what are the rules on moving up a carseat again?

[LPF]

Evan is a monster sized baby and is currently in a britax shr1 carseat (size 0) but his feet touch the back of the seat in the car once strapped in and its really a squeeze even at its most roomy setting.

What are the rules for the next size up? I want a britax as he have isofix bases but they say 9months + for age and 9kg + for weight - is it one or both?!

He weighs about 11kg and is very long. We are doing some long trips over the summer in about 3/4 weeks and I want him to be comfortable which I don't think he really is atm.

Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[Siyren]

the rules are 9kg and 9 months i think hun? i cant remember exactly,
but just wanted to say that there really is no issue of his legs touching the back so long as his head is no approuaching the top of the seat (some car seats say an inch below the top, some say when the head is at the top, check your manufacturers booklet)
you can switch sooner if you want to extended rear face (my daughter is 21 months old and still rear faces) as they do some erf seats that are suitable from birth,
hope that helps x

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Definitely 9 months AND 9kg - and that really is a bare minimum.

Ruby was in her infant carrier until 15 months so obviously her feet were over the end of the seat then, it isn't a problem We swapped to an ERF seat when her head was an inch from the top of the seat.

 

[raraboo]

They have to be the correct weight is the biggy, unless his eye line is above the top of the car seat. Also at 7months his neck muscles arn't the strongest if you have an accident to stop his head flinging forward. His feet touching the seat isn't a bad thing, rear facing for as long as possible is safest. This has some useful info
https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm

HTH x

 

[lozzy21]

They need to be 9 months AND 20lb to be moved foward facing but the longer they are rear facing the better. Rear facing in a car is proven to be safer than foward facing.

Feet touching the back of the seat isent a problem, they just bend their legs, its their head going over the back of the seat thats the indicator to move up to the next seat.

We have just got the britax first class plus which is a combination seat,its suitable from birth, it rear faces until 29lb and then forward faces until 40lb, The plain black one is on offer on the mothercare website for £99.

 

[meg79]

Mines a bit different. (well i would be the awkward one lol ) It will last till 12 months and I can't remember the weight. It depends on the make of car seat I think.

 

[LPF]

He's def going to need something bigger - he's really grumpy and uncomfy and his feet press into the seat and rather than bend his knees he pushes off! His head is prob 1cm from the top of the seatback.

It's really difficult because we need 2 carseats and he grows so quickly, I want them to last as we barely have the money for one let alone two but safety is the most important. Although if he screams and wriggles because he's not comfy - we won't be going anywhere anyway!

 

[LPF]

Definitely 9 months AND 9kg - and that really is a bare minimum.

Ruby was in her infant carrier until 15 months so obviously her feet were over the end of the seat then, it isn't a problem We swapped to an ERF seat when her head was an inch from the top of the seat.

Just out of interest - how did her feet go over? Don't they just push up against the back? We have an isofix so it's a hard plastic back that he pushes against!

 

[LPF]

Thinking about it he'll be 9.5 months by the time we need 2 so I can buy bigger then but I'll have to cancel our summer trip I think as he'll be 8months and it's not fair to squeeze him in for a long trip. He's 24/25lbs now and puts on 2-3lbs a month and I really can't afford to buy 2 seat he'll have grown out of by Xmas.......this is such a pain

 

[hel_5]

Just a thought but we have had to buy a 0 to 1 car seat, like THIS one (our LO is in a spica cast so will not fit in her carrycot car seat) - it is much bigger than the carrycot car seat and is rear facing from birth to 12/15 months and then forward facing til 4 years - it might not suit - i dont know if you want to ERF or not - but it might work HTH x

 

[LPF]

I don't really know want I want tbh.

We've got a britax isofix so something for that ideally.

I just wish there was a seat that gave big babies room to grow. 18kg is only 5/6kg bigger than him now - it certainly won't last til 4yrs old.

 

[KittyVentura]

In the UK it is weight ONLY - NOT both.

It is a minimum of 9kg in weight, which they say the LO should be at around 9 months. The do not HAVE to be 9 months though.

It means that TECHNICALLY a 10kg 6 month old could move up to the next car seat. However an 8kg 11 month old couldn't.

The child should be able to sit unaided for about 20 minutes too as this demonstrates strong back and neck muscles.

As they are safer travelling facing rearwards I would keep LO in the initial stage car seat as long as you can. So long as the top on the head is below the top of the seat and the child weighs less than 28lbs (Most UK newborn seats can hold up to 28lbs in weight - Your seat will say though) they can remain in the RF seat. Even if the legs are long and seem scrunched, they are still ok in that seat.

I'll dig out a website that confirms this in a sec xx

 

[KittyVentura]

the rules are 9kg and 9 months i think hun? i cant remember exactly,

Definitely 9 months AND 9kg - and that really is a bare minimum.

They need to be 9 months AND 20lb to be moved foward facing .

Sorry girls but that is wrong.

It is a minimum weight ONLY.

This is a UK site, the ONLY one set up by RoSPA & endorsed by the government (Department for Transport.). It confirns the UK legal requirements for each seat

https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm

xx

 

[Siyren]

kitty is right https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm

its just by weight in the uk, which i didnt realise.


regardless of this i would RF for as long as possible, lyssa's two way elite britax seat will fit the average child until theu are six (55lb) lyss is barely 25 lb at 21 months so she'll be fine in this for a good long time,
can i ask why you need two seats hun? the two way elite is so simple to install, we have a second set of tethers in my mums car, and can install it quicker that we could her infant carrier. x

 

[Siyren]

the rules are 9kg and 9 months i think hun? i cant remember exactly,

Definitely 9 months AND 9kg - and that really is a bare minimum.

They need to be 9 months AND 20lb to be moved foward facing .

Sorry girls but that is wrong.

It is a minimum weight ONLY.

This is a UK site, the ONLY one set up by RoSPA & endorsed by the government (Department for Transport.). It confirns the UK legal requirements for each seat

https://www.childcarseats.org.uk/types/index.htm

xx

you beat me to it

 

[Kimmer]

I have the Britax Babysafe SHR and my LO is still in it at 13 months. As others have said, they HAVE to be 20lbs AND 9 months to go FF, and that is a minimum.

Their feet don't matter really, as long as their head doesn't go over the back of the seat.

You can get 0+1 (I think they're called) That are rear facing until 29lbs approx then move FF until about age 4.

Or you could go down the extended rear facing route that would be very safe from now until he age of 4 or 5.

 

[KittyVentura]

I have the Britax Babysafe SHR and my LO is still in it at 13 months. As others have said, they HAVE to be 20lbs AND 9 months to go FF, and that is a minimum.

Their feet don't matter really, as long as their head doesn't go over the back of the seat.

You can get 0+1 (I think they're called) That are rear facing until 29lbs approx then move FF until about age 4.

Or you could go down the extended rear facing route that would be very safe from now until he age of 4 or 5.

That's not correct love. There's a link above that confirms correct rules for the UK xxx

 

[Kimmer]

I only read the first page before replying.

But to be honest, weight has nothing to do with how strong a babies neck is. Yeah, a 6 month old COULD weigh 20lbs and be FF, but that is such a huge risk to such an underdeveloped baby IMO.

Rear facing should be encouraged for as long as possible.

 

[LPF]

we need two as i'll be dropping evan at nursery and heading to work and Dh will be collecting him and no swapping over of seats (can't leave it at nursery)

I'll have to go for 0+1 but he'll still only be rearfacing for 2-3 months at least and ff for longer after that.

What i'm getting irritated with I guess is the lack of value for money for biggber babies. There is no way Evan will be 18kg when he's four. He's 12.5kg now at 7 months.

Theres never any room for growth for biggers babies, he's grown out of everything so quick - it's not fair on him. He outgrew his bumbo at 4.5months....

 

[LPF]

Does anyone know what extended rear facing options there are for over 29lbs (the0+1 option mentioned above)??