DRIVING ABROAD CAR SEAT DILEMMA

[noonar]

would you let your 3 year old (just 3) use a booster seat without a back. she is 15kg, which is the min weight for the model, but she's not tall. on the packaging it says from 4 yrs. it has buckle to keep the seat belt away from the neck.

it's going to be such a hassle and expense to get a seat with back for her.

what would you do?

Probably not what you want to hear but I wouldn't use it if it were me.

No I wouldn't. Take your own seat if you have one, or get one I'd say.

ok, am confused. just looked at the uk legal requirements, and it seems that she doesnt have to have a booster with back in the uk . hmm, thought she did.

I thought she did too!

It might be legal not to in UK but it is recommended by RoSPA until 22kg or 6. Other countries have different requriements , some stricter. tbh I would n't let dd just go on a booster cushion even though she's 6 as she is small (about 108 cm tall) and light (15kg)!

I wouldn't. It is not about the laws and regulations of the country you are visiting, it is about the safety of your child.

My DD is 5 and I still do not like her using a booster seat. Are you hiring a car? Most companies offer to hire car seats (for incredible prices though)

useful info on other countries here

Just going through a similar process here and i'm going to check the Irish requirements.

i totally agree that its about safety! we are going to sweden. we usually hire seats or take our own, but this time we are visiting my dad. have asked him to see if he can buy us a cheap one. ryanair's luggage policy is making it really difficult/ expensive.

The info on that site isn't 100% accurate -just checked Switzerland.

oh gawd. at home dd2 still uses the same seat that she's had since she was 9 months old. it weighs a ton! at best, i'd be taking her sister's booster with back. her sis, who is a robust 5.7 yo, (21kg) will have a backless booster

We're flying ryanair too, noonar. They charge £5 each way per car seat, compared to £27 to hire a seat of unknown quality through Hertz. I'm thinking that i'll put the booster cushions in our suitcase and pay to take DD's stage 2 seat.

btw, we were in Rome recently and after seeing the state of the car seats that Sixt had, I would think carefully about using one from the hire company. They looked pretty grotty.

Really annoying, why should we have to pay extra for basic safety items? You do not have to pay for airbags, why do they charge a fortune for car seats?

when web went to Ireland recently we hired a car but took DS's own seat. There was an option to hire a seat with the car, apparently 'suitable from birth to 2 years' .

I said to DH if a seat's suitable for a 2 year old it's not suitable for a 3 month old.

So glad we took our own even though it was a hassle - we saw the seats they had and they looked v grotty and bashed - no idea how old they were or whether they might have been in any kind of collision.

we went to Ireland.