A seat for Paula

Depending on what our children are like, we must install a different type of CRS in our car so that they can travel safely. When it comes to choosing the most suitable model, many parents have a lot of doubts. This is, for example, the case of Paula’s parents.

Paula is a girl in an above-average (large) percentile. She is 2.5 years old and can hardly fit in her car seat, a rotating seat for children up to 105 cm. Her family wonders if Paula can move to a booster with a backrest because of her size or does she have to stay in a rear-facing seat until she is about 4 years old.

The first thing to consider is that Paula is still a baby, with everything that this implies. The ossification of her vertebrae and their arrangement is that of a 30-month-old infant. So, if Paula is placed in a forward-facing position on a booster seat with a backrest, her neck is still not sufficiently developed to withstand the loads resulting from an impact.

For her safety, Paula should stay in the rear-facing position for as long as possible. For this reason, we would advise her family that, if the 105 cm rear-facing seats are too small for her, they should look for a rear-facing seat for children up to 125 cm that will guarantee this position for as long as possible, at least up to the age of 4.

Various brands sell this type of product and it will not be difficult to find a chair like this.

We recommend, however, that before you go to the specialist store to buy this product, you read our post Which car seat should I buy?