Toddler with no harness?

[Lfinger]

Dd2.5 weighs over 17kg. She's been in the cybex Pallas m fix for a year, with the impact cushion. The car seat instructions say that at her weight, she should now be wearing just the seat belt and use the booster seat with the high back.

Does that sound right? She is tall and solid, the impact cushion doesn't seem to fit snugly enough so I have been wondering but it seems so young to be without anything but a seat belt?

You need a seat that harnesses to 25kg. 2yos aren't safe in just a seatbelt.

Thanks. Where did you get that information?

At 18kg she will be too heavy for most harnessed seats, but at 2.5 she is too young for an adult seatbelt (age 4 and 18kg+ is better).

You can get specialist seats that have harnesses tested to 25kg.

I personally wouldn’t trust a two year old to be able to sit in a high back booster as they need to remain upright. There’s also the pelvis issue, as the pelvis stopped them from submarining under the seatbelt, although isn’t fully developed until four so I’d be wary of that. I’d carry on using the cushion until she’s 18kg

Sorry X posted! You need a 25KG seat

If you want to keep her forward facing, these are your options

Joie bold—require isofix+tether+seatbelt for installation
Cosy n safe Excalibur—has a slightly shorter shell than the bold so may not last as long
Cosy n safe Hudson—the cheapest of 25KG seats
Diono radian 5–seat belt installed, requires tether for FF
Baby auto dupla— can actually RF to 18kg, harness time 25KG then a booster
Maxi Cosi beryl—the only one which doesn’t require top tether. Can be seatbelt installed or isofix
Infasafe FX
Chicco seat up

From what I recall when seat shopping for my small 4 year old (went for extended rear facing) isofix is only rated to 25kg including the seat - anything above this needs to be fixed with the seatbelt which is obviously built to cover an adult’s weight.

That's so so helpful. Thank you very much everyone.

For the Pallas seat, you can keep using the impact shield to 18kg - but I agree - you'll need a 25kg harnessed seat at some point. You've had some good recommendations on this thread, however I would mention that the harness height on Maxi Cosi Beryl is very short, it's also a very expensive seat, so it's not the best choice for someone wanting to harness to 25kg as it probably won't get you all the way there and your DD is very big for her age, so you defo want a seat that will get you all the way there.

Personally for forward facing I'd look at Joie Bold, BabyAuto Dupla or Cozy n Safe Hudson if you're really on a budget/need something lightweight. But they all need top tether. There is supposedly a version of the BabyAuto listed in a couple of sites on the net that is belt fitted only, but I don't know where it's come from, possibly the Asian market, and I don't know whether I'd trust it.

If you don't have top tether in your car, my recommendation would be a rear facing seat such as Britax Two Way Elite or Max Way. There just aren't any good, affordable options for forward facing over 18kg without a top tether.

It's really really unlikely she'd sit properly in a seatbelt age 2, and there is a school of thought that younger children's pelvises aren't developed enough to prevent them from sliding under the seatbelt (submarining) in a crash, which causes terrible injuries. It would be legal (as she's over 15kg) but probably not safe. Crash test dummies don't get uncomfortable and wriggle and slouch, toddlers do.

If you can get her to 3 I'd be happier, although really 3 is still very young for a seatbelt and most kids I've fitted at age 3 are going crazy taking it off, wriggling around, not sitting properly. I wouldn't argue over a couple of months if she was nearly 4, but generally 3 is still young for a booster. If you did go to seatbelt at age 3, I'd look at the Britax Kidfix seats which have the crotch guard to help avoid submarining, which is a bit of a pain given you've spent the money on the Cybex (which is actually a really good booster seat, just not necessarily for a child who's too young!)

Thanks again. I'm going to go for the Joie bold. I've got Dd13 months too so she she will have the cybex in a couple of months, while DD2 is in the Joie and then I can switch them back again once my oldest is ready for a high back booster. Younger DD is smaller (obviously but also I mean she will be a smaller 2 yr old) so I don't think I'll have the same problem .

Just wanted to update to say the new car seat is here, installed in the car and she just about fits in it! Its already maxed out size wise with the extra padding taken off, the harness released almost to maximum and the head rest at the highest height. She must be so big for her age but it will do for now and we needed a second one anyway for DD2. Thanks again for all of your help!

Rear facing is x5 safer than forward facing, but not very common yet. You can get seats to rear face till 25kg and around 125cm tall and one even later. They are belt fitted. Axkid are one brand but others are available. Lots of Facebook groups around for help.

Aww bless her she must be tall. If you're putting her in with a winter coat I'd take that off, not only does it make them bulkier in the seat it tends to cause the harness to fit less snugly which isn't as safe.

That sounds like a good plan as the impact shield seats tend to perform better for younger kids. But I'd keep her in her infant carrier until the maximum first. Perhaps aim to swap them over when around 2.5 and 4.

I’d second @Lavender2021 rear facing until 25 kg

Hi @BertieBotts I hope you don’t mind me jumping on this post but you sound like you really know your stuff! I have twins who are nearly 18kg and 104cm tall, they are ff and have been for a long time due to travel sickness. Im looking for their next car seats as they have almost outgrown their current Joie seats however I am conscious that if they are ff it would be best to try to get the 5 point harness until 25kg. They are 4 in March and we have a car that would allow seatbelt, top tether and isofix, what would your recommendation be? Thank you in advance! Charlotte x