HBB or harnessed seat for 15.5kg 6 yo

[BeCheeryViper]

Hi,

Ive been reading through posts and on safety guidance and after a bit of advice

My 6yo is around 110cm, and just over 15kg, (with shoes and clothes) I’ve read advice that the car seat belt is okay from 15kg but ideally 18kg. I know she is over on height and age, but I’m worried about the weight.

@BertieBotts sorry to be so direct but I’ve seen your fantastic advice and I’ve read you suggest a HBB would be safest as it only has one job? The alternatives I was looking at ones with harnesses (silver cross balance, maxicosi titan pro or britax advansafix). Would you still suggest the HBB is safest for a child under 18kg?

Thanks!

Hi, that's a tricky scenario and I'm afraid there isn't really an easy answer.

You won't be able to use the seats you mention with harness, because the harness limit on them is 105cm and I think you'll also find that you won't be able to physically for a 110cm child into the harnesses safely. Since you'd be using them in HBB mode anyway, I think a dedicated HBB is probably better than buying those seats and not being able to use the harness.

If you do want a harness, then you could look at the 25kg harness seats without height limit, like Cozy n Safe Hudson, or a rear facing seat up to 125cm (but appreciate you may not want to rear face at 6+y).

Whether she'd be OK just with the seatbelt in a normal high back booster? Personally I probably would go for it as she is well past two of the "best practice" guidelines ie age and height, and she is over the minimum weight. The studies we have about weight don't control for things like height and age, so because children obviously gain weight as they age, it's difficult to really say whether the studies are showing that a harness is better for a 15kg child, or simply for a 3yo child, relative to a 4 or 5yo.

If you feel nervous about the lack of 5 point harness maybe the Britax booster seats would be worth a look as they have the extra point of contact on the lap belt.

Our six year old is the same weight and height and she is still in the 5 point harness of her Joie stages.

If you need a new seat and dd is sensible enough not to play with or undo the seat belt then I would go for a britax kidfix which has a padded chest cushion and crotch strap to stop any slipping under the seatbelt in an accident. It’s a great seat

Seat belt is much safer than harness when forward facing. A HBB without a harness is the best and safest option.

I can recommend the Cozy n safe Excalibur (similar to the Hudson). My 6 1/2 year old is 115cm and nearly 20kg and uses the 5 point harness still but I can switch the seat to seatbelt mode whenever we feel like it.

My 9 year old has the same car seat used with the seatbelt; he's fairly tall and still fits height wise.

Thanks so much for all the replies and advice.

It sounds like HBB is the way to go, that makes sense about the studies. I think I was panicking that she wouldn’t be heavy enough to make the seat belt work properly!!

Thanks for all the recommendations too, there’s so many options out there it’s hard to know where to start so they’re all great.

The seatbelt not engaging is a bit of a myth I think. An infant carrier plus newborn would weigh much less than 15kg.