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Hi Bonnie,

Great wee forum you have set up here!!!

Just found out this morning we are expecting #2 early next year but need to start thinking about car seats. 

We have a Guardian car seat which our 21 month old uses but it goes from birth which is why we brought it.  Now I'm not sure if a 2.5 year old would be able to go to someone kind of booster seat leaving the current car seat free for #2 or whether we would be best to hire a capsule 1st and then buy a booster when she is old enough.

Please any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks,
Louise

Hi Scamp

Sorry about the late reply! I was sure I typed up and posted a response but looked again, and it's not here!

Anyway, Do you definitely not want to use an infant seat for #2? And no, a booster seat is not an appropriate restraint for a 2.5 year old so that would be NO to a booster seat, but a convertible booster is certainly a fine enough option.

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie,

We might look at the convertible booster seat - any recommendations? 

Then that way this little squirt can go straight into the car seat and we don't have to worry about a capsule then upgrading later, that might make the wallet feel a little better about this all  :D

Hi again Louise :)

It's a bit hard for me to give recommendations as each "case" is rather "individual" and depends on your car, i.e. the shape of the seats and so forth, and it also depends on your budget, your needs, what's easy (or easy enough) for you to install, which one suits your childs age, weight, height etc. There is a whole lot of text on this page http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/car-seat-reviews.html that I suggest that you read through (skip the reviews though, as they're not all up yet, but the info on what you need to consider at the top is still good).

There's quite a few convertible boosters out there. I could go on naming them all day. There isn't any "one" seat I could recommend because as above, it has to meet all those requirements (good fit in the car, suits your child etc etc) because there isn't any point me "recommending" a car seat if it can't be installed properly in your car!

Some things you might want to consider however - how much does your child weigh, how tall are they, do you want a tethered convertible booster? If so, do you have approved anchor bolts in your car. Or, if you don't want tethered convertible boosters are your seat belts long enough for some un-tethered ones that require a decent amount of seatbelt length? Also, one of the biggest deciding factors does tend to be the budget, and fair enough too!

Knowing that information might help me to "prune" the list down so to speak..

Amelia is still a small fry but luckily I have found 2 convertible booster seats which will fit a child from 8kg to 26kg but would like to know which one is best or at least the features!

We are looking at the Safe and Sound Maxi Rider II or the Safe and Sound Maxi Rider AHR.....