Booster seat advice

nantucket66

nantucket66

nantucket66

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The gov.uk website says if your child is 12 years old or 135cm tall or whichever comes first they no longer need a booster seat or car seat.

My little boy is 6 and a half and is 136cm tall (takes after me I'm 6 foot 5) so technically speaking he can just sit in the back with a conventional seat belt.

Am I being an over protective parent to think that's not as safe as a seat or booster or do I just need to get on with it and let him sit in the back normally. Can you get boosters or similar for taller kids?

Ta
 
nantucket66 said:
The gov.uk website says if your child is 12 years old or 135cm tall or whichever comes first they no longer need a booster seat or car seat.

My little boy is 6 and a half and is 136cm tall (takes after me I'm 6 foot 5) so technically speaking he can just sit in the back with a conventional seat belt.

Am I being an over protective parent to think that's not as safe as a seat or booster or do I just need to get on with it and let him sit in the back normally. Can you get boosters or similar for taller kids?

Ta
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Its safe for him to sit in the seat like an adult. However i believe its upto you in terms of using a booster or not. My 9 year old is over 135cm so doesn’t have a booster seat, but the seat belt is close to his neck so we have one of those pads so it doesn’t irritate him.

Him being so low down might be an annoyance for the time being if he wants to see out the window.

i thought a little while ago you could go to a local fire station and they’d fit car seats for you. They might have some advice.
 
My daughter, also pretty tall, has just hit 135 a month or so ago, she'll be 7 next month. We'll be sticking with a booster for at least a year or so, which us what we did with our son, who was similarly tall (now 10.5, 156cm).

It's handy that you can go without a booster if you happen not to have one, but it is safer to stick with it for a while.
 
My son is just under the 135cm limit and me and Mrs FluffySheep are in agreement the junior will be staying in his seat as long as he can fit, not for the law but for increased safety. Will be good being able to go out in other cars though

FluffySheep
 
I'm now thinking I should measure my 6 year old daughter:D. I always assumed it was a common sense thing regarding where the strap sat, you could have a long/short body which would make a difference. Safety wise, in my eyes a booster is only safer than a normal seat (I.e. what us adults sit in) in a side impact.
 
I'm pleased everyone's thinking seems to follows ours, I'm going to pick up a booster seat of some description over the next couple of days. His Romer Evolver 123 has been great, but it's he started complaining it's getting uncomfortable, he has looked mildly squished this weekend. He's had a growth spurt during lockdown and has only been in the car 3 times at most.
 
I gave the choice to all my kids when they got to 135cm. Sometimes they wanted the seat as they could see out the windows better, on long journeys they preferred no booster as it was more comfortable.
 
Update.....His old Brittax Romer car seat which is physically huge fits in my car perfectly, but it's too small for him. So I went and bought a booster seat this morning, but it doesn't fit, it's too wide at the base and covers over where the seat belt plugs into so no use. Took it back to Halfords, got a refund, but they all appear to the same in the size of the base..... so back to drawing board (or at least him being squashed) - anywhere else sell booster seats? Mothercare doesn't exist any more does it?
 
nantucket66 said:
Update.....His old Brittax Romer car seat which is physically huge fits in my car perfectly, but it's too small for him. So I went and bought a booster seat this morning, but it doesn't fit, it's too wide at the base and covers over where the seat belt plugs into so no use. Took it back to Halfords, got a refund, but they all appear to the same in the size of the base..... so back to drawing board (or at least him being squashed) - anywhere else sell booster seats? Mothercare doesn't exist any more does it?
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Their own shops shut down but I think they merged into Boots for online sales, not sure if they'll sell things like car seats in their physical stores or not.

https://www.boots.com/baby-child/pushchairs-car-seats/car-seats-accessories/britax-römer-advansafix-iv-m-car-seat-moonlight-blue-10259142

This seems fairly adjustable, suitable for 9 months to 12 years apparently.

Here's the official website, if you scroll down it has a drop box to check if your car is compatible:

https://www.britax-romer.co.uk/car-seats/toddler/advansafix-iv-m/9205.html

Not sure if this is the one he already has.

Amazon has a lot of options that could be worth checking, if it literally is a booster you want something like this maybe:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britax-Römer-DISCOVERY-Group-15-36kg/dp/B01G1G8J36/ref=sr_1_84?dchild=1&keywords=uk+car+booster+seat&qid=1593442177&sr=8-84
 
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Gray2233 said:
Their own shops shut down but I think they merged into Boots for online sales, not sure if they'll sell things like car seats in their physical stores or not.

https://www.boots.com/baby-child/pushchairs-car-seats/car-seats-accessories/britax-römer-advansafix-iv-m-car-seat-moonlight-blue-10259142

This seems fairly adjustable, suitable for 9 months to 12 years apparently.

Here's the official website, if you scroll down it has a drop box to check if your car is compatible:

https://www.britax-romer.co.uk/car-seats/toddler/advansafix-iv-m/9205.html

Not sure if this is the one he already has.

Amazon has a lot of options that could be worth checking, if it literally is a booster you want something like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britax-Römer-DISCOVERY-Group-15-36kg/dp/B01G1G8J36/ref=sr_1_84?dchild=1&keywords=uk+car+booster+seat&qid=1593442177&sr=8-84
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Thanks for the recommendation, unfortunately that seat is actually marginally smaller than the one we are trying to replace.
 
Measured my daughter, she's only 121cm so a way to go. I'd have thought all backed boosters would fit fine, I had one in the back of my 911 with no issues. I'll have a think as to what model it is. It was a Maxi Cosi Rodi sps.
 
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This was the one I bought/returned from Halfords

It would be been ideal apart from the fact it was so wide at the base it covered over the seatbeat socket, someone with the same car as me has said a similar booster from Tesco fits OK so I'll pick one up in a few days.
 
nantucket66 said:
This was the one I bought/returned from Halfords

It would be been ideal apart from the fact it was so wide at the base it covered over the seatbeat socket, someone with the same car as me has said a similar booster from Tesco fits OK so I'll pick one up in a few days.
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We have one of those around somewhere, you have to wonder who signs some of this stuff off. It is too wide for the seats in an E-Class or a BMW X3 SUV which are pretty popular family cars :p We have some other ones which are pretty much just basic polystyrene wrapped in material which are much more convenient.
 
Jez said:
We have one of those around somewhere, you have to wonder who signs some of this stuff off. It is too wide for the seats in an E-Class or a BMW X3 SUV which are pretty popular family cars :p We have some other ones which are pretty much just basic polystyrene wrapped in material which are much more convenient.
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Absolutely, it's crazy - too wide to fit in my A35 and my wife's GLA - they don't seem like particularly narrow seats to me. We both have the Brittax Romer in our cars now and although it's too small for him it's a huge seat and it fits perfectly in both cars without issue. Apparently the Tesco booster is now discontinued, will look in Smyths toys as they do them I think, given the fussy nature of this I don't want the hassle of buying online and returning. Much easier to buy in a shop, try it in the car park and if it doesn't fit take it back there and then.
 
My daughter is 150+ and twelve. She stopped her booster seat at 7 years old. I'm 6'3 and the missus 5'8 so quite tall genes.

The most important thing with kids is whether they can see out of the window or not. That's what gives peace :p
 
theone8181 said:
I hate to sound stupid but are you sure you're installing them correctly, I'd have thought normal sized cars would fit any car seat in.
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You dont "install" a booster seat, you throw it onto the seat (or ask your 5-6 year old to do so when they've chosen where to sit!) and then they just sit on it and use the normal seat belt. The one linked above by nantucket66 is too wide for most seats, in my X3 and E-Class cars it doesnt fit between the bolsters of the M-Sport/AMG-Sport seats in the front so then rocks around sort of sitting on top of one of the bolsters, and then it also covers the seat belt buckles in every position in the back of the X3 unless you awkwardly get them to shuffle it to the side, buckle up, and then shuffle it back over the buckle again. :)
 
We have 2 Diono Monterey 2's which have adjustable back rest widths and quite a slim profile base which I could measure later if helpful - though it could be a bit of a waste of money to buy one and (I assume) only use the base
 
rodenal said:
We have 2 Diono Monterey 2's which have adjustable back rest widths and quite a slim profile base which I could measure later if helpful - though it could be a bit of a waste of money to buy one and (I assume) only use the base
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Thanks, it's something backless we need ideally, just the booster base really.
We have a Brittax Romer 123 which has been great, but it's getting a bit of snug in terms of width, it shaped a bit like a sports seat.
 
Jez said:
You dont "install" a booster seat, you throw it onto the seat (or ask your 5-6 year old to do so when they've chosen where to sit!) and then they just sit on it and use the normal seat belt. The one linked above by nantucket66 is too wide for most seats, in my X3 and E-Class cars it doesnt fit between the bolsters of the M-Sport/AMG-Sport seats in the front so then rocks around sort of sitting on top of one of the bolsters, and then it also covers the seat belt buckles in every position in the back of the X3 unless you awkwardly get them to shuffle it to the side, buckle up, and then shuffle it back over the buckle again. :)
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Ahh I see, I do struggle in the front of my m3, but normally the kids are in the back as most rear seats are bench like.
 
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