Small 5 year old

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Hi,

my daughter will be 5 in a few months and is still rear facing in a Maxi Cosi Pearl - she is only 13kg and 98 cm which I know is small for her age meaning she hasn’t had to update seat yet. The seat however has seen better days and I need to get her a new one

Naturally she’s desperate to turn around now and I did think this would be okay around 5, however she’s way too small for a booster isn’t she? Is my only option an ERF seat?

It might seem simple but I’ve done so much research my head is fried 😂

What do you count as an ERF seat? Following her current centile, she'll be something like 6 and a half when she hits 18kg so any RF seat will do. The ERF seats go up to 25kg and I doubt she'll be happy about RF at 10.

Maybe the Joie Every Stage would be a good option as you can turn it round when she hits 18kg.

I did read it wasn’t the safest option to use a 5 point harness front facing and it’s better to use a booster if possible, m so this is on my mind. Not sure how true that is? Will look at the Joie, thanks!

The Joie turns into a high backed booster and uses the seatbelt, there's no front facing harness.

There's nothing wrong with using a 5 point harness forward facing especially given she is over 4. She does need to be in a harness until she is at least 100cm (legally) and preferably 15kg+ but given her age, the weight is at your discretion. The height is the important thing in the R129 seats, and whether the seatbelt fits nicely - it should run over her pelvis and not be held away from her body by the seat shell. If she is too petite and it doesn't fit well, she is better off in the 5 point harness.

The idea about 5 point harness being dangerous in itself isn't really based in fact. It's forward facing which can be dangerous for younger children as it sounds like you are aware, but it's irrelevant whether they are in a harness or seatbelt. I heard that it was basically a myth put about by companies wanting to market impact shields.

You could certainly get her an ERF seat if preferred. But personally I would probably get something like Maxi Cosi Titan or Onyx, especially if you like the Maxi Cosi seats. Britax Evolvafix is a nice option as well, or Silver Cross Balance i-size. They perform well on crash testing compared with other forward facing seats and have a good belt path in high back booster mode.

All install using isofix and top tether - the top tether is not optional - and currently she would use the 5 point harness in it, then when she reaches at least 100cm and you are happy to do so, you detach the harness from the headrest to allow it to move up further and tuck the harness away so the seat becomes a high back booster. You don't use the top tether in the high back booster mode (usually - check manual). The Britax one has a trick where you swap the buckle upside down and it becomes a hook to hold the lap belt, which some people like and might be advantageous if she is on the slimmer side, but it is also a wide seat and can look a bit too roomy for a smaller-framed child, the Maxi Cosi seats are nicer in that sense.