Heavy, tall 3 year olds - 5 point harness?

[B1rdinthebush]

My twin girls will be three in two months time and have reached the 18kg weight limit of their Maxi Cosi 2 Way Pearls.

I'm looking for a replacement but am confused as to whether I should go for a 25kg limit five point harness seat (which is what we have in my husbands car) or move them into a group 2/3 seat using a seat belt.

The law seems to suggest that a 2/3 seat can be used from 15kg upwards but I'm sure I read somewhere that even if they are at that weight, at three years old their pelvises are not developed enough to tolerate a seat belt in a crash.

Have I made this up?!

Any advice would be gratefully received as choosing car seats melts my brain

You are right - unfortunately there's a huge difference between legal and safe. They could legally go into high back boosters but that's not necessarily the safest option.

Best 25kg seats to look at are still rear facing so the Axkid Minikid and Britax Two Way Elite. There are forward facing options but your car has to have isofix points and top tether points.

Are you absolutely sure they are hitting 18kg at 2.10? I'm pretty amazed at that. My 4 year old is in a Pearl and nowhere near the weight limit yet.

But yes, I would try to stick with a five point harness for longer.

euro My DS is predicated to reach 18kg just after 2.5yrs! He's 98th centile for height and weight.

Euro Yup, weighed them both yesterday and they're both a fraction over 18kg. They are both over 100cm tall too. You wouldn't believe they were born at 30 weeks

Teaandbiscuits We have the Joie Bolds in my husbands car which are forward facing and harness up to 25kg. I think I will probably get two more of these for my car and grin and bear the £350 price tag!

My DS hit 19kg before he was 2

He definitely wasn't ready for a seat belt so we got the Joie Bold, which is forward facing but has a harness to 25kg

Cross Post!

Thanks new! I've always been of the opinion that you should never scrimp on car seats (I realise everyone has to buy what fits their budget) so I think I will just get two more of the Bolds. Jut wanted to sense check if I was being over cautious or not as I'm sure I'd read about their pelvises being too weak somewhere...

You might be able to get them a little more cheaply - we bought DS's Bold less than a month ago from the Bournemouth Baby Centre online and it cost 132.99 (I think I found a discount code somewhere) - it's back up to £160 but worth shopping around!

Currently Uber Kids is £155 and you can get 5% quidco

Thanks new, have just been to Mothercare and bought them. They've got 15% off car seats at the moment so they worked out at £148 each which I was happy with.

Crikey. This made me double check. My 4 year old who is starting reception this week is just over 13kg. I can't picture a 2 year old bigger than her!

Good buy B1rd

The bold is a good seat - you just need to check your car has a top tether as not all do.

Not sure if this would do the job?
Goes up to 36kg.
I haven't read any reviews or safety tests , but may be worth looking at?

www.halfords.com/kids-zone/car-seats/toddler-car-seats/cozy-n-safe-group-1-2-3-child-car-seat-with-cupholders-grey-black?cm_mmc=Google+PLA--Car+Seats--Toddler+Car+Seats--120638&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=wqtqamrwr&istBid=tztx&$ja=tsid:94971|cid:865695748|agid:43902125695|tid:aud-297219198449:pla-351837217116|crid:202397318340|nw:g|rnd:4328810709602330113|dvc:m|adp:1o2|mt:|loc:9046327&gclid=CjwKCAjwoMPcBRAWEiwAiAqZh4e6YHGowrKJGKRzK4pNAY9xs2W9utVsNWGW60agVBCbJZdSXlAnDRoCBj4QAvD_BwE

Keep them in a 5 point harness for as long as possible.

Main issue with seat belt seats is they are far to easy to undo and tempting to a toddler.

As 2 I would say they are too young for it and still need to be restrained.

From my maxi cosi training they said this was the main issue with tall/bigger children who physically are big enough but not mentally mature enough if that makes sense.

You need to be at least 4 years old to have the skeletal maturity to be in a high back booster. Any younger is really unsafe, irrespective of height or weight.