When to move to a booster seat?

[mamadadawahwah]

My son is only just turned two but weighs 43 pounds and is very tall. He is bigger than a lot of 4 year olds. do you think he should still be in a car seat with the front straps or should i put him in a booster and just use the car seat belts alone.

What did you do?

My 5yo is 110cm tall, weighs 3 stone and she still uses a car seat. She likes it becasue she can see out the window and sleep comfortably on long journeys. I like it coz its safer.

If you use a booster seat and seat belt he will probably undo the buckle when you are driving

Yeah, kristina, didnt think of that.

DS is not quite 4 and smaller than your ds, and we have just switched him to a high back booster seat which fits with the seat belt. It's very supportive but obviously the seat belt stretches which car seat straps don't, and he can let himself out of it, although he is old enough to understand he musn't until we've stopped and that he must leave the seat belt alone. That is what I would be worried about with a younger child - I know ds would have been a nightmare fiddling with the belt when he was 2, in fact probably up until about 6 months ago tbh.

What is the top limit for your car seat? If he is still safe/comfortable in it then I would stick with that for the time being.

Check the limit of the seat he is currently - some have a 18 kg limit for the harness which he has probably already reached. There are a few with a 25kg limit (Britax Elite) but otherwise you may have to get one which uses the adult belt but I wouldn't have wanted to use that for either of mine at just 2 from either the comfort or safety pov.

you can get high backed booster seats wtih 5 point harness though. Mothercare do a really good one and we have a Britax one; after he's grown out of the harness you can use an ordinary car seat belt.

Like lizs said it is really important to check your seat weight limit. If your child is over the limit the harness may not hold him in an accident it could just give way.. 43 pounds is over 19 kilogrames and again as lizs said most seats go up to 18 kilogrames. I do understand your concern with a 3rd stage car seat. I know I could not trust my 2 yr old not to undo the buckle. Have a look at this seatbelt safeclip here
I have not used one, but it might be an idea.

this is the one we have "Suitable from 9-36kg (20-79lbs) approx. 9mths-11yrs" BUT crucially still has 5 point harness.
britax trio

We moved my DS into the high back booster seat last month (he was 3 in Oct). I would keep him in the chair you have as long as possible. Its a long story but my sons forward facing seat was not fitted properly and when I went about my DDs car seat the shop concerned took away the unsafe seat and replaced it with a chair I needed for my DD so I got him the booster then but would have made him last longer in the other chair otherwise.

what sea tcan u recommend that doesnt allow there heads to loll about when there asllep.im talking about a high backed booster seat. my daughter (3 1/2) and son (5) often falls sideways when theyre asleep and end up with a crick in their necks

Katierocket I just had a look at the Britax trio as my daughter is neally ready for her next seat and I would love her to be in a 5 point harness as long as possible, but the harness is only suitable up to 18kg. The info is here have a look at this you need to scroll down a page.
I really hope you don't think I'm being funny, Its just that I would not want anyone to use the harness if their child was are over 18kg as it would not hold them in an accident.