Is there a Stage 1 car seat with long straps?

[tutu100]

DS is 19 months old and has outgrown his britax first class seat. We have been looking at these booster seats that cover stages 1-3 so 9 months to 11 years as he still needs the straps that crossover on the front however despite looking at several different brands none of the straps are long enough to be able to clip them in place. He is still to smal for a seat that just uses the belt in the car. We bought this one today but the straps will not do up \link{http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3754494/Trail/C%24cip%3D42358.Toys%2Band%2Bbaby%3EC%24cip%3D42368.Baby%2Band%2Bnursery%2Bequipment%3EC%24cip%3D42373.Baby%2Band%2Btoddler%2Bcar%2Bseats.htm}

how big is he?

sorry link won't work this

He weighs nearly 30lbs and is 85cms tall, but his torso is out of proportion and very long which is why I think we are having trouble with the length of the straps. I have managed to make the link work now.

sorry if this comes out patronising but are you extending the straps? find it hard to believe the straps won't fit as they're designed to be used til 4 years.

there's usually a button at the front that you press while pulling the straps and it'll extend them

dd has that one and the sra[ps are very long.

you need to push the lever that the strap at the front goes through the fabric to while pulling the straps and they'll extend

If you go to mothercare or halfords you will be able to try lots. Some seats which use the normal seat belt might be suitable.

We have a Britax Evolva 123 Ultra . dd(5) uses it with the straps and she is about 105cm tall and it isn't at its highest setting yet.

Agree with Pink Tulips maybe you need to ensure you have released the full length of the shoulder straps (button is usually in front of or behind the central buckle between the legs, perhaps hidden under the fabric) and then retighten any slack around him by tugging the loose end.

my 4.5 year old charge fits with room to spare in her britax renaissance car seat!

weight wise he still has a few pounds to go in the britax, how high up is his head in the seat? ican belive a 19month old is this big btwm, as by 18months i was having the same problems with dd2 who had reached the 30lb+ mark at a year old and was in 3-4clothes. i looked at a britax seat, cant remember the name now, but used the straps till the child was 6 IIRC. will see if i cn find it i na moment.

we also considered a special needs seat as there wasnt and still isnt that many options for larger seats that still use a harness.

it was britax elitem which isnt made anymore.

Thanks for all your suggestions. We have checked that we have got the straps fully extended. We originally went to Mothercare where the assistant was very helpful and honest and said that there was no point in buying the Britax Reinassance which we were going to buy as he would have grown out of it height wise in a few months because his eyes would be level with the back of the seat. Several of the seats we tried there had the same problem with the straps not long enough so we have sought professional help. He did suggest the britax evolva but ds really didn't like it because of the padding round the head.

wow, tall toddler! dd is in the one you've bpought and she's tall and still has a foot of strap to go

for what it's worth if you do get the evolva the padding will be ideal if he falls asleep in the car alot, dd does this and we're planning on getting the evolva for exactly that reason, in this seat he head lolls frighteningly.

They get used to the more closed-in headrest (it is part of the side impact protection which many seats now have)

ds1 is 4 and a half and can still fit in his brother's britax rennaissance
he is a tall 4 and a half too
i think you have a faulty seat

Thank you everyone for all your comments. I took the seat back today and got a refund, the assistant didn't think the straps were faulty though. Went back to Mothercare and tried their equivalent seat again and the straps were still not long enough. Tried sitting ds in the evolva but he really doesn't like the bits up by his head. However that was my favourite seat as it looked so safe. What I forgot to say in my earlier posts was that when we originally went to mothercare to buy a new seat it was the assistant who told us that he had nearly outgrown his current seat because his eyes were nearly level with the back of the seat. I also forgot to mention that ds quite often wears cloth nappies and that also affects how long we need the straps to be. So at the moment the seach continues!

still can't get over how tall he is tutu... dd is tall and in cloth and he'd tower over her! he'll be looking down at you when he's 10

would he not be tall enough just to use one of the seats in the 4 years plus way with the car seat belt? just a thought.... surely if he's tall enough there's no reason not to?

hi tutu,
i have very similar problem,too. dd is now 21m. she is over 15kilos and 88cm long. she is little squashed in her britax first class. and her legs got less room if i have passenger in front as she sits back seat. im thinking about having new carseat that does booster later, but i havent been out yet.yes, straps on first class seems really short htese days, i can barely undo her from her harness sometimes. i will probably go mothercare and check other carseats.