Car seats, simple yes or no please! 🤯

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Question 1:

DS is 39.1lbs and his current car seat (maxi cosi axiss) goes up to 40lbs.

He is 101cm tall and 3 years 4 months old.

Can he go into a group 2/3 car seat yet? They state from 4 years old, but what am I supposed to do, he’ll definitely gain a pound before he turns 4. Looking at something like Maxi Cosi Rodifix Air Protect.

Question 2

DS2 is 11 months old. He is filling his current car seat size-wise (cabriofix), but has 5lbs before he has to move up.

Am I right that he can’t go into his brother’s forward facing seat until he’s 15 months old?

I barely know what I just typed, I’m so confused 😭

1 = yes
2= yes

I think

You shouldn’t put a child into a Hugh backed booster until minimum age 4. Their pelvic bones aren’t matured enough to stop them from submarining under the seatbelt in the event of an accident. So no, you need a harnessed seat that goes to a higher weight.

Legally your baby can go into his brother’s seat now (the 15 months refers only to i size seats, which the cabriofix isn’t). However it is not safe to put an 11 month old forward facing. Ideally you would keep rear facing until at least 2, preferably until the age of 4, when they can go into a HBB.

No
Yes, you are right, he can't go in his brother's.
Your question is not clear, especially as you are mixing two measuring systems. You have to know that of all the factors involved in choosing car seats, age is the least important. Ideally, get your eldest a 123 seat. For the younger one, he should absolutely not be going in a forward facing seat until he's about 4.

1. No. Get an up to 25kg harnessed seat.
2. Yes. Get another 25kg harnessed seat which can rear face to 4

1. Yes, if it's a weight based seat then he can go in it as long as he is at least 15kg.

1. He could theoretically go into the forward facing seat as it sounds like it is a weight based seat. It is iSize seats that require rear facing until 15 months old. He should ideally stay in a rear facing seat for much longer as it is much safer. Is he really 13kg already? (Normally infant carriers do up to 13kg / around 29lbs)

Ive read that seats that cater for multiple groups aren’t as safe/reliable as individual group ones? Like a jack of all trades.

I will look into these 25kg seats. What age is that ish... will google tomorrow, I can’t take any more of this. So stressful. Thanks for the responses so far. How I wish you were correct Pottering!

1. I did this. Size is important but it's usually also a change from 5 point harness to using the cars seat bent. They also they have to be able to sit properly with the adult belt, so not try and undo it or slip the belt down.

1. My understanding is we're in a change over period. So currently there's different types of car seats in use. If you have weight based seats it's not based on age. If you have i-size seats they have to be rear-facing until 15 months but not in your seats.

Could be wrong though!

demented he’s 24lbs/10kg

Sorry I’m replying in bits. Isit made me think I should add We’ve just come back from holiday in America where DS was in a high backed booster which fit him beautifully, so when we got home I thought I’d better weigh him and look into car seats.

They seem to have changed since my kids were young, you could get booster seats from 1 year then (we used from 3.5) forward facing used to be from 9 months as standard.

The rule to use a booster only came in when my dd was 5 so lots of her friends never used one and she was teased. Safety is important but high backed boosters are well made and usually can be separated into just a seat for age 6-10 ish (depending on height)

One pp says they can’t go in a HBB til they’re 4 because of their pelvic bones, the next says age is the least important factor. You can see why I’m confused 😄

HBB are weight based and can be used from 15kg although its best to wait until at least 18kg which is the upper weight limit of the group 1 seat.

Even in a 123 seat you would stop using the harness at 18kg.

There are many different types available. They are divided into categories, according to the weight of the children for whom they are suitable. These correspond broadly to different age groups, but it is the weight of the child that is most important when deciding what type of child seat to use. i-size seats are designed to keep children rearward-facing until they are at least 15 months old.

www.childcarseats.org.uk/types-of-seat/

3 year old, is he reliable enough to sit still with the seatbelt on him correctly and won't fall asleep in car? If no then although he legally can go into hhb he shouldn't, not sure if you'll get a company to sell you a hhb for a 3 year old now though.

11 month old, yes legally he can go into his brothers seat as the old rules and new rules are running together so it's still legal. NO ITS NOT A GOOD IDEA THOUGH.

If I were you I'd get a rear facing seat that goes to 25kg for both boys such as the two way elite or axkid minikid. Failing that get a rear facing seat to 18kg for you younger and a 25kg harnessed seat for older and then younger will have to move into older's seat once over 18kg and older into hhb

My ds went into the hbb around age 3 due to his weight. They didn't have extended rear facing seats at that time or harnesses that did until 25kg.

I wouldn't shell out for another harnessed seat for the older child but would maybe get an extended rear facing seat for the younger child.

Britax 2 way Elite for both kids.
Rear face the younger, older one can stay harnessed until 25kg.
It's an excellent seat that covers all stages.

Safest option - rear facing 25kg seats for both of them. Axkid Minikids are brilliant, we also have the Britax Two Way Elite.

Legal option - your eldest can go into a HBB and your youngest can go forward facing. However, legal is not necessarily safe.

If you don't want to rear face your eldest, you need to look into 25kg forward facing seats. Joie Bold or Cosy n Safe Excalibur.

You really should rear face your youngest for as long as possible. There's no comparison in terms of safety. He needs a 25kg rear facing seat as I've mentioned above.

For further advice I'd recommend the Facebook group 'car seat advice uk'. You can search your car type and see what other people have fitted.

Thanks everyone! I am happy to rear face my youngest no problem, he likes the car, never said I wanted to front face him. No problem. Eldest was a different story. I actually wanted to hear that I can’t use DS1’s old seat for him, otherwise I would have felt wasteful getting rid of it for a rear facing seat.
Thanks for the specific car seat recommendations, will look them up.
So much for a simple yes or no! 😅

Second the advice to join car seat advice uk on Facebook. It is confusing, I agree. Generally age makes no difference in terms of when to move seats - the only time that’s not true is when you move them to a HBB - skeletal maturity is age based in the pelvis, nothing to do with weight. So putting a 3 year old in a HBB is compromising on their safety, irrespective of whether they meet the weight guidelines. There’s also very few 3 year olds that can sit properly in a HBB - no slumping or falling asleep to the side.

The safest thing for your children would be to buy two extended rear facing seats to 25kg. The next best would be to buy a 25kg rear facing seat for your youngest and a forward facing harnessed seat such as the joie bold for your eldest.

Join the Facebook page and educate yourself!

Thanks Welshweasel that was very clear. I’ll look for 25kg seats. I don’t have Facebook, this thread IS me trying to ‘educate myself’!!

Their website:

www.carseatadvice-uk.com/#

DD reached 18 kg before her 4th birthday (well before!) so we moved her into a HBB. She did used to go to sleep in it, and flopped forwards; it wasn't great. TBH, it still isn't great when she goes to sleep, though she's almost 6 now. I wish we'd got a 25kg seat once she was out of the baby seat, but they were very expensive when we looked.