Low centile children in baby carrier longer than 18 months?

wishIwasonholiday10 · 2026-02-23T01:48:17+00:00

Can low centile children stay in baby carrier type seats longer than 18 months if they in within the weight and height limits? If I calculated correctly my 0.4 centile child could still fit in our Besafe Go Beyond until she is 3 years old if she remains on the same line. Would this work? My other child is tall (90th centile) so am trying to work out if DD2 will be able to stay in her infant carrier until DD1 can go in a HBB?

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Whatamievenreqdingrn · 23/02/2026 01:51

If their within the weight and height limit I'd say yes as what other options would there be? ( I could well be wrong though, it's been years since I had a tiny baby )

Paaseitjes · 23/02/2026 07:32

It's fine. The only issue would be if it reclines too much so they can't see out and get frustrated, or if they learn to undo the clips or wriggle arms out. We bought the Cybex 0-2 in the hope that it will do until 2.5. We don't have a car so it's only occasionally used though and being able to clip it to the pram in the airport is very useful.

BertieBotts · 23/02/2026 17:07

There's no age limit on infant carriers, so yes they absolutely can but with caveats - the main issue being they are primarily designed for not-walking-yet babies, rather than toddlers.

If they reach the height limit, weight limit, or their head comes over the top of the seat shell, or if it's a seat with headrest, if their shoulders no longer fit under it in the highest position, then it's outgrown - whichever of these comes first. Sometimes the height limit is a bit unrealistic because the physical size of the seat shell prevents the use to that height. Infant carriers are almost never outgrown by weight alone except when the baby is very short and heavy.

Practically, I've seen infant carriers used with very small children like this until about age 2 or 3 on a very rare occasion, usually as a spare e.g. for travel, or by a family who don't have their own car. I know that in order to certify it to 87cm, they have to demonstrate that the seat can accommodate a seated height of about 50cm (there is a table in the legislation). However, with the Cybex Cloud which has the same height limit and is one of the longest-shell seats on the market, I have seen anecdotally that children tend to outgrow it in shoulder/head height before they reach the 87cm, so don't take it as an absolute given. (I'm not sure how the two seats compare in size).

The main issue once you get past about 2 is their legs, especially for carrying it around, because you tend to get to a point where their head and body is contained within the seat but almost all of their legs are out. It's not a safety issue, but it could be a comfort one and practicality (getting the seat into the car). This might be less of an issue with a seat like this which goes into a spin base, if you are intending to leave it on the base - there would be much less difference to something like the Joie 360 which is fixed, but equally infant carriers do tend to be lower down and closer to the back of the car. So the main issue in terms of comfort would be the leg room and the more reclined angle compared to a seat designed for older children.

If you're fitting with seatbelt in order to let the older child use the base for the Beyond toddler seat, bear in mind older children (2+) also tend to kick or push with their feet on the backrest of the seat, which is obviously no problem at all for younger babies because they aren't strong enough to move the seat, but for older toddlers even if they are physically small they can sometimes move the seat out of place.

In general there's no issue with using this type of seat past the suggested 15/18 months, but in terms of comfort and practicality you might find you want to change to a different seat type.

How old is DD1? What age would you be aiming for her to switch to HBB? It is usually best not to do this at the earliest opportunity as they do benefit from the protection of an ERF seat or 5 point harness until they are at least 4. However it might be possible to minimise the number of different seats you end up buying by swapping your eldest to something which covers both harness and booster stages e.g. Britax Evolvafix (though possibly not, if she is tall!)

Original poster

wishIwasonholiday10 · 23/02/2026 21:17

BertieBotts · 23/02/2026 17:07

There's no age limit on infant carriers, so yes they absolutely can but with caveats - the main issue being they are primarily designed for not-walking-yet babies, rather than toddlers.

If they reach the height limit, weight limit, or their head comes over the top of the seat shell, or if it's a seat with headrest, if their shoulders no longer fit under it in the highest position, then it's outgrown - whichever of these comes first. Sometimes the height limit is a bit unrealistic because the physical size of the seat shell prevents the use to that height. Infant carriers are almost never outgrown by weight alone except when the baby is very short and heavy.

Practically, I've seen infant carriers used with very small children like this until about age 2 or 3 on a very rare occasion, usually as a spare e.g. for travel, or by a family who don't have their own car. I know that in order to certify it to 87cm, they have to demonstrate that the seat can accommodate a seated height of about 50cm (there is a table in the legislation). However, with the Cybex Cloud which has the same height limit and is one of the longest-shell seats on the market, I have seen anecdotally that children tend to outgrow it in shoulder/head height before they reach the 87cm, so don't take it as an absolute given. (I'm not sure how the two seats compare in size).

The main issue once you get past about 2 is their legs, especially for carrying it around, because you tend to get to a point where their head and body is contained within the seat but almost all of their legs are out. It's not a safety issue, but it could be a comfort one and practicality (getting the seat into the car). This might be less of an issue with a seat like this which goes into a spin base, if you are intending to leave it on the base - there would be much less difference to something like the Joie 360 which is fixed, but equally infant carriers do tend to be lower down and closer to the back of the car. So the main issue in terms of comfort would be the leg room and the more reclined angle compared to a seat designed for older children.

If you're fitting with seatbelt in order to let the older child use the base for the Beyond toddler seat, bear in mind older children (2+) also tend to kick or push with their feet on the backrest of the seat, which is obviously no problem at all for younger babies because they aren't strong enough to move the seat, but for older toddlers even if they are physically small they can sometimes move the seat out of place.

In general there's no issue with using this type of seat past the suggested 15/18 months, but in terms of comfort and practicality you might find you want to change to a different seat type.

How old is DD1? What age would you be aiming for her to switch to HBB? It is usually best not to do this at the earliest opportunity as they do benefit from the protection of an ERF seat or 5 point harness until they are at least 4. However it might be possible to minimise the number of different seats you end up buying by swapping your eldest to something which covers both harness and booster stages e.g. Britax Evolvafix (though possibly not, if she is tall!)

Thanks for such a detailed response. DD1 is in Besafe Stretch and I have a 3.5 year age gap. I will try to keep DD1 rear facing until at least 5 and possibly longer if still comfortable in the seat. If DD2 stays in the infant carrier until 18 months DD1 should be able to go in a HBB at 5 years but I would keep her rear facing longer if it’s still working. Ideally I’d like to get away with only buying one more HBB.

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 24/02/2026 09:05

Aha OK I see. You might have a decent chance there, although with 3.5 years gap, you'll likely need two HBBs at some point - at least they are much cheaper than the other stages. You can get some very good brands around the £120 mark and the Joie ones are especially good value with good safety to match or Graco, if you are happy with something more basic, are built on the same frames these days.

It is possible you could keep DD2 in the Stretch until she is about 7 or 8 and therefore skip the second HBB but you'll just have to see how you go when you get there. Some children are perfectly happy to RF as long as they are comfortable or when they know no different. The set up you have now should last a good while, anyway, and I remembered the Beyond has adjustable angle on the base as well as the seat itself, so it might be you can achieve a more upright angle with the infant carrier than with other seats of that type.

You might at some point want a spare seat for e.g. a grandparents' car, something like Graco Slimfit R129 might be worth a look because it combines RF up to 105cm and then HBB and has a reasonable safety rating - better than most combination type seats (better than Britax Evolvafix, even). So this could also plug a gap if you do end up with an awkward 6-12 months where you really want them both in the same seat type. Not as nice to use as the Besafe seats which are absolute gold standard, but much cheaper!

Krobus · 11/03/2026 12:18

My kids are small and one was in the infant carrier till 18 months and the other till over 2 years at which point I injured my arm lifting it out the car with her in it! So at that age it's probably best always left in the car. They were both ok in the baby seats but happier in larger seats where they could see out better.