2 questions about car seats

[GillL]

Dd is still in a regular car seat (for up to 36lb) but her head is just reaching the top of it. She's only 29lb and would probably take a couple of years to reach the maximum weight. She will be 3 at the end of March. Would it be safe to put her in a booster seat with a back with an adult seat belt? She's only about 90cm in height so will she be tall enough? If not, when should we take her out of this car seat i.e. how far above the top of the car seat can her head be?

Ds is getting too big for his car seat which is part of a travel system. He is 6 months old and about 21lb. He can hold his head up well but can't sit unaided. We have a bigger car seat which dd currently uses if going in dh's car. It is designed to be rear facing but we've tried it and it really doesn't look safe that way round. Is it safe to have it forward facing?

Your dd's regular car seats are safe provided their eye level is not higher than the top of the backrest. These are much safer than the backed booster seats so I would use it as long as possible.

Your ds must stay rear facing until he can sit unaided (I had to wait until one of mine was 11 months old!). In accident if their legs are squashed they will be fine and unlikely to get broken if they are in a forward facing car seat to early you are risking their life via head or spine injury.

I put my dd in a booster type seat at Christmas, she's 3 in May, but is a bit bigger than your dd, she's 98cm and about33lbs. But her old car seat was starting to come apart. I did alot of research and we've got a concord evo lift as they score well in the safety tests. It isn't just a booster, it has a back with adjustable head heights, side impact protection and supports and arm rests. Dd tried it in the shop and is very comfortable in it.
I wouldn't let your ds face forward yet, its much safer for him to face backwards, check with the manual or shop that you're putting it in correctly.

Thanks for the info. Will keep dd in her seat as long as possible and ds rear facing. We'll have another go at fitting the seat the other way round. I think it just looks so strange because the shape of the back is designed to fit the rear seats.

I'll get dh to speak to sil as well. She's got her dd (2 yrs old next week) sitting in a booster seat and she's probably between 5 and 10cm shorter than dd. I think the only reason she's in it is because they've got 3 dcs and can't fit 2 child seats and a booster in the back. Having had a look at the new laws online that's got to be illegal, hasn't it?

do check the instructions for your rear facing seat. Ours has a fold away bit in teh base that is only needed rear facing, forget it and it looks well odd, use it and every thing comes together and works. still looks ugly but hey ho, that life.
If you have lost the instructions try the manufacturs web site , they may be there to down load.

2 yr old in booster seat - very bad. I only just put ds in booster (complete with arms, back, headrest, side impact etc and he's 4!

2 is way too young

The minimum weight for high back booster with adult belt is supposed to be 33lb. If your DD is tall but light your other option is to get a booster with removeable harness. But probably better to hold out for now.

IMHO a 2 yr old needs to be in a 5 point harness, not an adult seat belt.

DD1 is 3 1/2 92cms and 28lbs so no way ready for a booster seat. I am planning to have her in her stage 2 seat until I need it for DB3 so she will be about 4 1/2 at least. She was in her first car seat until about 12 1/2 months as well.

Under 1s should be rear facing, no matter whether they can sit up unaided or not. It is to do with the strength of the spinal column v. the solidity of the spine. I don't pretend to understand the details.

Maxi Cosi and Britax rear facing group 0+ carseats both go up to 13kg weight limit and my hefty DS was in his Britax till about 14, 15 months. You don't need to worry about legs being bunched up; they'll just rest them on the back seat.