[k10]

After some advice / clarification please EBers. We have a Safe n Sound maxi (4 years old) in my car and an Infa Secure Comfi-Crown (or similar, converts to booster like the maxi purchased about 7 months ago) in DH's car. DS1 is 4 in a couple of weeks and tall for his age. He is easily over the booster markers - although we aren't using the seats as boosters yet as the in-built harness still fits him.

We plan to move DS2 into the maxi in my car soon (he is still in the safe n sound unity capsule we have) and in preparation purchased a Safe n Sound Urban booster seat for DS1 with the recommended harness. After installing it I am not happy with the way the harness restrains him. it comes over the top of the seat as there are no adjustable markers the seat (although the cover has slits !?!). The over the shoulder restraint doesn't seem to secure him well and I'm concerned that in an accident his right shoulder in particular would not be restrained.

So, questions:
1. Does this sound normal for the Urban booster seat? Is it just a matter of him growing a bit more and it will fit better? But what about in the meantime??
2. Do we have to convert the Infa secure to booster once he is over the marker (which he is now)? It still has another slit level to go but I need to check whether the inbuilt harness can be used through this slit (I know in the maxi it can't be used in the top slit).
3. Presumably we need to buy new harnesses for the Infa secure and maxi to use them in booster mode ... will we have the same problem as the Urban or do the harnesses go through the top slits only?
4. what would you do??

Thanks!

[lsolaBella]

First I would return the Urban Booster AND the Harness.

Then I would purchase an SnS HiLiner and use that with the lap sash seatbelt. This is how booster seats are primarily designed to be used. The add on harnesses are ONLY required if you are using the booster seat in a seating position with lap belt only. Other then this, the ADD on harness gas been shown in research to provide at best no better protection then a lap sash seatbelt and at worst can CAUSE injury in an accident.

There is a sticky at the top if this forum with more information.


http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Safety...tyHarnesses.htm


A child safety harness is NOT an inbuilt harness: it is an additional product to purchase.

A child safety harness is attached to a child restraint anchorage point and is sometimes used with a booster seat or lap-only seatbelt.

A child safety harness is difficult to fit correctly. Do not use a child safety harness where a lap-sash seatbelt is available. Research recommends using a child safety harness only in situations where it is not possible to replace your lap-only seatbelt with a lap-sash seatbelt.

If you are not able to replace your lap-only seatbelt with a lap-sash seatbelt you will need to use a child safety harness with a booster seat. In this case, it is recommended to use a booster seat with an anti-submarining feature to hold the lap part of the seatbelt down low on the child’s hips. Examples of anti-submarining features are displayed below.

[jenchristo]

You may also want to think about whether your baby will fit in the Maxi Rider. I know they say from 6mo+ but IMO they are better suited to 2yo+. The seat is very upright and the baby will slump forwards while sleeping. Plus, rear facing for as long as possible is much safer. Perhaps consider a 0-4 convertible seat?

[k10]

Thanks for your reply. We have used the seat and harness so all tags are removed etc so I doubt we can return them. I think i will give the booster to my parents for their car and install the Infa Secure Comfi we bought for their car into mine for now. I then need to investigate more thoroughly how the sns maxi and the infa comfi convert to boosters.

The Urban came out on top of the Choice review last year so we thought we were making a good choice!

[lsolaBella]

Choice review was looking at ease of use type things. No consideration for safety.

CREP is independent safety testing

http://m.crep.com.au/listing.php?type=booster

Instructions for your Infa seat so you can convert to booster


http://www.infasecure.com.au/product_range...le-Booster-Seat


Maxi Rider manual

http://www.britax.com.au/img/product/descr.../maxi_rider.pdf



Personally I would purchase an easier to use dedicated booster seat. The Hipod Boston gets top CrEP marks.

Like Pp suggested I would also not put a child under 2 yrs in either of those seats.

[k10]

We refitted the Urban with the lap sash seatbelt and it is 100% better. So a total waste of money on the harness - frustrating that the manufacturers continue to recommend them. We primarily purchased this booster to take with us on a plane in April for use in a hire car and it will be good for that purpose. We will rethink all seats then as DS2 will fit in the RF Unity for at least 2 more months if not longer.

Thanks for all the info.

[lsolaBella]

Check out the SnS Lifestylemfor bubs. They should be able to continue RF in that seat for awhile. Other option is the Infa Neon/Kompressor. They also have high markers for RF.

For travel the Infa Traveller folding booster is good. No tether and only $59

http://www.infasecure.com.au/product_range...--The-Traveller

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 04/02/2013, 07:29 PM

[roses99]

OP, I agree that there's a lot of confusion around. The rules themselves (and the recommendations) are pretty clear, but you have to go searching for it and there's a lot of MISinformation around as well. I got the worst misinformation from the baby store, and even the car seat installer at the ambulance service fed me the wrong info. I would definitely not be trusting Choice's opinion; they haven't put those seats through safety testing. Only CREP has.

Like you, I bought an add-on harness and - because I couldn't take it back - I just threw it out. And then I went and bought a new seat.

If your four year old is too big for the convertible in in-build harness mode, then get a dedicated booster like IsolaBella recommended. My 5.5 year old is fairly tall but very skinny and he still fits into his Maxi Rider in 5-pt harness mode. When he outgrows it, we'll put him into an SnS Hiliner.

My daughter is a solid little thing at 2.5 and she is in a SnS Meridian AHR T&A. She was able to rear face in that seat until she was almost two years old. Legally, she's well and truly big enough to go in DS's Maxi Rider but we keep her in the Meridian because she's safer in that than a convertible booster. I would definitely not dream of putting a child less than two in a MaxiRider.

This post has been edited by roses99: 04/02/2013, 07:46 PM

[k10]

Thanks again. Both my boys are long/tall for their age, particularly DS1. The reason we went with a Maxi for him was on advice from the car seat fitters who suggested that he would outgrow a 0-4 way before 4yrs and this ended up being the case.

We had a 0-4 sns seat (old style second hand from a close friend) in my parents car and he outgrew it about 6 months ago in height but not weight. That was why we went down the road of purchasing 2 infa secure convertibles (one for my parents car one for DH's car). He can stay in the in built harness in the infa's for some time by the looks of the height slits today.

I was never really happy about DS1 being in the maxi at 8 months and we kept him in the unity capsule as long as we could. It looks like DS2 will be in the Unity longer as he's not as long as DS1 was as a bub. If it looks like he can stay rear facing till nearly 2 I will put him in a 0-4 seat ... but if he is too tall for RF mode then I may as well put him in the maxi rather than purchase yet another seat. Hiring a 0-4 for a few months could also be a good option.

We were going to get the Infa Secure traveller for our trip until the Urban came up on sale at Target half price ... it's very light and no tether - thinking we were getting a better seat we went with it. It will serve the purpose for the trip but I just wish we had never bought the harness.

I swear this is worse than buying a car and way more confusing!

[lsolaBella]

New height based Compaq/Lifestyle suit a child to around 90-95 cm RF and up to 115-120cm forward facing. Obviously differences occur due to torso to leg ratios of each child.

Don't worry, I remember being horrified years ago when my cousin was told to put her then 3yo in a booster seat and give the younger sibling the Maxi Rider straight out from capsule this was by Kidsafe



This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 04/02/2013, 09:49 PM