car seat dilema - petite 3.5 dd needs a new CAR SEAT

[mum199]

some car seat advise needed!

dd at 3.5 only weighs 12.5 kg. I need her maxi cosi for ds who is 15 months. So need to buy her a new one. She doesnt weigh enough for a car seat that uses the 3 point harness. And John Lewis says she wont have much time if i buy her the same again ie. 18months -3.5 yrs car seat. Her head is almost at the top, about cm left?

Mothercare and britax both do a 'hybrid' car seat ie. from 9 months (with 5 point harness) to 8 years. But the britax one did not score very well in the which reports and mothercare have let us down badly with ds's infant carier. (no replacement parts)

Are there any other good ones on the market. I am a bit paronoid (sp!) about car seats

yes thats the one we were looking at. 58% is not that good!

I also didnt't like the 'wing things' that seem to go over her shoulders, it didn't look comfortable.

Britax cruiser? Think it Is from 9mths to 6 years. The actual seat belt goes over the child, via a restraining bit by the shoulder. DS didn't go in it till 3 or 4 but is 6 now and still a good fit. (He's quite small)

Oh and at Halfords, their labels have small print about how they recommend 5-point harnesses up to a certain age/weight. Can't remember which... sorry not to be more help!

they need a 5 point harness til 15 kg. that is quite a long way off for her. Apparantly safety in the group 1 car seats is not great. Isofix is good but we dont have an isofix car. maxi cosi tobi is 70% and mamas and papas is 63%.

oh.....

Thanks Loopy. Common sense told me not to put him in it too soon. And that's the same reason I'm not desperate to put him on a booster cushion yet either, even tho plenty of his friends use them all the time.

so i guess its between

group 1 to last a year or so and then a high back boooster

or the britx evolva or the way through

the evolva was better at some stages than others. i wonder if at group 2 the evolva is as good as the best buys in that grouping. wish i knew as that would clinch it.

you have been really helpful loopymumsy!

my other thought on this is she wouldn't be better off in a 'safer' car seat with her head a bit higher than a less safe car seat that she actually fit!

i dont have the which report anymore - do you know where i can get it?

just to say the evolva 2-3 (which is the same but just comes without the harness) did VERY well as well so the evolva is probbaly the best seat to go for IF you dont want to keep her in a convential group 1 car seat!

dont get the britax cruiser / cruiser +> It does REALLY badly in the which reports.... so unsafe its in the unsafe dont use section! also britax dont even make it any more!

i just checked mothercare's website and there are quite a few 1-2-3 car seats. Very annoying which? hasn't tested them. Because Some car seats came out so badly when tested at 40 mph that i worry to buy an untested one!

DD was 23lbs at 3 years and I put her in the Concord Lift Evo PT. I have always felt she is very secure in it - it's been a year now.

what does isofix mean, am a bit out of touch as ds is six and huge so on booster seat (rarely in car anyway as prefer buses and trains) but he was with us when hubby was looking for new car and salesman was refering to isofix and there is something on back seat that says isofix.

thanks loopsy, things have certainly changed ds1 started off in carrycot with a strap and moved on to seat permanently bolted to car frame (it was over twenty years ago) although I was reluctant to put any child in front of car

wish govt would do something about improving car safety for pedestrians (whole other thread)

Can I just say Mala that I would not recommend to anyone that you put a child of 23lb in any car seat withou a 5 poing harness as one of the reasons they are not safe is that they are not heavy enough to hold the seat down and have dd the seatbelt lock in the case of an impact.

The britax Evolva is the best in it's class there are no fantastic seats that are 1-2-3 but this is the best.
The wings that offer the head support are actually fantastiacally comfortable expecialy if your dd falls asleep in the car, my dd hated her old car seat but loves this and the head height is adjustable so you can put it in a comfy places for her.

i agree with you adath, weight is a very important criteria. (dh thinks im mad )

i am tempted to buy a maxi cosi tobi to last for another year but worried that she may outgrow it sooner lenghtwise.

actually, with the britax evolva 1-2-3 how much room do they have with the 5 point harness. The lady in J lewis said it doesnt last the whole time they are in the car seat, but didnt demonstrate how big the straps are. Will it really last her till she is 15kg?