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When do you have to change from a forward facing car seat to a booster seat? Under what conditions? Also what booster seats are better than others? Is it better to get a booster that has an inbuilt harness rather than an after market addition? Slightly confused by it all :think:
Ooh was wondering the same thing!
Subbing :)
I hope this link helps, but it may also confuse you further. Basically till 6 months reversed, 6 months till 4 years in a seat with a built in harness, 4 years to 7 years in a booster with either a lap belt or H-harness.
A seat with a built in harness is only suitable if the child's head/shoulders are still sitting comfortably in the seat ie. the shoulder straps are passing over the childs shoulders at the correct angle and the childs head is not to far over the top of the seat. If it is a larger booster with a built in harness is required, they now have a couple of ones that have adjustable head rests to fix this problem.
Choosing a child restraint
:yeahthat: Most states motor registries have the same sort of advice.
For us we had to get DD a new seat at just under two. So she went from her forward facing baby seat to a MaxiRider AHR because her head was already above the top of the babyseat (she's very tall). The MaxiRider while very exxie comes with the harness and is also convertable to a H harness or just the lap-sash belt. Sadly at just 4 she's going to grow out of even the Maxi Rider soon.
Many do not come with the 5point harness.
Not sure what state you are in but in many the harness is mandatory. Up here in the NT for example it isn't. For us it's a safety thing, as was the ability to secure the seat via an anchor point (there weren't as many options when we bought ours).
We just purchased a Maxi rider AHR for our son he was in a Hipod Milan 0-4yrs but his head was reaching the top, he's quite tall, the maxi's convert to a booster & on the box it says to convert to a booster at 4yrs old.
there is some info here:
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ter-seats.html
i believe in victoria that the rules have changed (again) inregards to the H harness, will see if i can find any info
We changed DS over to a convertible booster when he was 30 months old, Mainly because I need his forward facing seat for DD.
It has the built in harness until 18kgs, where you change to I think now just the lap sash belt in VIC (that's something I'll need to find out).
We got the Infa Comfy cruiser(which took over from the trek 8 is my memory serves me correctly). It's an alternative to the SNS... and I like it a bit better. It's smaller width wise, but fits taller children and as a booster has the highest safety rating (that's what the tests say!!! Don't shoot me SNS lovers! hahahaha). Once DD has outgrown her seat, we will buy another comfy cruiser for her.
Have a look at the sites posted. It gets a tad confusing, I know now I'll have to brush up on the rules with the harnesses again...
Good luck!
Oh this is another question I was meaning to ask... how do I find out what their safety ratings are and what they compare like with other seats... I am so a first time mum :doh: :lol::
What's SNS? and convertible booster? Eeek So confusing lol.
SNS = Safe and Sound - they'd be the most popular brand
Convertible booster- is one that can have a child from 9-26kgs. They have an inbuilt harness that takes up to 18kgs, that you remove once they are past the weight limit. I wouldn't suggest a 9kg child use these though... they would be a bit small adn the seat is so big.
Here is the seat I have:
Product Range - Infa-Secure
and here is a link to the ratings from 2009
http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/conne...f18f53baa8cac0
and I've just taken this from the vicroads website:
:
A child safety harness is not an inbuilt harness: it is an additional product to purchase. A child safety harness attaches to a child restraint anchorage point and is sometimes used by children aged 4 to 10 years (14–32 kg) with a booster seat or lap-only seatbelt.
Recent research recommends only using a child safety harness in situations where it is not possible to replace your lap-only seatbelt with a lap-sash seatbelt. The research does not recommend using a child safety harness with a lap-sash seatbelt.
If using a child safety harness with a booster seat, it is recommended to use a booster seat with an antisubmarining clip to hold the seatbelt down between the child’s legs.
If you are using a child safety harness, ensure that the shoulder straps are not too tight and that the lap part of the belt is very low across the thighs, otherwise it may ride up into the child’s stomach area. This may cause serious injury or death to a child in a crash.
The harness must be fitted correctly every time it is used.
Thank you so much for your help :)