Jewels
12-03-2007, 09:02 AM
How to tell if your RF seat is outgrown by height:
It seems that how to tell when a RF (rear-facing) seat is outgrown is a fairly common question. It can be really hard to tell when a RF seat is outgrown, and a common misconception is looking from the front of the carseat to see if it is outgrown. The seat will pretty much always look outgrown from the front before it is truly outgrown because you need to look from the side.
This picture shows the correct way to measure. A line is drawn perpendicular to the shell/back of the carseat over the top of the child's head (#1). Then a second line is drawn out from the top of the shell parallel to the first line (#2).
Now measure the distance between the two lines. When there is *less than one inch*, the rearfacing restraint is outgrown by height.
http://images.pnimedia.com/GetImage.aspx/1Yr8_wjP_Gwp559rP13yQle9x,7nyX4b7MKmTWW_kg4rdM0d7L Eiz_R9TX8,xkeGdWkyOrt9mhbw-/image.jpg
This picture shows a common misconception with how people measure to check for the one inch rule. The line is drawn parallel to the ground from the top of the shell. You can see how this would appear to show the seat is outgrown, however it is incorrect to measure this way and this child still has room to grow in this seat.
http://images.pnimedia.com/GetImage.aspx/1l2DAZ4STEydIoAkWB,RdmE,tkvw2kudrUnOLSHisX4YW,zWWS 9zDiABsqvM,fx9KUpWOn3E9ZUM-/image.jpg
The best place to measure how much room is left in the seat is when the seat is installed in the vehicle. They're usually more upright in the house and the more upright they are the more shell there will be above the child's head making your measurements not acurate.
*Disclaimer* This 1" rule works for all infant seats. Some convertibles allow you to have the head even with the top of the shell, refer to your manual.
**The pictures used in this article are used with permission by An Aurora.
It seems that how to tell when a RF (rear-facing) seat is outgrown is a fairly common question. It can be really hard to tell when a RF seat is outgrown, and a common misconception is looking from the front of the carseat to see if it is outgrown. The seat will pretty much always look outgrown from the front before it is truly outgrown because you need to look from the side.
This picture shows the correct way to measure. A line is drawn perpendicular to the shell/back of the carseat over the top of the child's head (#1). Then a second line is drawn out from the top of the shell parallel to the first line (#2).
Now measure the distance between the two lines. When there is *less than one inch*, the rearfacing restraint is outgrown by height.
http://images.pnimedia.com/GetImage.aspx/1Yr8_wjP_Gwp559rP13yQle9x,7nyX4b7MKmTWW_kg4rdM0d7L Eiz_R9TX8,xkeGdWkyOrt9mhbw-/image.jpg
This picture shows a common misconception with how people measure to check for the one inch rule. The line is drawn parallel to the ground from the top of the shell. You can see how this would appear to show the seat is outgrown, however it is incorrect to measure this way and this child still has room to grow in this seat.
http://images.pnimedia.com/GetImage.aspx/1l2DAZ4STEydIoAkWB,RdmE,tkvw2kudrUnOLSHisX4YW,zWWS 9zDiABsqvM,fx9KUpWOn3E9ZUM-/image.jpg
The best place to measure how much room is left in the seat is when the seat is installed in the vehicle. They're usually more upright in the house and the more upright they are the more shell there will be above the child's head making your measurements not acurate.
*Disclaimer* This 1" rule works for all infant seats. Some convertibles allow you to have the head even with the top of the shell, refer to your manual.
**The pictures used in this article are used with permission by An Aurora.