Carseat advice for 2.5yr old weighing 17kg

[TanE]

My DH is 6ft 3" and all my boys have been very tall and sturdy (followed 98th centile on growth charts). Thing is with DS3 now nearly at weight limit of his Britax 1st Class (up to 18kg) not sure what car seat would be best. Mothercare suggest a high back booster with adult seatbelt. Britax suggest a special needs car costing @£200. Anyone else had this problem and what have you done?

Surely I can't be the only one with a big 2 yr old?

Thanks
Tan

Same problem here. WAtching with interest...

Dh is 6'4", I am 5' 11". Ds was 17 kg around 2 and a half. However, he didn't actually put on any weight for quite a while after that. He reached 18 kg and we moved him onto the next stage seat - the high back booster - shortly after his 3rd birthday. I would have prefered to have kept him in a 5 point harness longer. Didin't know about special needs seats. Tbh I wouldn't have bought one though - not at £200 for a year's use.

We have the Britax Kidifx. Ds has been in it since 2y4m I think. It uses the adult seatbelt and he has never (touch wood) got out of it because he knows he's not allowed bu when he was younger in particular I was not overly happy about it tbh. I couldnt find another option though.

This is it

I also wish I had watched this beforehand]] - warning contains upsetting details of child killed in crash.

My friend's DD had the same problem and went for a high back booster with adult seatbelt (Mothercare advice) and I couldn't help thinking this seemed a bit mad. She was taller than my DS my still seemed as 'delicate'. There must be a better answer.

You could try ringing this centre www.carseatinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?sid=19086&pid=292363 and see what they say?

what about a highback booster with harness?

marking place here - dd is 3.5, and squished into her maxi cosi tobi, but while she still fits I'd rather she had the 5 pt harness. I don't see how these seats would last most children until 4. Mothercare suggested only their own 123 seats, which don't do well in tests.

That site says you can use this www.carseatinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?sid=19086&pid=292441&item=45931 from age 1 - 11, it sounds good?

choufleur - the 5 point harnesses in the high backs are only for use up to 18 kilos unfortunately. After that it is 3 point only.

this type of seat or similar. we had to move DS out of his group 1 seat at aboutu 2.8 as he didn't fit anymore but was fine in one similar to this til recently. he now just uses the main seat belt and he's 4 next month.

sorry cross post

Not sure if this is much help or even if it is the one that Britax are suggesting but i did some research recently into car seats for my DS who is just one and is moving onto stage 1 seats. Basically i just wanted something that would not only last a long time but is the safest option as well. I went for a Britax Multi-tech rear facing/forward facing car seat. It will last you ages even with a heavier toddler.

You can keep your DS rear facing (which is safest) until he reaches 55lbs and then turn it forward facing - it will work for much older children up until about 8 years old i think as a booster seat as well. At £250 it is pretty steep and i really balked at the cost initially but seeing as it really was safe and would keep my son as safe as he possibly could be then i figured it would be a good buy. There is alot of evidence that suggests that children are put in forward facing seats far too early and if are in an accident that the seat will of course restrain them but their neck/skull and spine take all of the force of the accident resulting in some terrible injuries. There are some threads on here about it and its worth a look on line, I got mine fitted last week and i am really pleased with it. If they are rear facing all of the force of braking or impact is absorbed into the back of the seat - i really think its worth having a look at rear facing seat info online.

Waitingforbedtime that film is really sad that you linked to about the little boy. My DD who is 17 now was in that type of booster seat when she was 4 or 5 knowing what i do now there is no way i would do that ever again, times and thank god car seats have really moved on.

'which' online test over 100 child care seats in all weight ranges. The tests include front and side collisions. I took their advice with my 18.5kg 4 yr old and am happy with their choice. They have a list of 'best buys' and 'dont buys' - really worth looking at.