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Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here.

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here.

Car seats

What age was your DC when you moved them from...

25 replies

Grainger · 13/11/2011 22:28

one of these

to one of these

(if you did).

Did you go by age or weight?

OP posts:

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nicm · 13/11/2011 22:37

hi, ds is currently 3.7 years and 21kgs and i'm keeping him in his group 1 until he hits the maximum weight and then i'll move him to the hbb. it's safetst to keep them in the harness until they are too heavy or too tall. hth.

:)

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ASuitableGirl · 13/11/2011 22:39

I went by weight. DS was somewhere between 4 and 5 possibly even over 5. DD was a little younger but definitely over 4.

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workshy · 13/11/2011 22:40

DD was too tall at 3 for option 1 -head right up over the top

I also think behaviour needs to be taken into account though as you have to be able to trust them to sit properly in the seat

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ASuitableGirl · 13/11/2011 22:40

nicm most harnessed seats are safe up to 18kg from what I remember although I have a feeling there are some OK up to 25kg? What sort have you got?

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Grainger · 13/11/2011 22:54

I have 2, a maxi cosi tobi (which does up to 18kg) and can't remember the name of the other one but think it's similar.

I was asking because DS is a nightmare to get into the seats and no matter how tight you pull the cord he will wriggle his arms out of it anyway. He's not old enough or heavy enough to move yet but I can't help wishing he was as it would be so much easier.

OP posts:

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workshy · 13/11/2011 22:56

if he can wiggle his arms out might be worth just double checking what height you have you the shoulder straps at -moving them up or down a notch can make a huge difference to little escape artists

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Loopymumsy · 14/11/2011 10:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aswellasyou · 14/11/2011 11:35

Grainger, it doesn't sound like he could be trusted in a HBB if he's trying to escape from the group 1 seat. I'd try one of these for now.

I would always go by weight, as long as the child isn't too tall for the seat (ears above top of seat or shoulders too high for straps). If your son's houlders are too high and that's why he's managing to wriggle out, there are likely to be other seats with higher shoulder straps.

nicm, group 1 seats are defined as 9-18kg, so your child is too heavy at 21kg. Unless you've mistyped the weight or you mean you have a group 1/2 seat up to 25kg.

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ragged · 14/11/2011 11:49

I generally moved them when they no longer fit nicely & seemingly securely. In one case because I also needed the seat for the next child. Or because the straps didn't seem to hold them well any more (body too long) or the seat didn't seem strong enough (in the case of my heavy child). I think all were between very nearly 4 & 4.5yo.

I don't usually know DC's weight, so weight didn't come into it, but they are mostly weedy things, so probably mostly under 15 kg.

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TruthSweet · 14/11/2011 13:12

I moved DD1 from a ffing Britax Two Way Elite into a HBB after she was 5 (approx 117cm & 20kg). I booster trained her though before she went in one for more than short trips in Grandma's car.

For us booster training involved showing her youtube videos of crash tests and showing her what would happen if she wriggled or messed about with her seat belt. She also had it drummed into her that she was not to touch the seat belt buckle at all if the engine was running, she had to ask if she could unbuckle herself when the engine was off, that picking up a dropped toy/drink/snack could kill her if Daddy had an accident as she had to stay seated in the booster properly at all times to be safe and Mummy and Daddy were trusting her to be a big girl.

She sits still the whole journey and always asks to unbuckle herself when Dh has turned off the engine before doing it. If she couldn't do it she'd be back in a harnessed seat in a flash.

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aswellasyou · 14/11/2011 13:42

Truth, we had similar training from our parents as children (minus the videos presumably). I still panic if the driver moves off before my seatbelt's plugged in! And my parents both still ask if everyone's got their seatbelt on before driving.

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TruthSweet · 14/11/2011 13:58

aswellasyou - I am very anal about car seat safety (love having OCD ). My mum still holds my arm when we cross the road

The one and only time I have not worn a seat belt in a car I got whiplash and concussion after I headbutted the rear view mirror. We were just moving the car from one space to another and I didn't bother to belt up in as we were just parking in a supermarket car park in a village and moving at less than 5mph. If I had had my belt on I doubt I would even remember my friend hitting the brakes hard as an OAP pulled out of a spot in front of her.

If as an adult I got whiplash & concussion from a

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ByThePowerOfGreyskull · 14/11/2011 14:02

I switched when they were 4
they now have high back boosters.

DS1 is tall enough to not legally need one but he will be in it for a while yet.

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Grange · 14/11/2011 14:19

I am so glad this is being discussed, i have a similar issue. My DD has only this month turned 3 and is 20 kilos. Her Maxi Toby says 18kilo max and she is very tall for her age so her head is now at the very top of it. Is weight the main factor to switch? Other DD was nearly 4 before that weight/height.

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alittlebitshy · 14/11/2011 14:26

grange I had the same issue. My ds was well over 18kg at 2.6. I ended up buying the two way elite. I wish I had bought it at the start but hey ho. He should be in it a while yet ( he is 3.3 now). I find 3 waaaay too young/sensible to be in a high back booster, so as long as he fits the height weight criteria for this seat he will stay in it. My dd was almost 4 when we swapped her - my knowledge was a lot sketchier than with ds. However she was a lot more sensible and was always as big/heavy as a child at least 1, more like 2, years older. Ds is the same but the sense is not there and I just feel happier.....

bythepower yes - at 8.6 by dd is taller than 135 cm but despite her complaints is iin her high back booster for a hwile yet. I do occasionally relent and let her got in friends' cars, ideally on a booster cushion (which i know is still far from ideal) and at a push minus anything but I am pretty anal in general about car safety.

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aswellasyou · 14/11/2011 14:37

Truth, what bad luck that the one time you don't wear a seatbelt, you end up with whiplash. My sister got whiplash from sitting on a bus as it broke (is that right? ) quickly. I feel really uncomfortable sitting on a bus without a seatbelt-sometimes I automatically turn to reach the seatbelt. I'm not so bad on trains though-probably becasue they feel less jerky. My Mum still sticks her arm out to 'save' the person in the passenger seat if she needs to break suddenly. I don't really know why she ever felt the need to do this seen as she's only been driving since 3 point seatbelts were commonplace.

Grange, unfortunately it's illegal and possibly dangerous for your daughter to be using the Tobi at 20kg. It won't have been tested over 18kg, so the straps may not restrain her in an accident. Weight is the legal criteria for changing seat. If you can afford it, a Two Way Elite would be the way to go so she can stay harnessed until 25kg. Otherwise, she'll have to go into a HBB.

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TruthSweet · 14/11/2011 14:39

Grange - if you have a 20kg child in a 18kg max seat your child is not going to be protected in the event of an accident regardless of the height. The seat isn't designed to restrain a child of that weight and the harness could fail in a crash. Please don't use the seat again.

You really need to get her a seat that harnesses to 25kg as just turned 3 is very young to be trusted to be in a high back booster (remember she is in charge of how safe she is in a HBB).

The Britax Two Way Elite rf or ff 9-25kg or the Britax Multi-tech rf to 25kg if you would consider switching her rfing (it's 4 times safer for the under 4's to rf). There may be other seats that harness to 25kg but I don't remember them off the top of my head!

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TruthSweet · 14/11/2011 14:42

aswell - I used to put the pushchair on the bus so that the DDs rfed in case of an accident (but not if it inconvenienced other passengers....)

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aswellasyou · 14/11/2011 14:58

There's also the Maxi Cosi Mobi, Britax Hi-Way and possibly the Akta Graco BeLogic that rear face with a harness up to 25kg.

I always do my best to have my daughter rear facing on the bus or train too. I've become a bit obseesive about things like that. I don't have OCD, but do have traits that I get teased for sometimes! It only really started when I began working in a pub and had to have all the bottles/glasses/etc in particular orders with all the labels facing forwards, naturally. Unfortunately, I have no trait that makes me keep my home clean and tidy!

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TruthSweet · 14/11/2011 15:02

Mine is a hovel frankly! but the children are safe in the car so it's all good

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aswellasyou · 14/11/2011 15:07

Exactly!

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Grange · 14/11/2011 20:47

Thanks for the replies. I put her in her sisters HBB on the way to school this afternoon and it fitted so much better. Feel a lot happier knowing it's the right thing. I measured her today as 40 " tall so the seatbelt fitted correctly. No wonder she was complaining about the old seat being tight :(

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brachy · 15/11/2011 19:43

DD was 6.5yrs when she moved from a harness to a HBB. However, she was still within the weight limits of the harness (Two Way Elite) but had outgrown it height wise.
DS is rear facing in his Two Way Elite and will be for a good while longer. He will then be harnessed for as long as possible...he is a very different build to his sister and completely untrustworthy!

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JarethTheGoblinKing · 15/11/2011 19:49

OP - he's probably wriggling free of the straps because it's a Tobi - heard several freinds complain about this issue with them, and seen it discussed on here too.

We've got a Britax Evolva for DS. He was in a Priorifix but got too tall for it, but was only 15kg so wanted to keep him in a 5-point harness until 18kg. It's the only one (AFAIK) that can accommodate a tall light preschooler - he's almost 4 and still in it
(hopefully he'll be in it until school - he's a skinny bugger )

He does go in a Maxi Cosi Rodi in my parents car though, and it's fine.

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RedHotPokers · 15/11/2011 19:54

DD was getting on for 3.5yo. She was big (weight and height) for her age, responsible enough not to mess with the belt, plus DS was growing out of his baby seat!

IMO OP the fact that your DS won't keep the straps on in the seat he's in means that he shouldn't move to the next seat up. You really need to be able to trust a child to keep their belt on in the HBBs.

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