Car seat advice for 3 year old

[Hewlettthedogsout102]

Hi there, please can you recommend a car seat for my three year old. I'd like one she can use for quite a few years so possibly a 123. I have an isofix base. I' don't mind if it is only forward facing as she refuses to sit backwards anymore. I'd obviously like it to be as safe as possible, comfortable and easy to use/strap. She still occasionally naps in the car. I have a budget of approx £150. I would say she is pretty average for weight and height in case that makes a difference.

Also OP, most isofix bases are specific to their infant seats, so unlikely that you would be able to re use it. Some of the maxi cosi isofix bases may be an exception though

We went for britax kidfix iii s when giant child outgrew the weight limit on the joie spin faster than expected. I liked the extra seat belt padding and the extra point of contact with the between the legs positioner. I would have preferred to rear face as an option for longer, but as the larger ones don't spin, and he had a lot of wheezing attacks, I decided it was safer to be able to see him forward facing.

The info you have found about Latch sounds like it will be from the American version of your car, because that's what they call isofix.

But as others have said if your car is less than ten years old it will have top tethers. If it's older than this you can look in the boot to check.

You can retrofit it in certain models of a certain age that had it as an optional extra/luxury package when the car was new if the original owner didn't opt for it - it needs to be the proper vehicle-specific kit. There are "universal" kits for sale online but it's very unlikely that they have the proper weight/strength ratings, I would really strongly recommend not to use these.

Isofix anchorages have quite strict requirements - they are supposed to transfer the force from the accident as acting on the child seat into the vehicle chassis. The force in an accident can be extreme, equivalent to hundreds of kilos. Using something that hasn't been designed to withstand that force is a very risky thing to do.

First image is the Ford part, second image is the typical universal kit - just looks like a folded bit of thin metal. There's no mechanism to transfer force into the chassis, it's not even bolted in place so all the force would be going into that one piece of metal and the vehicle seat itself.

Approved isofix fittings are tested like this:

https://twitter.com/VOSCentre/status/1145988147161042944

There's no certification that the universal kits have.

The kidfix is a great booster, but a 3 year old is too young for a booster. Needs to be harnessed, and ideally rearfacing, until closer to 5.

As for car seats, since LO is under 15kg she is legally not allowed to sit in a high backed booster seat using adult belt. She must still use a seat with 5 point harness or impact shield. The minimum for high backed booster is 100cm and 15kg, she must meet both. It's recommended not to go to HBB at the very minimum either but wait as long as possible so she is as close as possible to the maximum of the previous stage (which is 105cm/18kg, may vary slightly by seat.)

If her height is in proportion with her weight, I'd suggest one of the 105cm limit seats since these tend to get better test results than the Joie Bold.

Britax Advansafix IV R
Britax Evolvafix
Maxi Cosi Titan Pro i-size or Plus i-size
Silver Cross Balance

These are all nice seats to use with good crash test safety.

If it turns out you don't have top tethers

Recaro Tian Elite - best rated seatbelt fit 123 seat.
Britax Evolva 123 - cheaper but still good safety.

If she is taller than 105cm already you will need Joie Bold for the height capacity.
Between 100-105cm, the Britax seats are roomy (but go for non i-size).

If you have money to burn you could look at Cybex Anoris T. It's incredibly safe, fits up to 115cm but also about £700.

Note if you look at the Maxi Cosi Titan, there is an older version "Titan" "Titan Pro" "Titan Plus" "Titan i-size" which has a smaller shell and a short harness. The new versions which have both "pro" or "plus" AND "i-size" in the name have a larger shell and probably a longer harness. I would recommend testing this in a shop unless DC is well under 100cm.

Why do you want/need a new carseat now? If she is less than 15kg then she's not recently reached the weight limit of her current one as they tend to be 13/18/25/36kg limits. Is she tall and reached the height limit of an issue seat? Otherwise you could wait and save a bit longer. Rather than getting something now and then needing a new high back booster when she's ready for that stage.

I'm guessing a younger sibling needs to move into that seat.

So unless OP wants to get an ERF seat for the younger sibling (which would be a good option!) it would make sense to get a longer lasting seat for the older one.

Thanks all. That's exactly it...her younger sibling has outgrown their seat so I thought I'd put them in their sisters for now and get her another which will last her a few more years.