Recommendations for a 4 year old

[Daisymae55]

Hi everyone!

We’re currently looking to replace our car seat as our DD (4in a couple of months) will be outgrowing hers very soon

We have just ordered what looked like an amazing maxi cosi (her current and infant car seats were both maxi cosi) but when we fitted it found that the top of the seat moves away from the car seat a lot even when fitted correctly and securely. We have successfully returned this as we did not feel comfortable with the movement. When we researched the car seat all these amazing reviews came up but since googling about this movement it turns out there’s a lot of complaints and concerns about it.

So I’d love to know what car seats people are using for their 4 year olds and what people’s reccommendations are. Open to all brands/price range just want peoples honest experiences and reccommendations.

Is it a highback booster seat you've got? They all move away from the backrest, they are designed to do that so that they fit flush to whatever angle your rear seats are, but also so that the shell of the seat which routes the seatbelt stays with the child in a crash.

It is a bit different moving up to this stage because the seats at previous stages are much more sturdy and you know you've got a good fit if they stay in place and don't move around. But high back boosters are different. They need the flexibility to move as that is what makes them safe. Seats for younger children need the sturdiness and stability because they have the straps integrated into the seat, whereas high back boosters use the adult seatbelt - some of them will be completely loose on the seat because there is no isofix.

The only concern with the seat pulling forwards is if it's being pushed forwards by the headrest of the car creating a gap. If this happens you can turn it backwards or remove it.

This is super helpful - thank you for explaining this to me. I have one child so this next stage of car seats is all new territory to me. Will keep this all in mind. I think we’re going to go into a shop and look/discuss anyway so any questions/concerns can get resolved but your reply has been really helpful and eased my anxiety so thank you @BertieBotts 🙂

Essentially it's just that the time has come when your child is using the seatbelt built into the car. You want the seat to interfere as little as possible with the seatbelt so that the seatbelt can do the job it's designed to do, the only thing the booster is doing really is lifting up the child so that they are comfortable and that the belt can fit them well, and helping to route the seatbelt over their body in the correct places.

At earlier stages, the entire car seat is the safety device holding the child in place, but now the seatbelt is the thing doing that, the booster is more of a guide.

It's why I always think that combination type seats are less likely to be able to do a good job because you're asking them to combine two very different tasks into one device and that means compromises in one or both of the modes.

Going into the shop and trying them out is always a good idea, I found that some boosters when attached with isofix would sit much too close to the buckle and make it really hard to do up the seatbelt. And because of course all children have different builds etc they might fine one or another model more comfortable. Since you could be using this seat for the next 6-8 years it's worth spending some time choosing the right one