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Car seats

5 yo DS - how long to keep rear facing?

6 replies

ButtercupOrange · 06/05/2018 18:59

I am totally signed up to RF being safest. DS is currently 5.3 and weighs 17.6kg (he's always been 25th centile). We have two cars with seats as follows:

Car 1. Axkid Minikid, ERF to 25kg. This is my car which we almost always use for high-speed and long-distance travel.

Car 2. Besafe Izi Combi X3, ERF to 18kg. DH's car which is mainly used for local journeys.

My main question is what to do about the Besafe that he's almost outgrown in Car 2. I take it as soon as he crosses the 18kg limit we will have to change it? I don't really want to pay another £350 for a second Axkid for a couple of years. Is there a decently safe forward facing seat (high back booster?) that we could replace it with? Will he then get to like forward facing and not want to RF in my car?

My other (sillier) question: I'm planning to keep using the Axkid until he grows out of it - which is projected to be age 8!! Honestly, is this going to cause any problems? I don't personally care what other people think but one of his friends saw him getting in recently after school and said (innocently) "why are you still in a baby seat?" Is there a point that this becomes a real issue for kids?

Thanks in advance for anyone who's read through this all!

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teaandbiscuitsforme · 07/05/2018 11:58

Amazing that he's 'still' rear facing! I'm planning on forcing my two into their Minikids until they leave home! Grin

You could go for something like the Britax Two Way Elite if you want a cheaper 25kg ERF. Or if you think he's mature enough, go for a high back booster but I would be the same and insist on the Minikid for most journeys. Be Safe have just brought out he first I size high back booster so the side protection is much better than most.

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NapQueen · 07/05/2018 11:59

Just swap the seat between cars. Or whoever drives ds takes the one with the axi.

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RedDwarves · 07/05/2018 12:03

Aren’t there high restrictions as well as weight?

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stargirl1701 · 07/05/2018 12:06

We use a Klippan Triofix Recline for DD1. She was ERF in Cybex Sirona until she was 5 years/18kg.

The Triofix is a Group 1/2/3 so lasts until around 12 years. It sits on an ISOFIX base ERF until 18kg, then FF on the ISOFIX until 25kg and finally FF with no base until 36kg.

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teaandbiscuitsforme · 07/05/2018 12:08

There's a legal minimum weight for high back boosters and then an upper weight limit for the 25kg seats. Even the 105cm i-size seats are only really outgrown when the child no longer fits the harness rather than when they reach 105cm because it depends on how they carry their height.

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ButtercupOrange · 08/05/2018 19:23

Thanks very much everyone! That's really helpful.

Teaandbiscuits thank you, I'll look at the Two Way Elite. He is definitely mature enough to sit nicely in a booster, just worried about the safety aspect compared to ERF. The Besafe booster sounds like a good option, if I ca get over my grudge against Besafe (we started off with two Besafe Izi combis but had to get rid of one as it started making a horrible rattly noise and Besafe were really unhelpful - the other one has been fine though).

NapQueen unfortunately we can't as DH does school drop off and I do pick up, and our cars are 20 miles apart during the day! It also takes a good 10 minutes to swap over (well it does when I do it anyway). We could do it if we needed to use DH's car for a long journey though.

Stargirl thanks we'll have a look at the Triofix.

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