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Next Stage car seat for 4 year old

2 replies

kersh33 · 17/10/2024 19:10

Hi All,

I'm hoping to get some advice. I have a very petite 4 year old (100cm and 14kg). She is currently in the Joie I-spin which we are very happy with but only goes to 105cm so we are thinking about the next car seat.

What would be the best seat to go into - is it straight into a HBB chair? Is it expected at this age that the child will clip/unclip themselves in as I don't think any of the seats have harnesses at this stage, right?

We are flexible on budget as I believe this should last a good number of years to go. I am based in France, so bonus points if it's available here...

Thank you very much in advance - getting super lost among all the choices.

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BertieBotts · 17/10/2024 19:37

Yes, you would go into a HBB from this seat. HBB is the last seat type that they need. I would keep her in her current seat for a lot longer, though. You'll get another year out of it easily, maybe a year and a half. The limits on it are 105cm and 19kg - it's not the end of the world if you get to say 106/107cm and then suddenly realise. As long as her shoulders still fit under the headrest, it's not unsafe to use the seat.

You get the best safety if you can move straight to a HBB so the seat is only doing one job, but if you're really keen to move away from the spin now, you could look at Maxi Cosi Titan i-size (all the i-size variants are good) or Britax Evolvafix, Advansafix or Versafix (depending on which model is most easily available in France.) Those seats would allow her to stay in a 5-point harness which is then removed later on. They need top tether to fit them for the harness stage. I would prefer these seats to the Joie Bold, which you might be recommended (but which isn't available in France anyway).

There are also rear facing seats which go up to 125cm/25+kg if that is something you are interested in?

As a minimum she should be at least 100cm and 15kg to move to a HBB with seatbelt. It's better if you can get her to 105cm before moving, though. There is some evidence from the US that physical body size makes a difference to safety here. A lot of shop asssistants in France will tell you that from 100cm and 3 years, it's fine, but that's not really up to date or reflected in the evidence.

Whenever you're ready to move her, since this seat should last her longer than any other seat you've had and she's old enough to tell you what it's like, I would recommend going to a large baby goods store and trying different seats out to see what kind of a fit she gets, and how comfy she finds them. Whether you do this now with one of the harnessed ones (and for these I would only look at Maxi Cosi or Britax - the safety is too variable on other brands, even Bébéconfort) or wait until she is closer to the limit and then go to look at high back boosters, it's worth doing.

Once they go into HBB they can do their own seatbelt, or you can do it. If you want her to do this I would recommend also checking the fit in the car - it's easier to reach some buckles than others based on the shape of the chair and the base. You might also want to check how it fits against the seat as she grows and you move the headrest up. If your car headrest is interfering, you can usually turn it backwards or take it off.

Lots of brands are good for HBB but the usual are good quality - Joie, Nuna, Britax, Maxi Cosi, Cybex, Recaro.

kersh33 · 17/10/2024 22:10

@BertieBotts - wow this is an amazing response and far more detailed than I was ever hoping! This is brilliant and so so helpful as I admit I really do get lost in all the possible variations of car seats so really appreciate the guidance and advice.

Good to hear that we can get a little more wear out of her current seat as it works well for us and we are happy with it. I was just a little worried it might not be safe if she got to the maximum height limit so good to know that a cm over won't make a huge difference.

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