Car seat or booster? Confused

[Onsera3]

DS is 26 months and large for age. Just hitting 18kg and 100cm. (Size 10 feet too!)

For our car I have recently bought a seat that goes from birth to 25kg.

My problem is in other people's cars, rentals etc. We travel often.

Most car seats only go to 18kg and his head comes above the top in most ones I put him in.

But surely he is too young for a booster?

My neighbour often wants to give us a ride and has car seat or booster available but I'm not sure which he should go in. When we try to book a car seat for holiday abroad the option is just to 18kg or a booster. At Xmas I ended up lugging his car seat to Europe but it was exp and I worry about it getting damaged.

The direct.gov website says this:
Forward-facing child car seats (booster seats) Children from 15 to 25kg

Which leaves me just as confused.

He seems too young for a booster but what about his weight? What would be safest?

I am trying to answer the same question for my DD.

It seems that some manufacturers, e.g. Britax, no longer do boosters as they do not offer side protection impact and are not as stable. Some people also find their children are very uncomfortable sleeping on boosters.

On the bright side there are a lot of high backed seats which are lightweight and use the car's seatbelt directly. Britax do one as do Cybex (my current uber favourite car seat manufacturer!).

You are right about the sleeping thing. Some of these seats with the heavier weight limits aren't really designed with little ones who still nap in mind. We had him in a Cybex Sirona from 7mo/12kg until recently and it was great for napping.

I haven't checked out their boosters though.

So are they old enough at two to be using a the car's seat belt though? Or does it just come down to weight?

The tests that the car seats have been through are based on weight not age, so a seat that says max 18kg has only been tested to 18kg regardless of age.

Having said that, I'd share your concerns about a two year old using a high backed booster with the three-point seatbelt because I'd worry they could t be trusted not to mess with the belt and move it. The HBB seats are generally very upright too, so not very good for sleeping.

There are some seats out there that would keep your DC in a five-point harness (and rear facing if you want. Which is much safer than forward facing). The Britax Two Way Elite uses a 5-point harness to 25kg and can be forward to rear facing, and the new BeSafe IZI Combi goes to 25kg in a 5-point too (definately rear facing, maybe forward facing too).

The In Car Safety Centre (branches in Milton Keynes, Essex somewhere an Belfast) are very helpful and knowledgeable, and will talk through options on the phone. I'd give then a ring.

We just bought a seat rather than booster after reading about the lack of side impact protection offered by a booster seat. We went for a recaro which can be belted in or isofixed.

You would certainly want a high back booster rather than a booster cushion. I would recommend the June one (although I can't remember the name if !) that is group 1-3,it has an impact cushion that the seat belt threads through then they are group 1,then when they are bigger you just don't use the cushion. We have it and it is brilliant.

My DD is 103cms and outgrew the Britax two way elite RF just because of her height, her weight is fine. She is using it FF though with a harness, which you can do up to 25kgs. Just looking at her in the seat FF I think she will outgrow it height wise around 110cms.

I don't have this but it looks amazing
cybex-online.com/gb/carseats/solutionq2fix.html

My DD is still RF in the 2 way elite at 112cm - she is 4 and a bit. We have just bought her the Cybex Solution Q2-fix as we wanted an Isofix FF seat. She would have been fine to continue to RF or FF in the 2 way elite, but it didn't fit very well with our new baby's seat.

How interesting pico. Is your seat quite reclined RF? Our is relatively upright in our car so at 103cms the top of her head was over the seat.

The Cybex seat does look amazing. He found the Sirona so comfy and was good for his wide body.

I think he outgrew that one height wise as because he is quite young a lot of his height is in his body rather than his legs. As he gets older the limbs are getting longer and longer so hopefully his torso won't so much.

Our current one goes up to 25 kg but it says you can't use isofix past 18kg. Then you have to use the seatbelt. I had heard that elsewhere.

Hopefully by the time he is too tall for one of these he will be mature enough for a booster.

I think I would be worried about him using the car's seat belt and undoing it himself. He is always undoing his belt on planes.

But in a pinch of you had to use someone else's seat- friend/family car, overseas rental- would you put an 18kg 2yo in a seat that only goes to 18kg or a booster? This is our only option sometimes.

Why not contact ROSPA or the In Car Safety Centre and see if they can help?

If he's only just 18kg I would probably put him in a harnessed seat so long as he isn't too tall. Once he is over 18kg you definitely need to put him in a HBB with a seat belt.

I would not use a carseat to 18kg for a child that weighed more than 18kg.

If I had no choice I would use a high back booster.

I would never use a low booster for a two year old, unless the journey was absolutely imperative and there was absolutely no alternative whatsoever.

My dd2 has an evolva 123, (which unfortunately only has a harness up to 18kg), but as a high back booster it reclines a bit, so is quite comfortable (unlike dd1's very upright high back booster) and because the seat itself is quite big she can't reach the seatbelt buckle to belt herself in, nor let herself out, so fiddling is not an option for her. She's 6!

Booboostoo - no, our 2 way elite is quite upright. DD doesn't look to be too tall for it. Her head is below the top of the seat. She does have very long legs. Since it goes up to 25 kg, a 102cm child should fit as 25 kg and 102cm would be a rather odd combination.

Slight correction - we've just got the Cybex Solution Q-Fix, not the Q2-Fix as the Q2-Fix isn't available yet.

You need either the britax advansafix or the britax two way elite. Both forward face til 25kg. The only seats on the market to do so. The TWE also rearfaces til 25kg.

Interested as to what your current seat is?

m.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.414443542032834.1073741882.282362311907625&type=1

Pico DD weighs 17 kilos so she is fine in the Britax weight wise, but I think her torso must be long as her head sticks out - only a little bit at the moment but I thought RF the head should be fully supported so swapped her to FF a couple of months ago. Next time we travel DS should be big enough for the Britax RF (his sirona is impossible to take on trips it is incredibly heavy) and I was thinking of a decent but lightweight high back seat for DD.

Booboostoo - I am just surprised that a 17kg child could be tall enough to outgrow a seat designed to go up to 25kg.

Booboostoo. TWE outgrown when eyes at top of seat RF.

Isn't it the top of the head for rear facing seats? I thought it was due to the body being pushed upwards in a crash.

Only in group 0+ infant carriers

The seat I have is called a Diono Rainier. I bought it recently overseas. We had booked the airport transfers with a carseat in Asia and were let down on one journey. And DS was not able to sleep in the one that had been hired for us in NZ. So I went and bought the Rainier in NZ so he could sleep on journeys and to ensure we had something for the Asian stopover on way back.

I think the Diono Radian is a great seat- sturdy steel frame, good side protection, plus I like the clip fastening across chest- but I'm not sure if you are technically supposed to use in Europe?

I have seen people are importing these Diono seats through eBay. So I wonder if they are cleared for use here or not. The seat folds up which is handy for travel. But it is heavy.

When we were in need of a seat for him at 7 mo/12 kg we went to the In Car Safety Centre in Essex they were so helpful. The Sirona had great recline and the swivel was excellent function for installing a little lump of a boy. Not a seat you would want to take on holiday though. But I was sure that one of the woman there did say she would be inclined to FF once the head was over the top.

We may have to pay them a visit and see the Britax. I think we looked at it back then but it seemed too upright for him as a 7mo.

Now DS is getting longer and leaner (about a cm per month) we have different needs for a seat. But he still takes naps! How good is the Britax for napping?

I think if we travel in another car I will put him in a carseat for up to 18kg and then switch to high back booster once he's too heavy. My neighbour often asks us on impromptu outings and my husband has taken our seat to work in the car. But she has her school child's high back booster on offer or a regular car seat.

A lot of knowledge about car seats here so I value your advice!

Thanks for the information regarding height. I thought it was top of head for RF and eye level for FF but I was wrong. Just found this link that reinforces this point
www.facebook.com/RearFacingToddlers/photos/a.282375891906267.1073741829.282362311907625/385818851561970/

DS is now RF after outgrowing the carry cot so DD has to be FF behind the driver as DH and I both drive the car and the driver's seat moves all the time.

No way would I put a two year old in a booster! I live in Scandinavia where kids and bigger in general and they all stay rear facing to 4/5.
I bought two Britax 2 way elites for my kids for travelling or using others cars as they're light and easy to fit. My nephew is off the charts for weight and height here at 3,5 and only recently had to change the 2 way to forward facing but at least still in a 5 point harness.