Middle car seat for 6 year old?

[2kidmum]

Currently pregnant with my 3rd and looking for a car seat/booster for my 6 year old that is suitable to go in the middle of a car? He will be 6.5 when baby is born.

New car is not an option as we only got our car is december🥴

Any recommendations?

You won’t find one that fits , we have three all in car seats / boosters and the only types of car that fit three seats of any kind are the ones with three full back seats , not 2.5 seats like the average car seems to have.
we have a Ford s max.

You can buy three seats that are attached to each other to fit any car and bespoke to the ages you need. I can't remember the make but they are not cheap at £1000 plus. But it will be your only option as car seats do not fit middle seats unless they have full back support and are a full size. I often sat very uncomfortably in the middle before we got a 7 seater.

@Cupcakegirl13 ahhh what a pain!.

We have a Volkswagen Tiguan. Ive just been looking at the rodifix airprotect 🥴

@Littlepaws18 i should have just got a 7 seater! 🙈

The Tiguan is actually one of the few cars that fits 3 car seats across the back, if my memory serves me correctly.
We have 3 children in car seats and have a Peugeot 5008 which has 3 isofix points. My eldest (8) is in the middle seat. Her and her sister have the rodifix air protect (youngest is in maxi cosi Tobi).

Some of the narrowest HBBs are the Britax Adventure and the Besafe Izi Flex Fix - both 44cm wide. Neither of them have horns, which makes it easier to reach/plug in to the seat buckle. Not having/using isofix on all 3 seats can help give a bit more wiggle room. If you're really squeezed, a BubbleBum could be used in the middle. A lot depends on how mature your 6yo is ie do they sit straight, not slouch or fidget etc.

What seats will the baby and other child be using?

@WaddleAway im hopeful i can try one in my car before i buy to see if i can squeeze one in!

@Shmithecat2 Thank you i will take a look at them! He is quite mature for his age and he is also really big so size of an 8/9 year old. My current youngest is in a joie 360 spin and the baby will be in a baby car seat until 9/10 months probably

The 360 is pretty bulky, and you'll lose the spin function once there's a seat in the middle - how old are they and what is their weight? It might be worth getting them another seat too if you're so minded.

@Shmithecat2 defo bulky i thought i may have to replace the 360 to be fair. My oldest will be 6.5 when baby is born and youngest

My eldest is around 5.5 stone, hes quite tall and stocky and my youngest is literally just right size for his age i think he is around 2 stone ish 🥴

I think im gonna hve to have a play around!

@Shmithecat2 sorry that was meant to say my youngest will be 2.5 when baby is born!

If I may suggest - infant carrier (don't use isofix) for the baby. New seat for the middle child to be - Britax Maxway/Axkid Minikid. Britax Adventure for eldest. The Maxway/Minikid will last middle child until they are HBB ready. Then you can move baby into Maxway/Minikid when they've outgrown their infant carrier. By this point, eldest won't need a seat and middle can go into eldest's HBB. Hope that makes sense?!

@Shmithecat2 yes that all makes sense! Thank you i will definitely keep this in mind when the time comes to buy!

Thank you for your help🥰

Pleasure. Good luck with the new arrival!

If you already have the carrier, go to a shop that has different boosters and just have a play around. The Joie 360 might turn out to be impractical but it might equally be OK especially as that is one of the cars with a larger back seat.

The shape of the booster/other seats is often more important than the width of them so you can't really evaluate online what will fit. You need to go into a store and check.

I recommend putting the spin seat on th ebuckle side of the booster seat if you're going to belt fit the baby seat, so that the 6yo doesn't accidentally unbuckle baby when clicking their own seat in/out :)

@Shmithecat2 Thank you 😁

@BertieBotts i am gonna have a play around and see what i can do. Might have put my eldest in boot🤣