3.5 yo- Joie Bold or Britax Romer Kidfix 3

[Mariecat1970]

Hi, looking for some advice.

My 3.5 year old is now 105cm and therefore almost too tall for her Maxi Cosi Mica spin seat (she currently uses this rear facing).

We have made the decision to choose a forward facing seat for the next seat- however as she is not yet 4 I’m not sure that she should go in a ‘normal’ HBB as I think she’s too young for the seatbelt.

Originally I decided on the Joie Bold which uses a harness up to 25kg which solves that issue- however I’m not sure if the group 1/2/3 seats are the best seats in terms of safety?

I then found the Britax Romer Kidfix which has the additional strap on the lap belt (sorry can’t remember that they call it) and seems to have good reviews.

Would that be ok for a 3.5 yo? Or would a harness be best?

I just can’t decide and need to order pretty soon as she will be outgrowing her seat any minute!

Thanks for any advice.

[BertieBotts]

Maybe take her to a shop and try out the Britax and see how she sits in it.

The Joie Bold doesn't get a great safety rating, although also not terrible, but safety ratings are no good if the seatbelt won't contain her or she's fidgeting out of it all the time. Try her and see. IME some 3.5yos are OK with one. But most are still quite fidgety and wriggly and are much better contained in a 5 point harness.

I know you said you want forward facing, but it is worth looking at the next stage rear facing seats (up to 25kg) as well, as they get great safety ratings, plus she would be able to use these until around 6 so you'll get plenty of use out of it and then you'll know she'll definitely be fine in a high backed booster. The 25kg seats are much less bulky than the spinning ones. You could look at Axkid Move and Britax Max Way/Max Way Plus.

Maybe just compare all 3 options in shops and see what you feel best with?

[BertieBotts]

You also need top tether points in your car to use the Joie Bold so worth checking whether you have those.

[butterflyrabbit]

That's funny, I have the Joie Bold from when my eldest went from the previous stage seat into a HBB. I know it didn't have the highest safety ratings on Which but they are mainly fine and the negatives are things like 'might be complicated to install' which it isn't if you know what you're doing. I've been happy with it.

I'm currently going to give that to my youngest who's moving up a stage and just bought the Britax Kidfix 3 for my eldest.
I haven't tried it yet but have unboxed it. The lap strap thing is nothing like a harness, it's more a guide for the normal car seatbelt.

It's weirdly hard to find a HBB with a harness which is why the Bold was one of the few that fit the requirements. I don't think a normal seatbelt is suitable for 3 or 4yo as most will wriggle and mess around with it and not sit in properly. My eldest is pretty sensible but we still kept him in the harness in the Bold until around 5 (it tucks away neatly).