Moving up to next size carseat? Any thoughts?

[Sanne Panne]

Looking for the most cost effective and safe car seat scenario for my daughters.

Current set-up:

Maxi Cosi Cabriofix (rear facing up to 13 kilos) for my 12.5 month old who probably weighs her age in kilos - she's relatively tall too (probably 80th percentile) so she's starting to outgrow the seat. Legs are bent when seated but she's not complaining yet.

Maxi Cosi Tobi (forward facing 9-18 kilos) for my exactly 3 years old (this week) who is pretty chunky (about 17 kilos) but still fits in her seat.

Thoughts:

I don't want to have two toddler seats, too expensive to buy a new one. I'm considering selling the Cabriofix, moving the little one into the Tobi and buying a child seat (Maxi Cosi Rodi XR or AirProtect) for the big one.

We don't drive much and only locally so I'm not worried about motorway accidents but I still want to be safe of course. I can keep the kids as they are for another month but when the little one has her next growth spurt she's done with the Cabriofix.

--> What would you do?

Thanks so much for any thoughts/experiences/advice you can share.

[Fuschia]

I wouldn't move your big one out of her seat yet, sorry

We have our biggest in a high backed booster since he wAs about 5

Twins at 3 1/2 still in their toddler seats and will stay there till they are too tall (another year plus)

Can you get a second hand toddler seat from a reliable source?

[sanity girl]

I would put 12.5 year old in the maxi cosi tobi and move 3 year old to the next stage up. I have a britax kidfix which is good if you have isofix.

[Fuschia]

In fact our oldest is in the maxi cosi rodi

It's just not enough support for a pre schooler IMO and there is always the worry they will

Undo the seatbelt too

[Sanne Panne]

Fuschia Wrote:

> Can you get a second hand toddler seat from a

> reliable source?

I'm usually the one who buys a shiny new one and then sells it on in very good state. Ends up costing more than buying second hand but not ridiculously much more.

Still collecting opinions but this is definitely an option.

[Fuschia]

The air protect is group 2/3 though I notice

[Fuschia]

The bigger seats are 3.5+

if your youngest daughter is short and stocky rather than tall, I would hang on a while longer before moving the bug one out of her toddler seat

Also very hard to

Nap in

The rodi

[chantelle]

we have a kiddy guardian pro for our 3 year old that has an excellent performance in safety tests and can be used until they are 12.

[Sanne Panne]

Oh help I don't know what to do.

Has anyone else had to decide whether to keep their 3 year old in a toddler seat or move him/her up to a booster seat with side protection and what was the decision?

[Sanne Panne]

Another question is whether the 5 point harness in the toddler seat is strong enough for a child over 18 kilos. It has only been tested up till that weight.

[ladywotlunches]

I had this decision a couple of years ago as my eldest was tall for his age, and at 3 looked too big for the stage 2 (?) one. I spoke to both John Lewis and Britax direct whose seat I had, and they both said the overriding factor on the car seat is weight, not age. So if your big one is on the upper limit for weight, I would move them up.

Re: comment about the seat belt - my 3 year old had already worked out how to get the 5 point harness undone (once on the M40 - eek), and actually the seat belt was harder for him as the buckle was further away.

If you have access to the Which website, they have some good overall advice on which seats are best.

[edanna]

I did exactly what you're thinking of a while back, making sure both were within the minimum weight band for the tobi/rodi. No problems at all with napping in the rodi, though my little boy can fall asleep pretty much anywhere - including standing on the buggy board! There's no way he could undo the seatbelt. I'm very happy with the arrangement and so are the children. My younger one hated being in a rear-facing seat. As long as you've checked the weights I think it will be fine. Tobi/rodi both do well in Which? tests.

[Sanne Panne]

Agree about weight being the actual limit (although I'm sure the seats can handle a certain percentage more than it says on the box) with age just being a rough reference point. Same with clothes right? I still don't get why they put ages in clothes labels here rather than centimeters (length of child) like they do back home.

Anyway... I ordered the Rodi (a model that does have a somewhat reclined position as well) and along with it a highly rated little battery operated alarm that sounds when the seatbelt is undone - you install it without messing with the functionality or ease of use of the seatbelt. (it's permanently on, you don't need to put it on each time you put the child in the seat).

Let's see how it goes!

[The Nappy Lady]

Sanne Panne - sounds good - like the alarm.

Also be very sure (make threats if need be) that your 3 year old doesn't ever slip the shoulder strap off so seat belt is effectively a lap belt.

I know of a family of 3 where 2 of the children ended up in wheelchairs because they did this & had an accident. It's awful I know, but I'm sharing because I think it really drives home the message. My 7 year old has had to be told in the past in no uncertain terms, and the message has got through to her.

Glad you are sorted.

Xx

[Sanne Panne]

Thanks for the warning Molly, the belt being technically "on" is clearly not a guarantee that it's on properly, thanks for that. Will make some threats. Or get one of those things that keep the lap and chest bit loosely together. Thankfully our daughter isn't the escape artist type and she'll drive us nuts in many ways but not usually with this kind of thing... but yes there's a first time for everything!

[snowboarder]

I think we will have this dilemma soon - only our eldest is only 2 but already 14kg. Does anyone have any experience of the seats that adapt for the different stages - eg this one? NO good?

[chantelle]

snowboarder - again i'd recommend the Kiddy seats - Which has given them excellent safety reports, they've won pan-European and German safety awards too. We switched to it from an incredibly expensive stage 2 rear facing seat (currently up for sale on ebay with no reserve if anyone is interested! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Maxi-Cosi-Mobi-Car-Seat-Rear-Facing-9-25kgs-/330588257671?pt=UK_Baby_CarSeats_EH&hash=item4cf8987d87) so we have given a thought or two to safety.

On the whole undoing the seatbelt thing, the alarm sounds great. I think it's also important to teach the little ones early about how important safety is and keeping their belts buckled and across them.

On the usual 5-point safety harnesses - I see so many toddlers of friends who regularly slip their arms out of the harness. Some people have a casual attitude about this too but the effectiveness in a crash goes down massively.

[ClareC]

My daughter is constantly slipping her arms out both the car seat and buggy straps. She is too young to understand the safety factor at 18mths and pulling the straps really tight doesnt seem to make any difference.... Anyone else have this problem and did you stop it?

[Sanne Panne]

Clare, get a "houdini stop" or similar chest strap / chest clip off eBay in the US. They're not allowed in the EU because you should be able to release a child with a single click but I think it's more dangerous to have an unbuckled child than to have to release your child with 2 clicks rather than 1 in case of an accident.

[edanna]

I saw an anti-escape kit for carseats in Bromley Boots on Tuesday. Didn't look closely but may be worth investigating if that's an issue for you.

[snowboarder]

Chantelle how did your little one react to the style of restraint on the kiddy pro? I've a feeling mine would NOT be happy...!

[ClareC]

Thank you, will get googling for a Houdini strap (and look in Boots next time I'm there) :-)

[chantelle]

snowboarder - he was totally fine with the restraint across his lap, not a peep of complaint. I think it seems kind of nice and snug, it doesn't dig into them or anything. it's sort of like a little table.