew her rear facing car seat just before her 6th birthday and we bought the Britax Kidfix 3 S Group 2/3 High Back Booster from the in car safety centre. It has loads of room and she is on the 95th centile for her age 

building_with_lego

Once you've seen the safety footage of children (well, child-sized dummies) on booster cushions you'll never even consider putting your child on one. 

Edit: apologies, that sounds brusque. Horrible footage though.
I can't recommend a booster as it's been a while since mine used them. One child had a cushion, until I saw the footage and bought a high-back.