What do I use after a Joie ispin 360?

[khaa2091]

My 3 yr 4 month is 98cm, 16 kg after a growth spurt.
I currently have an ispin in my VW T-cross, and my parents also have one. She forward faces on local roads, but happily RF on longer journeys, motorways etc. I use a Graco R129 as a back up for taxis / holidays / aunts car etc.

She has recently shot up and I am beginning to think about what comes next…..
I find car seats a minefield and suggestions gratefully received…..(especially from BertieBotts who deserves an award for her helpful assistance).

Yikes... On mn your dc must be rear facing until the night before their wedding or you are a terrible dm.....

If she's just had a growth spurt I'd hang tight for a bit because she probably won't grow out of it any time soon. The limits are 105cm and 19kg if it's the i-spin, so she has a little while yet. Potentially up to about a year or so. You should check the limits on the Graco but I think they will be similar.

You basically have three options if she does get close to the 19kg (which I think is probably more likely than the 105cm).

High back booster using adult seatbelt - up to you if you feel she is mature enough for this. Some people think not at three. I definitely would not go for this yet, only when she is actually AT the limit of the seats, so she may well be over 4 by then anyway. You could of course look into what models you like so that if she has a growth spurt you're prepared. It is less fraught than the other stages. I think anything by Cybex/Maxi Cosi/Britax/Joie is generally a good bet. Currently I don't think there is any particular model which stands out as being hugely different from the rest. Axkid are meant to be releasing one this year which is a bit of a different design so may be worth a look, but I think the models currently out are fine as well.

Larger rear facing seat - will go up to 125cm so approx another 3-4 years if you wanted this. However, no option to forward face with these seats so you wouldn't be able to swap and choose.

"123" type seat covering the old groups 1,2,3 - uses a 5 point harness up to 105cm and then turns into high back booster. A couple of these - Britax and Silver Cross - have a 21kg weight limit so can get you a bit further than the 19kg limit. These are good seats in general and work well for a scenario where she's too big for the spin seat but not quite ready for high back booster yet. OTOH arguably you want your car seat to try and do as few jobs as possible, so it could be that just a high back booster does a better job compared with a high back booster that can also be harnessed, and it might just be worth waiting.