car seat for 3 year old

[redstripeyelephant]

Hi,

DD2 (8 months) is getting too big for her infant car seat. I was hoping I could time it so I could move her into DD1's car seat in a couple of months (she is 2.10) and get the next size up for DD1, but from what I can see the next size up seems to be from 4 years, is that right? Are there any that go from 3 years? It just seems a waste to buy another car seat now if I'm going to have to change DD1's car seat when she's 4 anyway.

What have other parents with a 2 year age gap done?

it will depend on your dd1's weight as high backed boosters need a 15kg minimum weight. DS moved into a high backed booster at about the age of 3 but was 18kgs by then and too heavy for his previous seat. Your dd2 is not too big for her seat until her head is over the headrest or she exceeds the weight limit (13kgs IIRC)

We have the same gap as you between our children, 2 years 2 months and we bought another stage 1 seat which was suitable til age 4.

I don't know how good they are but you can get some which go from 9 months up til much older, maybe 12? If they are any good could perhaps get one like that for your older child and use her forward facing seat for your younger one, as personally I would wonder how suitable they would be for a 9 month old if they are also suitable for a much older child.

The stage 1 seats are so expensive aren't they. We got about a year out of them both in the stage 1 seats, now our older child has a high backed booster.

Good idea, I have had a look on the Mothercare website and found one that goes from 9 months to 11 years (!) So I'll have a look in store, as you said it might be a good idea to put DD1 in that one, and DD2 in DD1's old seat. Gah, such a faff!

DS has the evolva 123(from 9 months to 12 years) in dh's car and it can be used with the harness till 18kgs at which point you switch to just using the adult seatbelt. You could use that (or an equivalent seat - some have impact cushions instead of a harness) for your dd1 if she wasnt heavy enough for the high back booster. Your dd2 could then use your dd1's old seat once she outgrows the infant carrier.

Yes I agree, sounds v early to move your DD2 out of her car seat. I have a 2 year 1 month gap, DS2 is nearly a year old but he's such a slight build he will be fine in the rear-facing for a while. DS1 is 16kg though so he could go in a high-back booster with no prob (min is 15kg) - the main thing to go by is weight for the next carseat, not age. However as DS1 hasn't outgrown the height of thegroup 1 carseat he's safer to stay where he is too.

thanks all, I'm not planning on moving DD2 yet, but probably in a couple of months. We moved DD1 into the seat she has now when she was 9 months as her head was right at the top of the infant seat. No idea what DD1 weighs actually, I doubt she's big enough for the high-back booster, I think one of these 9month-12 years seats might be the way to go.