Maxi cosi 2-way pearl - rear facing for how long?

[alexx2]

I have a maxi cosi 2 way pearl (bought 2016 new) for my now 2yo DS. He's quite short for his age but already looking very crushed up in the rear facing position and is starting to really complain about going in his car seat. I'm loathed to change his to forward facing - one of the reasons I bought the petal was it said it could do rear facing until 4yo. I've looked in the instruction manual to see if the seat can be moved back in the iso fix base but can't find anything. Is any one else using this car seat still in rear facing for an older toddler? Have you managed to adjust the seat or vase to give more foot room? If so, please could you tell me how to do it?!

My DD will be 4 in April and is still happily rear facing in it. Have you adjusted the headrest and straps?

No, not moved either yet as they still seem to be in the correct position for him but will maybe need to give that a try. Do your DS's legs fit in ok?

She sits in a lotus type position and is really comfy. She’s fairly little so hoping she’ll be in it until she’s nearly 5.

3.5 for large child, always seemed really comfy in it.

Would have kept her in it longer but she was over the weight limit.

Definitely try headrest and strap adjustment but with the legs they tend to fold them up, cross them or rest them on the back of the seat. You could try removing shoes when he's in the car.

What centile is your DS on/do you know his height and weight? Group 1 seats generally fit children until 104cm which is about age 3-4 in clothes.

We've just turned our daughter at 3.5. She probably could have gone a bit longer if we had pushed it but she was starting to get grumbly in the car seat when it had never bothered her before.

Bear in mind it's rear facing to 18kg, rather than 4 years. For the 'average' child that is about 4, but for above average it's earlier. So my 75th centile DD and 98th centile DS would outgrow it long before 4 so they are better suited to 25kg ERF seats.

My daughter is only 12.5kg and almost 4. I’m worried she will outgrow seat in height before reaching minimum weight for booster seat!

Please keep him rear-facing for as long as you are able. We tend to look at children through adult eyes and when we see them with their legs crossed, we think that it must be awful for them because we'd be crippled within 5 minutes in that position.

They aren't like us though; my son when young would sit on his crossed legs for hours when playing on the floor. Room for legs isn't an issue. When you are ready to stretch your legs on a long journey, then so can your son.

The main issue here is that rear-facing is so much safer. Please exert your parental control over him and get him to do the safest thing, and remember that even the worst hospital can fix a broken leg - nobody can fix a broken neck.