Moving wriggly 4yo into a booster

[LaughingHyena]

Yesterday we weighed DS, fully clothed he's 17.2kg, the weight limit on his seat is 18kg. After that I we will have to move him into a booster. I don't know of any UK seats with height weight limits.

DS has some behaviour issues and in any case is not keen on being strapped into his car seat. It is often a battle to strap him in and he regularly tries to pull his arms out of the shoulder straps.

I need ideas for how to impress upon him the importance of sitting properly in a booster. Any  ideas on getting him into the car without a fight would also be appreciated although we've tried the wait till he's ready, give him a snack/toy type things for years without any luck. So far the best thing has seemed to be just get it out of the way as fast as possible.

Fingers crossed he will take a while to gain the last bit of weight and we'll have some time to deal with things.

[mama2soren]

Can you import a seat with higher weight limits?  Perhaps a Swedish seat?  I'd be quite nervous about having such a wriggly child in a booster.

[sunnymw]

I don't know if there are any UK seats that harness past 40lbs, but you have 2lbs to go and it could take up to a year for that weight to be gained... until then, you could get a really good booster and start booster training on short trips. Of course if he's ANYTHING like my 4yo, there is a chance that he is in NO WAY ready to even BEGIN booster training. In that case there are tons of relatively cheap US seats that you can import, should you so choose. If he won't be still in a harness, then chances are that he won't be able to control the impulse to lean out of position, reach for something, or throw a fit and squirm out of a booster altogether while riding down the highway. If you think he's emotionally mature enough you could show him some crash test videos... but I would think if he's emotionally mature enough for that, then he could ride in a booster with frequent reminders about positioning with little problem. Take it with a grain of salt though--I have a 4yo still rear-facing and have never dealt with boosters myself.

The Graco Nautilus harness goes to 28.5kg in a harness and would run $150US (110 Euros) plus the cost of someone to ship it to you. Then it also turns into a booster until 45kg. There are options/seats that will last longer but will cost significantly more.

The new Britax Frontier 85 would harness to 38.5kg and booster to ~54kg. Would run you $225US (165 Euros) plus shipping but last a lot longer. Also IIRC Britax says their chest clips are optional, meaning you could remove it and your seat would not stick out quite as much.

Whatever you decide.... good luck to you!!!

[LaughingHyena]

His current seat is this one http://www.britax.co.uk/car-seats/evolva-1-2-3 so we could try a couple of short journeys with it in booster mode and see how he does.

I'll keep the videos in mind for the future but right now I don;t think he would be able to relate that to him needing to stay in position. Impulse control is not something he's that big on.

Would it be legal to import a seat from elsewhere? I know they need to be certified to some EU standard (not sure which one) Also would it fit?

[mrskingred]

Using a non-EC44.03/04 car seat is illegal in the UK. Any child used in the UK must conform to the standard ECE R44.03 or R44.04, which is usually denoted with the letter E in a circle and a number (the number indicates the country in which the seat was tested and approved - the UK is 11).

The standard applies Europe-wide and therefore European manufactured seats will be an 'appropriate' restraint within the meaning of our laws and can be sold and used in the UK. Always check that they fit your vehicle and child.

It is unlikely that seats from the States or Australasia will meet ECE R44.03 or R44.04, and the method of fixing seats into vehicles can differ between countries. Child restraints that do not meet these standards cannot be used in the UK.

Your best bet to keep your son legally harnessed for longer would be a swedish seat. There's now a website - I think its www.rearfacing.co.uk or something similar that lists the stores that now carry them in the UK, also adventuredad sells them. Some of them go up to 25kg I believe.

[LaughingHyena]

Thank you for the rear facing link, I think you may well have solved my problem. I found a shop not to far away selling the Britax multi tech so I'd even  be able to try it in the car before buying. It's an expensive seat so I think we'll try the booster first but I'm  much happier knowing I have options if it doesn't go well.

[sunnymw]

I was under the impression that the multi-tech also only harnessed forward facing to 40lbs... but rear-facing to 55lbs. So you could turn him back around! :D