FF Seat for tall 4 year old

[spukalili]

My oldest is about to turn 4. I am a total advocate of rear facing as long as possible, but it simply isn't possible in the vehicle we have (Ford Focus). We have a Joie 360 Spin for my youngest who is almost 2, and the older one currently has the Britax Max Safe Pro. Great seat, just absolutely massive. I've tried a Mini Kid 2, same issue.

Basically, the passenger seat isn't usable when the seat is in place. I've tried reducing the recline, moving things around, but even my 5ft tall mother struggles to sit in the passenger seat. My 6ft4 husband doesn't stand a chance.

I must admit, I feel incredibly anxious about the idea of forward facing him, but I feel we have no other option if we want to be able to use the car. No option to upgrade to a larger car at the moment either. He is 106cm tall and just over 18kg. Very sensible, although I'll be double checking he is able to sit in such a seat without messing around with the belt.

So, any suggestions? Not too bothered about the price, I just want something safe and comfortable for him, and to be able to have someone able to sit in the passenger seat without their knees touching their ears.

Have been looking at the Britax Romer Kidfix M and the BeSafe Flex Kid 2, so any comments on either of these would be appreciated!

DS is tall he's older at 6 but we've got the cybex platinum t solution I fix.
I liked that it had good side impact protection and as you increase the height the shoulder section widens. DS says it's very comfortable

https://www.cybex-online.com/en/gb/compareproducts?pid0=CS_PL_Solution_T_i-Fix_EN

This one, I think it was actually someone on here who recommended it

I think the tallest of the high back boosters is the Avionaut Maxspace (if you're looking for longevity) but it is pricey. And in a Ford Focus you might not be able to raise the headrest up the whole way later on.

To be honest with this stage your best bet is to find a stockist and try a few seats out with your child if you can. That way you'll see which give them a good belt fit and they find comfy. If you go to an ERF specialist, you'll know they are clued up about safety at least.

If you did want a couple more ideas for staying RF - have you tried the Joie 360 behind the passenger and Axkid or Britax behind the driver? Or the belt fitted seats in the centre, perhaps? Are you fitting them without the extended leg room for the child and is the front seat totally upright? They are allowed to touch the seat in front, just not put pressure on it.

Or one more option is to put the Joie 360 in the back and the ERF seat in the front with airbag disabled.

He’s a perfectly appropriate age and size to go into a high backed booster. Like the PP I’d also recommend the Cybex T Solution. The reclining headrest is the best if he’s prone to a car nap and it gets really good safety scores. Plus it has isofix so you don’t need to remember to belt the seat in whenever he’s not in it. You can’t go wrong, honestly!

We have a Ford focus (estate, though) and Minikid 2 fits fine. When we have two children in Minikids we're planning to get a Skoda Superb. I've read on the FB car seat groups several recommendations saying they're really long in the rear seating area. My cousin has one too and there's so much room.
Just in case you decide to change the car instead of the seat!

Ahh, I'd love to! We've looked at a few estates actually, but the car we have is a super good example, low mileage, etc, and second hand cars are so expensive now that I'm reluctant to buy anything else. Also heard that about the Superb - it's a lovely car!

Thank you so much - I'm a member of quite a few rear facing groups and I hoped to rear face for a while longer. They can be fairly militant, and I felt awful when I realised we'd probably have to switch to FF. Your message makes me feel better, that he's at a size where it's possible.

Thank you for the recommendation too - I'll definitely look into this seat.

Possibly unpopular opinion but I think at this age you can move to forward facing and be perfectly safe. My tall and lanky son is the same age and has been uncomfortable rear facing for a while so we moved to front facing and it also cured his travel sickness.

Unfortunately, for some reason, we can't disable our front airbag, although that would have been a good suggestion!

The Joie is too large for the Britax for go in the middle, although again that would be a good resolution for us to continue rear racing.

He does have the extended leg room installed but honestly, he's so long in the legs that I don't think he could be comfortable during longer journeys without it.

The Focus just doesn't have much cabin space, sadly. And it has been fine while it was just me driving for the most part, but we have quite a few longer journeys coming up. Really good point about the headrest - I hadn't even considered that. I'll try and find a local retailer and go and try some on for size.