First forward facing car seat for 5 year old

[meow1989]

Hi all, after advice and recommendations please.

ds is 5 and a quarter, and roughly 114cm / 22kg. Dh and I have elected to keep him rear facing as long as possible for safety reasons and we have an axkidd minikid 2 which technically would probably last us until ds is 6.

However, ds has started complaining that he wants to face forward, being uncomfortable in the seat and trying to twist round so I think it's probably time to get a forward facing as I think that would be safer than him being in the wrong position (the twisting) in a rear facing seat.

I'm a bit lost with forward facing, I know I need a backed seat as they're safer and I have isofix in the car for isofit but otherwise have no idea where to go! Please could posters advise as to what the safest next seat is or what I need to be looking for?

Tia

I used my mum's Which? subscription to look at car seat best buys-you could always ask around to see if a friend or relative has a subscription? We went with a Joie one that was an exclusive for Halfords-been very happy with it

You need a high back booster obviously, go for a reputable brand like Britax or Cybex. We have the Britax Kidfix I-size which my son is very happy with. There is a Cybex one with an adjustable headrest which might be handy for naps. I don't think you can go too wrong if you stick with a good brand. Ideally you would find a specialist car seat retailer near you and try them in your car and with your child to get the best fit for him. Don't go to Halfords! If there is a branch of the In Car Safety Centre near you, I recommend them, they're excellent.

What's wrong with Halfords??

To be fair they might be better for high back boosters (you can't go to wrong with them) but they have a bad reputation for infant and toddler seats (age 0-4) because they have a limited range and staff are not properly trained in car seat safety and often give unsafe advice.

OP you might find this helpful https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-is-the-best-baby-shop-to-buy-your-pushchair-and-car-seat-from-aETCw9K16TPN

Oh I see-well yes it's a different scenario entirely with infant seats

Cybex T Solution is one of the best boosters out there and has the reclining head rest for naps. My 6YO has the Z solution which is the older version and we’ve been very happy with it.

Thanks all. I've looked at the britax romer kid fix and liked that there's an extra 4th point to protect the abdomen. But I've also heard really good things about Cybex safety - how does the headrest recline? Presumably an adult has to do this so not too useful if ds fell asleep mid journey?

Axkid do boosters. Look at car seat safety UK.

I’ve realised we have Cybex (it’s been a very long time since we bought them). The headrests tip back automatically when they sleep. Great seats and have well for my DC.

We just leave it permanently in the most reclined position and DD finds it comfy. No head loll. The Britax Kidfix I don’t think does any better in safety tests than the Cybex. Both are excellent seats and you can’t go wrong with either but I’m not sure that the extra 4th point is doing a great deal except making it really difficult for the child to strap themselves in!

We have a cybex too. Really rate them and when comparing them with others in which they were good for safety.

We have the Britax Kidfix for DD1 and can't fault it. We have one in each car, and she finds it comfortable. I specifically wanted one with a crotch guard and the Kidfix is often recommended in various car safety groups.

I have no idea how I have ended up on this thread, my youngest is 14 😆however I do now have a question: if they're 5 and facing backwards where do their legs go? I can't picture it and now I need to know!

They just bend them

@yesitsbess we have the seat as far towards the edge as is safe so there's a gap between then carseat and the cars seat (iykwim) and ds legs are bent sort of semi lotus position

We had extended rear facing seats. Occasionally they sat cross legged. Other times they just rested them in front of them.

They did fit and they were comfy.

That’s a crap explanation isn’t it, sorry.

DD1(4.5) just outgrew her 25kg ERF seat as she's high centile and her only complaint about her new FF seat is that her feet dangle as she's used to resting them on the seat back! She's getting used to it now.

Thankyou! That was the only logical thing I could come up with.

I'll leave you all to it now and I hope you find a good seat. Things have definitely come on since mine were little. That said mine was driving home from school at that age (don't worry, I did the pedals as his legs were too short) as his school was conveniently at the end of the track that led to our house.

Children are far more flexible then adults. Rear facing stops the legs dangling down. Just imagine sitting on a bar stool with no foot bar it's not very comfortable.

One of my favourite photos is DC2 ‘driving’ our car down a drive.

Indeed! Mine loves the pictures of him flying down the lane in a Defender! That said it sounds like he would equally have loved one of these reclining feet up seats too 😊

Axkid has just made the Axkid next kid.
It might be worth trying to find your local independent retailer that stock extended rear facing seat as they also stock high back booster seat.
High back booster seat need to fit the car and the child so I recommend testing some and checking that the headrest can go full up.
It's also worth getting a foot rest for the child to sit better in a high back booster seat. This branded is a recommend brand.

If you've got Facebook there's a really good page dedicated to ERF - it's called Extended Rear Facing (ERF) Car Seat Safety - they have lots of knowledge not only on ERF seats but also FF seats.

Sign onto Which for one month. There may be free trials too for this and get proper comparison advice that's up to date.

Besafe Izi fix is great or one of the britax Romer. They're easy to install as most of them are isofix. Get a five point harness that can be turned into a high back booster.