Need help finding new seat.... please...

[ignora]

Hi all. I'm new around here, so I hope you don't mind if I pick your brains.

Ok, this question may have been asked before, so forgive me if this is the millionth time you've answered something like this.

My dd will be 4 in September. My problem right now is that her shoulders are starting to get above the highest harness slot in the carseat (a Century Accel) in my mom's car (a 2003 Chevy Tahoe). We live with my mom, so dd's in that car about 40% of the time, I guess.

My dd is about 37 inches tall, but only about 29 pounds (I don't know her exact torso height, but will try to figure it out). So, I don't think I will be able to put her in a booster (as my mom suggested... !!) for quite a while... like 2 or 3 years. And, because she gains weight really slowly (or has so far, anyway) but keeps getting taller and taller, I will probably have to replace the seat (Alpha Omega) in MY car too (a 2000 Hyundai Accent)... though I think I have a bit more growing room in that seat.

I guess I'm asking what my best options are so that she can stay harnessed for as long as possible, but without spending a small fortune. I'm more concerned how high the harness slots are than the weight limit, I guess... though I wouldn't complain if she could stay harnessed until she was 10! I want her to be as safe as possible and I WILL spend the extra money if it's truely the best option, but I'm not sure it's necessary. I hear a lot about the Britax Regent and I think it's wonderful looking, but I think dd will be 12 before she hits 80 lbs!

Oh, on the "as safe as possible" note... I waited to turn dd forward facing until she was 2 years old because 1) I'm paranoid and 2) she took almost that long to hit 22 pounds (the weight for turning on her Alpha Omega). I decided to turn her at that point because she was complaining about being uncomfortable with her legs bent. Now I'm wondering if I should turn her back rear facing... she's still within the weight limit for RF on the seat. I think she might have a coronary if I did it, though... and is she too tall?

Anyway, sorry to babble on. Thanks in advance. Let me know if you need more info...

Nora in CA

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness.

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[Papooses]

Hi there! No worries, all questions are welcome!

I'm not that familiar with the Accel, but please beware that the Alpha Omega has one of the worst design flaws ever -- the top harness slot is only for use as a booster ... so if she's using that slot she could be ejected in a crash I could just scream at Dorel Juvenile for not making this fact more clear in their manuals + on the seat *SIGH* (don't beat yourself up if you hadn't noticed it, because I'm sure that VERY FEW parents do)

The bare minimum recommendation to safely move a child to a booster is 4 years and (not or) 40# The longer kids stay harnessed according the limits of the seat, the better. Even better than that is to keep kids rear facing until the limits of the seat. Your child should ideally still be rear facing until there is 1" of space between the top of her head & the edge of the plastic shell/frame or 35# in the Alpha Omega (not sure what the rear facing weight limit is for the Accel). My website has detailed information on this that you can share with your mom & my daughter is in the Extended RF album > http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/LeilaWiz.aspx There's a link I included there which describes how I inspired her to appreciate RF. Also, share the album with kiddo & promise to add her to it....

We live with my parents, too, since my daughter's stepfather has a contracted position on a Native American Reservation out west & I'm still in college back here in NY. Feel free to vent about that issue anytime you like

Since the harness slots should be even with or below for RF (slightly above when FF), then RF could buy you some time till you absolutely must replace her seats -- I'd test out the Radian in both vehicles or save towards a Regent or Recaro Young Sport. The Apex is a decent alternative: lightweight for travel, but not as dedicated as the RYSport + it requires vehicle head support. Regent will keep kiddo harnessed the longest (race car drivers, pilots, etc. use harnesses because they are soooooo much safer in every crash type). RYSport has pretty high harness slot measurements & then becomes one of the most dedicated boosters on the market (meets both US standards + Eurpean side impact standards & has energy absorbing foam in the hips/torso as well as the head).

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness.

	RECARO - Click for more info With over 100 years of company history and long standing experience in vehicle seat construction RECARO knows how to make long journeys a pleasure for the whole family. Materials, design and technical highlights ensure a pleasant journey for adults and children alike. RECARO uses its strength as the premier mobile seat manufacturer to engineer an innovative line of products for your children. No other manufacturer can apply experience from production vehicles, commercial vehicles, and race cars to design toward the comfort and safety of children.

	Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65 - Click for more info If "the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 convertible car seat is (probably) the only car seat you will ever need," the "probably" part of this statement comes into play when you directly compare the Radian 80 with the Britax Regent. While the Radian 80 has a very high weight capacity, the seat width is only 10" vs. the Regent's 14" seat. The Britax Regent may be a bit wider, but it is very bulky, is only forward facing, and does not fold like the Radian 80. Because the Radian 80 is so narrow, you can potentially put three of them side by side in the back seat. Three Regents side by side? Impossible.

[Beatle412]

I'm sorry if I missed it, but what is your daughters torso height? Sit her against a wall, flat butted, and measure the top of her shoulders. This could help when reccomending a newer seat.

Steph

[ignora]

Sorry to go all MIA on you... I work nights and it's really difficult to get online during the week. Sundays are about the only day I can really spend any time online.

I appreciate the thoughts and advice so far. Thanks!

Anyway, I had an "Oh cr@p!" moment when I read about the top harness slot in the Alpha Omega. I went and pulled the seat out and she's on the third slot down. So, that means I can move her up one more slot, right? They should put a sticker on the back of the seat about that. I mean, I read the manual twice through when I got the seat, and again when I had to take the cover off to wash... and I don't recall anything about that top harness slot. Geesh! So, thank goodness you warned me!

I'm not sure now if I can move her back to rearfacing in the AO . I was only thinking about the 35# limit on the seat. I had forgotten about the "within one inch" rule when rfing, and I'd need to measure. She's pretty close to that, I think. And the Accel has a 30# limit, so it's not even worth bothering with in that seat. Plus, it's expiring in Dec 2007... it was a hand-me-down from someone we know.

I found the chart on the main site here with the slot heights. Like you said, Regent seems like the best bet for longest use... I just don't know if it will fit in my car. I wish I could see one in person.

It seems like a lot of the seats have a 17-17.5 inch top slot height (Marathon, FPSVD, Apex, CarGo, YoungSport, Evenflo Chase, etc). I'm worried if I get one of those seats that I'll have to replace it again in a few years (I sat her in a Marathon in Target just to see, and she'd be using the 2nd slot down from the top... and she's pretty even with it).

I measured her torso height and it's around 13 1/2 inches.... give or take. I'm wondering now if I measured right because she'd be in the third slot down on the Marathon according to the chart. Anyway, it seems like a waste of money to get a cheap (or not so cheap) seat now and then have to replace it in a few years. I might as well just get a bigger, expensive one. Of course, in a few years she'll be closer to 6 and might be ok with a booster... but I'm not sure I want to take that chance.

Maybe you have better/different thoughts?

I'm also wondering about the new Recaros coming out this summer. What do you think?

Nora

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Marathon - Click for more info Increasing the time a child can safely stay in their convertible car seat is a big issue and Britax engineers have come through in a big way with the introduction of the Britax Marathon with LATCH. A LATCH Compatible Convertible Child Seat, the Britax Marathon can be used rear facing 5 to 33 pounds and forward facing from 20 to 65 pounds. Compare the numbers and you will see it is hard to find a seat with these weight limits that is safe and functional.

	Britax Regent - Click for more info The Britax Regent is the safe way to carry your older and larger passengers, all the way up to 80 lbs. Known as the "king of all car seats," the Britax Regent will accomodate your little king or queen for far longer than traditional car seats or booster seats. The Regent features a large roto-molded shell, comfy extra-thick comfort foam, washable covers, Patented Versa-Tether™, flexible buckle LATCH system, patented HUGS™ system, and tangle-free polyester 5-point harness.

	Graco CarGo booster seat - Click for more info The Graco CarGo is a dependable and easy to use booster seat. When your child is on the lower end of the height/weight limits for the seat, the 5-point harness is used to keep them safely in place. It features a convenient one-pull snugging mechanism in the front of the seat - making it easy to tighten the straps down after your child has been buckled in. When your child is around 35-40" tall, the CarGo's harness can be removed, so that the seat can be used as a belt-positioning booster, using the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt. In this mode, the Graco CarGo will work for kids up to 54" or 100 lbs. Both the Platinum and the Ultra CarGo feature an Energy Absorbing Foam (EPS) liner, a removable, washable seat pad, and a cup holder. The Platinum CarGo is a softer and more comfortable seat than the Ultra CarGo (although still not as comfy as the well-padded Britax booster seats).