When to move to Stage 3/Group 2 car seat?

[BikeRunSki]

DS is 2.3 and weights 12.5kg. He is also tall for his age and height.

He is currently in a Stage 2/Group 1 car seat (Britax Eclipse). The top of his head comes very slightly over the top of the seat, which suggests to me that he needs to go into a Stage 3, although he is well under the weight recommended to move up (15kg on RoSPA webiste).

I have tried him in a friend's Stage 3/Group 2 car seat and he is tiny in it. He is so skinny that the straps barely tighten over him and if I were to use one for real I certainly would not trust him not to undo the seat belt!

What to do?

He will only have outgrown his current seat when his eye level has reached over the top of the back of the seat, not the top of his head, so he should be fine in it for a goood while yet.

My DS1 is very tall (95th centile for height) and didnt grow out of his stage 2 until he was at least 3.5 yo

Rear-facing is always a good idea until 4. The btitax two-way elite gets a lot of recommendations on here.

If you want to go with forward facing then look at the Jane Montecarlo (plus for isofix) and the cybex pallas/solution x. Both of these are stage 3 seats, but can be used with an impact cushion from 9kg. There are other makes out there too - kiddyfix???

We have been really happy with the jane and cushion for my very light almost 4 year old

the kiddy seat also uses an impact cushion

You're OK for a while, prob 6 months, unless your DS has a major growth spurt.

In this weather, just make sure that he's not wearing an enormous coat/scarf etc while he's strapped in, as the straps won't be effective (sure yu know this).m

Asking for advice on 3yo seats will always get the rear facing advice... sorry, but by 3 then give over...

just recomment a frigging seat [wink[

Thanks for all you advice but I don't need recommendations for a Group 2 seat, just need to know whether he needs to move up a group. This is a very big deal, as it will also mean changing vehicles, as we drive a van with a central lap belt.

Anyway, thanks to a pointer Fel1x, I have navigated the not v east RoSPA website and discovered that babies go from Group 0 to 1, when their head is at the top of the seat, and from Group 1 to 2, when their eye level is at the top of the seat. He is 91% centile for height, but it's mostly in his back. Hopefully the next growth spurt will be in his dumpy legs!

could you not put his seat at the side with the full belt and have whoever usually sits in that seat,sit in the middle?(once you need to move up a seat group?)

We could, and that is probably waht we will end up doing, but the middle seat is very tight on legroom for a full size adult.

Only one person recommended seats (and the rearfacing thing, like I mentioned)

Other people said you didn't need to change up a group yet. Did you see those posts? DS's head was level with the top of the seat at 2yo (he's TALL) now, at just 3yo, his eyes are only just level with the back (after a mammoth growth spurt)
I know we need to change him to the next seat now, I just have no idea what to get

hth