My preference is the full seat, which also provides head protection, especially for side impact.

We use seats with ISO fix from Romer. Yes they are NOT cheap, but there are some things I will NOT skimp on and safety is one of them. The Romer Kid-fix (with ISO fix) is around 250chf. I think we paid a bit more as we went for the higher quality fabric (easier to keep clean/wipe down).

This seat should last him till he is 12, so that is 8 years: less than 32 chf per year. For me that is a small price to pay for our childs safety. Actually we have two of them one in each car, so it doesn't matter who picks him up.

Cheapest I found for these is here: http://www.kaenguruh.ch/pages/pg211-sortiment.html

Also good prices on Triptrap etc...

Legally no. They have to be EU approved with a label ECE R44/03 or ECE R44/04

My children are seven and ten, weigh about 25kg and are about 120cm.
So need a safety seat... Can they use a half booster (like the pink one shown), or do they need a full booster???

As far as I'm aware ones like the pink one are booster seats and are applicable for your childrens' ages.

The bigger full seat is for smaller children.

My 5yr. old uses one similar to the pink one.

That is what I believe, too. My almost 8 year old is getting too tall for the ones like the gray one listed above - her head is no longer fully protected by the headrest. But I am trying to find an outside source to be sure...

Edit: I have found conflicting info out there. One shows you must have one with a back, another one that mentions a child seat or "cushion" which to me would be the pink one. I am sticking with what we have which most likely are no good as they are from the US and Germany...

The grey one is not for smaller children - it is for older children and our 7 year old fits fine in his. We have friends with same-age children who have the small booster vs. the large

They are both for the same category. One is just safer than the other as it provides lumbar and head support in the event of a side-on collision. The smaller one has the advantage of being more transferable between cars if you have more than one.

I would be surprised if your child would be able to outgrow the head-rest on the seats that we have as they can slide up and down to suit the height of the child.

That said, it may just be that your child is big enough to no longer need a booster seat at all.

Well, I need to check that it was in the top position, but the last time we looked, she seemed like it was getting too small. She is about 132 cm, so not yet 150 cm...we have about 4 different kinds between 3 kids and 3 countries, so maybe there is one that still fits

Point of clarification needed here please.

At what age is it legal here for a child to sit in a front seat with the correct children's seat?

Thanks

Any age.

(although with a rear facing seat, the airbag should be switched off).

According to this -> http://www.astra.admin.ch/dienstleis...x.html?lang=de

Kids sitting in the front seat are fine, same regulations as sitting in the back seat - only addition is for rear facing baby seats the airbag has to be deactivated.

So much quicker typing than me...

Great thread...

Can someone clarify (I don't speak German or French and google translator isn't doing a great job), what about a 5yr old? The initial post says ages under 7 need booster or carseat. Is there specifications about which is required?

Also, I have a new Britax booster, it doesn't have a sticker, presumably because it was sold in the US. Do I need a new one?

At age 5 your child needs to be in a full seat, the small booster seats do not offer enough protection

Is that required by the law?

I don't know about the law there, but I know the law in the US doesn't cover what is really the safest option. I would not put my 5 year old in the bottom booster.

No, it's not law.

To the others:

In fact, for most types of accidents, a booster seat is as safe as a full child seat.

Have you ever wondered why the major childrens' car seat manufacturers don't make booster seats?

It wouldn't be in their interest financially. Why sell something for 10USD when you can sell something for 200USD?

Did you know that major childrens' car seat manufacturers exert so much pressure on crash safety testing facilities that it would be financial suicide for these facilities to test booster seats.

It's not just about safety, it's about money.

Got any support for that theory?

Which bit - the bit about it not being law or the rest?

I'm sure I could google something. I'll have a look later if you want.

It's not exactly a secret

The guys behind Freakonomics did research into the safety of car seats for kids. They found that above the age of 2 all that is required is a seat belt at the correct height. All of the car seat manufacturers claims are their seats versus an unrestrained child.

Same with the fanatical movement around rear-facing child seats. Sure they come out as safer than forward facing seats in certain types of accidents (direct rear impact collisions I think, can't remember all the precise details off the top of my head), but all the marketing fails to mention that in the event of an accident it would be safer for ALL passengers in a car to be rear-facing... including the driver! They don't give you any stats on other types of accidents. They don't quantify that it's actually a marginal improvement in safety which many people may feel is outweighed by other factors, e.g. forward facing child easier to keep happy, so less screaming in the car, so less likelihood of driver being distracted from safe driving. They just play to the guilt-factor of being a parent to make you shell out for much more expensive seats... as I did, in the full knowledge of everything I've just said :-)