Short 12yo still using car seats?

[EdtheBear]

My oldest is 11 and still under 135cm so legally needs to be in a carseat.
Is he likely to be happier, more comfortable with his car seat when he turns 12.

My youngest is close to needing to move up to next seat. I'm trying to figure out do I buy him a new seat now. Or wait until oldest ages out of his.

@Lovelydovey
That is something else that's crossed my mind, do we insist he keeps a carseat in DHs car which is the one we are most likely to end up on motorway in but not for mine which is most likely to do school drop off / be seen by pals.

One car has a group 1/2 seat for the youngest which is fine, the other has a group 0/1 which is the one that's not got much growing room.

@BertieBotts I'll double check it's a Britax Duofix i-size, if that's 18kg it certainly gives more growing room.

OK yes if it's Group 1, it's up to 18kg. But you may well find youngest outgrows by height before reaching the weight for the Group 0/1 seat.

I'd just have a look at where the belt sits for your eldest. If it's over his thighs/hips and his legs can bend at the edge of the seat then he's OK without a car seat. If the belt is higher up on his tummy, and/or his knees don't quite reach to the edge (so he scoots forward to bend his knees, which tilts his hips under the belt putting it on his tummy) then he's potentially vulnerable to abdominal injury in a crash as well as sliding forwards and injuring legs.

If he's more comfortable in the high back it makes sense to keep that. You are most likely to be in a crash on short everyday journeys rather than motorway driving, which is some of the safest you'll ever do. If you do long journeys where he may sleep, a high back is much better for that. Since those are rare, you could always just move the seat into that car for those journeys?

Xpost sorry. Duofix i-size is not a seat that exists. Do you mean Duoplus or Dualfix? Either way they are both 18kg :)

Meh I wouldn’t give my kid a choice. Not the right height or weight to move up a seat then they don’t get to move up. Oldest was in his until 12. Middle is 11 and still fits comfortably. Youngest is tall for age but at 4 still fit in his rear facing car seat. My issue is moving him to a high back booster next. Seems nuts!

My short DC used just a booster with no back from when they started Y7 until they were the requisite 135cm (much older than 12 in the younger DCs case). No friends ever commented negatively on it.

DS is almost 9 and 134 cm but I'm keen to keep him in the car seat for as long as possible simply because he's thin and the car seat provides much more protection. Good idea about the booster seat moving forward

Chipsahoy You can get larger rear facing seats if that is a thing you would like.

@BertieBotts its a Dualfix, i-size, that spins I got the name wrong.
Thank-you for pointing out the 18kg rather than 17kg, certainly good to know he still has some growing room in it.

As and when your eldest does move from the hbb to just a booster OP, we found that on long journeys it can be hard for them to get comfy to snooze. We bought DD a travel pillow so her head didn't sag sideways as she's not as wide as an adult and doesn't fill the seat.

My two are lean and light but long bodies so they've usually grown out of lengths before reaching height/ weight limits to move on. The rules can be very gappy if children aren't average proportions.

My 9yo has had to have the back taken off his HBB and is just using the lower booster part. He's just under the 135 still and seems to be a minority. Admittedly there are a lot of tall children in the class, but parents of smaller ones do seem to give up prematurely.

Fit of the seatbelt is the most important factor... although as a 157cm driver this frequently seems to fail at being a consideration for the front of the car...

Fit of the seatbelt is the most important factor... although as a 157cm driver this frequently seems to fail at being a consideration for the front of the car...

Definitely! I have often commented to the DCs that I could do with a booster as well, particularly when the winter sun is coming right at me underneath the sun visor.

My very short 12 year old uses the booster seat without the back. He prefers it for seeing out plus the cup holder holds his can of pepsi max 😂

Op your 12 year old weighs less than 18kg?

DD is 7.5, very tall at 136cm so legally doesn't need one but she'll be using a booster for a good few years to come.

No my 5yo who's in a toddler seat is less than 18kg. He's nearly ready for a HBB although he has more growing room than I thought yesterday morning.

Don't want to buy one if in a few short months I can pass the 11, nearly 12 yos, HBB down. But I don't want him being uncomfortable either.

But going by the posters on here other short 12yos seem to prefer backless booster seats that's probably the best route to take.

New booster for DS1 and pass the HBB down to DS2.

Thanks to everyone who posted this thread has been really helpful.

In most of Europe it’s 150cm for booster, not 135cm as in uk. So you might have better luck buying a low booster for older child from European brands

@BertieBotts re the age of the seats, the two HBB one is 2 years old the other 4 year old so should have plenty life in them.
DS1 had been using a Evolva 123, got him a better seat, and gave the Evolva to mum for DS2. And the other got replaced after an accident.
Sad but true be we have two pairs of co-ordinating car seats!😂