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Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

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Original poster

dd1 4.5 years only weighs 12kg want to put her in a booster seat

18 replies

tinksbabyis1 · 26/02/2010 10:16

what r u thoughts

she is currently in a car seat age 4-11 years
really want to get her a booster seat she is tiny for age

OP posts:

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differentID · 26/02/2010 10:21

do you mean she is ina highback booster or still strapped in using a 5 point harness?

elmofan · 26/02/2010 10:23

hi tinkbabyis1 , my dd is also 4.2 yrs & weighs only 2stone 3pounds (not sure what that is exactly in KG) she's under 15kg . i still have her in the 4-11yrs car seat as i think she is too tiny for a booster seat just yet will probably keep her in that seat until she's six yrs, better safe than sorry i reckon.
bumping this for you though so hopefully some wise m/netter will give us their words of wisdom

Original poster

tinksbabyis1 · 26/02/2010 10:30

www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplayA_65_10751_-1_14568_96559_10001_14568

she has this one obviuosly using harness as that is meant to be used up to 18kg she is only 12.5 kg gains weight so slowly won't even be 18kg by age 11

OP posts:

MrsJohnDeere · 26/02/2010 10:33

Why do you want to put her in a booster?

My nearly 4yo is 13kg. I'll be keeping him in his group one seat (9month - 4 years?) until he is 15kg+. I can't see any reason not to.

elmofan · 26/02/2010 10:34

thats the same type of seat i have my dd in , i also have the same problem as you as she is very slow to gain weight .

differentID · 26/02/2010 10:36

She does need to be kept in the 5 point harness until she is at least 15kg. If she isn't heavy enough, if you have an accident, she won't be heavy enough for the seatbelt to keep her safe. It will almost be as though she wasn't wearing one.

Mongolia · 26/02/2010 10:54

It is not about the weight or the age, it is about the height. If you put her in a booster seat too early, she most likely would be injured by the seat belt in the event of an accident.

I also found out that at that age, they still fall asleep often in the car, which means they fall to the side of the booster seat or their head is hanging to the side. So better to have some head support.

If the top of her head is higher than the edge of the back of the seat, she is ready for the next stage car seat but I don't think yet for a booster seat.

BertieBotts · 26/02/2010 13:11

I would keep her in the 5-point harness until she meets the minimum weight, if she is too light she might "submarine" under the seatbelt in an accident and be injured.

nicm · 26/02/2010 13:22

yes i would keep her in the 5 point harness as long as possible. it is much safer in an accident. as long as she is still within the height for the seat she'll be grand.

Steggie · 27/02/2010 16:00

My 5yr old DD is in a Britax Elite and also (in DH's car) an Evolva 123. She is nearly 15kgs, but we want her in a 5 point harness for as long as possible.
When her friends laugh at her for being in a 'baby seat' she just says "I'm just going to be safer" and we leave it at that.

Loopymumsy · 28/02/2010 08:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

yellowcircle · 28/02/2010 09:13

It just isn't safe. I had a different sort of problem with my DS - he is a total skinny thing (under 2nd centile) but very tall (over 99th centile!) so he had outgrown (eyes level with top of seat) the group 1 seat with a 5 point harness by the time he was 2y3m

I phoned manufactures of high backed boosters to see if he could use one safely, like Britax and they said if he is under 15kg then it is just not safe. In the end, I had to get a combination seat so he could remain in a 5pt harness until 15kg.

oldraver · 02/03/2010 23:55

My DS has just gone up to 13kg and is not very tall, he is 4. I will keep him in his Group 1 for as long as possible. We also have a 1-2-3 high back booster that he occasionally uses WITH the harness

It is one of the advantages of having a small for age. They can stay in a 5 point for longer which is much safer

AllyBarnes · 13/03/2010 20:55

On the same topic, my youngest boy is just growing out of his group 1 seat, height-wise.

He is 3 years and 9 months old and just half a kg under the weight for a booster seat. Is it safer to keep him in his group 1 seat that he's getting too tall for, or to put him in a booster seat that he's very nearly but not quite heavy enough for??

Who knows when he will put on that extra half kg - maybe I should feed him up, or get him wearing heavier clothes!!

Any thoughts would be welcome.

nicm · 14/03/2010 00:52

it is safest to use the 5 point harness for as long as possible. your ds will be too tall when his eye line is level with the shell of the seat.

hth

PrimroseCrabapple · 14/03/2010 01:08

the normal seat belt does not work if the weight is less than 15 kilos. hence the harness.

tinkstoddleriswalking · 14/03/2010 21:14

you are rite going to keep her in it for as long as poss

LIZS · 14/03/2010 21:22

dd has the same seat and was over 6 before we removed the harness. At 8 she is still only 19kg. Why would you want to swap sooner than the minimum safety weight ?

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