Too small for Group 1?

[Szeli]

Hi, my son is only 10kg at 16mo so weight wise is fine to stay in his infant seat. Height wise comes the issue, his head is almost level with the top of the seat.

Tried him in the 1/2/3 kiddie care seat my DM has bought him but he doesn't seem tall enough for this, just the tops of his ears are within the head support.

Does anyone know how tall they should be to be safe in these seats or if there's any booster cushions available for car seats?

Thanks

I would look on the manufacturers web site for a size guide. There are lots of guides on line

Do you mean the top of his head is almost to thy the top of the car seat? In which case this is fine.

How about just a group 1 seat rather than 1/2/3?

He is still fine if his head is still within the shell of the seat.

If the top of his head is at the top of the back of his first stage carseat then yes he is getting too big.

What about an extended rear facing carseat?

Or something like a brutal or maxi cost second stage carseat, he still needs the integral harness.

I think ours is a maxi cost priory?

Yes I would get just a group 1 seat, they tend to be snugger than the combination seats. The head support is an important part of the seat so it's important that it fits him properly.

You say his head is "almost" level, if it's an inch or more to go, leave him in the baby seat because they grow so slowly in length/height past 1 year that it's likely he'll have another couple of months left in his current seat, by which time he'll fit the new one better.

Once the top of his head is level with the back of the seat it is too small.

In the second stage seats they can stay in it until their eyes are level with the back of the seat but it's diff in rear facing seats.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=A-PKU6v8L_TX7AaouoHoBg&url=www.maxi-cosi.com/products/car-seats/toddler/priori-xp.aspx&cd=1&ved=0CDkQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGUloG-PCFgVSXGhjDnBNONBoZ7Xw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=A-PKU6v8L_TX7AaouoHoBg&url=www.maxi-cosi.com/products/car-seats/toddler/priori-xp.aspx&cd=1&ved=0CDkQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGUloG-PCFgVSXGhjDnBNONBoZ7Xw

He's about a cm off the top. He's 80cm tall. Can't buy another seat really, the manufacturers website is a bit pants but my Dad took pictures to send to them today to see if it's right.

Will hold off for the time being then, it's a shame, he's so much happier in the bigger seat we have a cross country trip next month, roll on the 3 hour scream fest :/

If I had my way I'd go ERF but I don't drive and I didn't buy the seat. Other than this trip he'll be in it maybe once a month for under 5 mins so long term no bother, I just wanted to check I wasn't being daft thinking he's still a bit small for FF

Thankyou

*he'll be staying in his infant seat cross country I mean

Hmm for 5 mins once a month I'd probably use it. He does sound a bit small but any seat is better than no seat.

I think my dinky child will have to suck it up and stay in his baby seat for a little while longer.

He's taller than average but it's all in his legs! His trousers are half mast and his tshirts cover his bum, I thought all babies came in standard sizes?

I would be careful with thee 123 car seats. They are probably acceptable as a high backed booster but not always any good for a child up to booster seat age. If your dm bought the seat, is she aware of differences in car seats? I know when i had my first child twenty one years ago i was laughed at for insisting to have him in a decent car seat. A lot of people simply don't get it that just because a car seat is legal does not mean it is safe. A child can stay in a rearward facing seat until their eyes are level with the edge of the seat. I would not worry about the length of legs, they are bendable.
Thinking about it there is one excellent 123 seat on the market by a German company called kiddy. It does not have an integrated harness but a table type cushion and gets excellent reviews in crash tests, comparable to erf tests. It is easy to move between cars but does not come cheap. If i remember correctly it also has a cushion for very small ones. Once you have it it does work up to age 11 or 12 as it extends both upwards and outwards.

Thanks. I know they consulted which guides and went thru a few 'checkers' before getting this one.

If I ever had a car I know what I'd go for now, I don't doubt for a second the safety of this one either, just so long as he fits and according to the advice here he's ok in the baby seat for a few more cm - which is what he needs to fit on the bigger one too.

I wanted more than anything to check I wasn't compromising his safety leaving him in the infant seat a little while longer.

Some people say top of head, some say eyes, some say ears; in line with seat top but I can't find an 'official' answer, they all focus on the weight and don't seem to grasp tall, slim children exist!

It's eyes)ears with the next stage carseat but with first stage seats it's the top of the head as the impact in a crash may make them move up in the seat, if their head was aalready a bit over the top then they would then risk all the head going above the back which could result in a broken neck and obviously provides no protection.

Righto so hand resting on the top, when he touches, change seats?

Thank you!

Yes agreed. It's different for forward facing hence the different answers and confusion.

In a rear facing seat a collision will push the child slightly up the back of the seat so there needs to be more leeway - this is why the straps should always come from below the top of the shoulders, and the head can't be over the edge at all. In a forward facing seat a collision will cause them to jolt forwards out of the seat, so the straps need to come from above the shoulders, and it's not so important about the top of the seat (but for the side impact protection to work properly, the biggest part of the head ie the brain needs to be within these "wings" on the side.

At risk of outing here's where his head sits when we tried the seat, I've just been sent it. looking at the pictures he doesn't look too far off after all!

Oh he does look too small doesn't he. Although actually his head is within the side impact things so perhaps just due to the enormousness of the seat! He looks like he's slumping a little bit too? Is there another slot for the crotch strap which starts further back which might hold him a bit more upright?

Can I see a Kiddicare logo on the top of the seat? If so I would be wary, I'm not keen on their own brand seats. If you look at the page here: www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categorydisplay10A_65_10751_14571_-1__14568_14568_10001_14568

You can see that a lot of the other brands have an insert for smaller children, whereas this one doesn't. I also find that the straps tightening there with those backpack style adjusters rather than having a strip to pull at the bottom doesn't feel as secure. IMO, this seat would be a great booster seat but it doesn't look as good as a Group 1, and that might be why he doesn't look so secure in it.

If you have a Halfords, Mamas and Papas or John Lewis near you, a lot of them have a demo car seat which you can strap the display model of the child car seat onto to try it out, even trying your child in it. I think it would be worth getting an idea on how he looks in other car seats, to see if it's just this one or not. To me it looks like too big of a jump from the infant seat to this.

I think the straps are too loose in that picture. Agree that there may be a crotch bit further back, but it is too loose around the waist and around the shoulders. If it doesn't go tighter then the seat doesn't fit him, could you try him again with the straps tighter then post another picture?

We have a britax evolva 123 and whilst it would not be ideal for a 13kg 9 month old, i think a taller, more robust 16 month old would be fine in it. Agree with what bertie said about rucksack-style fasteners versus pull-tighter-straps, i hadn't noticed it had them, indeed i've never seen them before. But they work loose on my rucksack, so i'm not sure i'd trust them for my most precious cargo...

That's the issue with the straps which tighten in that way, it's only the shoulder straps which adjust and the others don't at all.

The rucksack style straps are used exclusively by a company called Nania who produce almost unbelievably cheap own brand seats for kiddicare, asda, argos and presumably some other companies but I don't know. They also go by names such as BabyStart and first start. DS had one at his childminder's and I was only happy with it because she only drove around locally so always at a maximum of 30mph. That's what the legal requirements for crash testing is - there was one Nania seat (not this one) which was recalled after Which? tests showed that it did not withstand a 40mph crash - scary. I get the impression that their aim is to produce car seats as cheaply as possible while sticking to the law, and I'd rather pay a bit extra for a mid range seat like a Graco. Or Britax is excellent as a brand who produce consistently high quality seats with extra safety testing but don't seem to artificially inflate prices on the back of their name, cough, Maxi Cosi.

we had the Britax evolva 123 for ds which was a pretty good seat

My parents have that exact seat for their grandchildren, aged 2-4. I think it's fine for that age group but probably wouldn't put a younger/smaller child in it.