Monarch

[aisraeltax]

we got our Monarch today!!! yeh!!!

i have a few Q's though. my son loves love loves it....but i am just a bit concerned b/c i noticed it moved when i turned a corner. is there something that i should be using (for the seat belts) that i dont know about?

i dont know what locking clips are in older seats...but that thought came to mind.

can anyone help pls? tia

[joolsplus3]

Is this your first highback booster? They can be disturbingly tippy, until you get used to them being normally tippy ;). This one's also very top heavy so it's probably a bit worse than something with a light back like the Turbo.

[aisraeltax]

yes, this is my first (well,...i take that back..we had a EB one a few years ago but its was ONE piece and just sat lower and different.

so there is nothign i should be doing that im not doing then?

[aisraeltax]

here is a pix:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm134/passionatewriter/0422081808.jpg

can anyone tell me if this looks ok?

tia

[skiersnowboarder3]

Looks OK to me. Though, I might move the back up a notch if it goes up any more. I don't think it's too low the way it is but it may be more comfortable for him if you move it up a little.

[aisraeltax]

up to the max...he's 4'5 and 10 yo.

[skiersnowboarder3]

Oh well then it looks good only he won't have very long in it.

[aisraeltax]

yeh, i know. i probably shoudl have got the Monterey (?)...but he loved having a Britax like his brother (b/c he's heard over and over how safe they are). It was his decision which booster he got, and honestly...putting a kid back in a booster is not an easy thing to do, yk?? so im ok w/ it.

ill probably just sell it after hes done b/c his youngest brother will only be 8 when it expires....so its not a good candidate for a hand me down.

does anyone know how long he can use the back of it? i konw i can take the back off and use until 100 lbs. (which hes pretty far from so will be useful for at least a few years)...but i cant find a limit for the use of the back portion.

[chickabiddy]

yeh, i know. i probably shoudl have got the Monterey (?)...but he loved having a Britax like his brother (b/c he's heard over and over how safe they are). It was his decision which booster he got, and honestly...putting a kid back in a booster is not an easy thing to do, yk?? so im ok w/ it.

There is absolutely no proof that Britax seats are safer than any other seats. The safest seat is one that fits your child and your vehicle. If your son is close to outgrowing the Monarch (it looks that way) and you don't like the tippiness of the seat, a Monterey would be an excellent choice.

[joolsplus3]

Just FYI, the whole seat is good for the whole 100 pounds :thumbsup: Wow, there's a lot of width room in that seat, but it sure doesn't seem very tall!
Your DS is a good sport for being so open to riding in a booster. You can use it backless or see if the Monterey is taller (I'm not entirely sure it is, based on preliminary real life reports, though...)

[aisraeltax]

There is absolutely no proof that Britax seats are safer than any other seats. The safest seat is one that fits your child and your vehicle. If your son is close to outgrowing the Monarch (it looks that way) and you don't like the tippiness of the seat, a Monterey would be an excellent choice.

i really need to learn that my words are going to picked apart here.

my comment was in relation to what my older son has heard ME say to him about his brother's car seats and the seats we are getting for his brother. My son (at 10) is fairly ill informed re: safety of the different types of car seats and crash testing results...he's pretty much a parrot of me at this point (for better or worse i guess you could say (he has already said he's going to make sure his future wife will breastfeed their kids before marriage! my little lactivist! lol!).

as far as the tippiness, im not seeing that the Monterey is getting any better reviews. I think the issue for us is going to be how long i can keep him IN the Monarch...b/c he does love it. I wont have a problem returning it and getting the Monterey IF its going to give me a longer use time but im wondering if that is actually going to be the case (someone said the additional 20 lbs. isnt sufficient reason).

we knew ds wouldnt have much time in this seat and we are fine with that. the bottom line is that he doesnt pass teh 5 point test in our new SUV and he did in the car..so he's back into a booster. For a 10 year old to be ok with that, i am pretty happy. He could have easily given me a hard time and insisted on a backless booster (which would have been safe, im sure..but not safest).

I tend to forget how ppl take comments regarding Britax on this site. For me, i "feel" they are the safest seats I can buy. That feeling is simply based on alot of research and the best any of us can do is look at all the research and make a decision for ourselves and our families. I certainly dont expect everyone to agree w/ me on my OPINION,yk?

and I did just buy 2 True Fits as backups...so its not as if im adverse to another brand.

If there is a real reason for me to return the Monarch and get the Monterey (after talking to my son and getting his OK b/c really...he's 10 and old enough to have a say in this issue) then i will be more than glad to suck up the cost of return shipping and get something more appropriate.

BTW, i did start 2 threads about this before placing an order for the Monarch. I didn't get much response so I didnt really have alot to go on..other than looking at what was out there and reading reviews, etc. etc.

[chickabiddy]

I tend to forget how ppl take comments regarding Britax on this site. For me, i "feel" they are the safest seats I can buy. That feeling is simply based on alot of research and the best any of us can do is look at all the research and make a decision for ourselves and our families. I certainly dont expect everyone to agree w/ me on my OPINION,yk?

I'm not questioning your opinion, or the decisions you make regarding your seats and your family.

And I'm not even anti-Britax -- I've owned several, because at certain times they were the best solution to my vehicle/child/carseat equation.

But I do feel that when we are posting as "CPS Advocates", we need to be careful not to tout the superiority of a certain brand name (as opposed to the features of a certain seat). It does a serious disservice to readers/lurkers/newbies when a person who has a high(ish) post count and "CPS Advocate" title implies that one brand of seat is safer than another brand.

[joolsplus3]

The title under people's names is automatic (most people don't know or care how to go into User CP and change it...). And I don't think an 'Advocate' is the same as a tech that she needs to choose her words SO carefully, honestly. Saying Britax is safe is not a slam against other brands, either. :)

[aisraeltax]

I'm not questioning your opinion, or the decisions you make regarding your seats and your family.

And I'm not even anti-Britax -- I've owned several, because at certain times they were the best solution to my vehicle/child/carseat equation.

But I do feel that when we are posting as "CPS Advocates", we need to be careful not to tout the superiority of a certain brand name (as opposed to the features of a certain seat). It does a serious disservice to readers/lurkers/newbies when a person who has a high(ish) post count and "CPS Advocate" title implies that one brand of seat is safer than another brand.


i really dont think the title "cps advocate" limits my recommendations. i realize it does for a tech, but im just an avg. mom who is obsessed with car seat safety. i havent taken on any other obligations IRT my opinions on this board. its kind of unfair to say that b/c this site owner puts something under a persons name based on time here and posts made that we are somehow sensored, yk? I "feel" the Britax seats are safer for me and my family...its just hard to remember to type that out each time i post something.

im here to learn what i dont know about car seats and safety for my kids in the car. im really not here to have speech limited just b/c of a title under my name, esp. when i had nothing to do with it.

[aisraeltax]

Just FYI, the whole seat is good for the whole 100 pounds :thumbsup: Wow, there's a lot of width room in that seat, but it sure doesn't seem very tall!
Your DS is a good sport for being so open to riding in a booster. You can use it backless or see if the Monterey is taller (I'm not entirely sure it is, based on preliminary real life reports, though...)

so height doesnt matter? as long as hes comfortable, i can keep him in the back portion? i appreciate your help. :)

[Defrost]

To answer a question from your first post, you cannot use a locking clip with a booster seat.

Because boosters are not actually installed, they tend to move around quite a bit more than carseats. It's alarming at first, but quite normal.

As far as the fit, the booster seat needs to make an adult seat belt fit on a child. That means the lap portion of the seatbelt needs to be low on the hips, and the shoulder portion of the seatbelt needs to cross at the collarbone. In the pic you posted, the booster is doing both, so it's a good fit. :thumbsup:

I think some of the responses got confusing - height does matter with a HBB. The tops of his ears need to be below the top of the headrest portion of the booster, and the belt guide needs to be at or above his shoulder. If the belt guide is below the shoulder, it's not quite as big a deal as it is with a carseat, but it will almost always cause the seatbelt to be improperly positioned.

It looks like he'll be using this booster backless before too long, at which point you need to make sure the vehicle headrest is properly positioned, with the child's ears centered between the top and the bottom of the headrest.

As for returning the Monarch and getting a Monterey instead, the benefits of doing that would be that the Monterey HBB will provide head support longer than the Monarch (which shouldn't be an issue for you as your vehicle has adjustable headrests, yes?) and the Monterey HBB will provide more side-impact protection (does your vehicle have side-curtain airbags?) Another factor is comfort if your child falls asleep in the vehicle - the Monterey HBB will give him something to sleep against. If the sleeping, SIP, and head support aren't issues for you, then the Monarch should be fine.

[aisraeltax]

To answer a question from your first post, you cannot use a locking clip with a booster seat.

Because boosters are not actually installed, they tend to move around quite a bit more than carseats. It's alarming at first, but quite normal.

As far as the fit, the booster seat needs to make an adult seat belt fit on a child. That means the lap portion of the seatbelt needs to be low on the hips, and the shoulder portion of the seatbelt needs to cross at the collarbone. In the pic you posted, the booster is doing both, so it's a good fit. :thumbsup:

I think some of the responses got confusing - height does matter with a HBB. The tops of his ears need to be below the top of the headrest portion of the booster, and the belt guide needs to be at or above his shoulder. If the belt guide is below the shoulder, it's not quite as big a deal as it is with a carseat, but it will almost always cause the seatbelt to be improperly positioned.

It looks like he'll be using this booster backless before too long, at which point you need to make sure the vehicle headrest is properly positioned, with the child's ears centered between the top and the bottom of the headrest.

As for returning the Monarch and getting a Monterey instead, the benefits of doing that would be that the Monterey HBB will provide head support longer than the Monarch (which shouldn't be an issue for you as your vehicle has adjustable headrests, yes?) and the Monterey HBB will provide more side-impact protection (does your vehicle have side-curtain airbags?) Another factor is comfort if your child falls asleep in the vehicle - the Monterey HBB will give him something to sleep against. If the sleeping, SIP, and head support aren't issues for you, then the Monarch should be fine.

thank you so much!! i bolded some of your post.

so....he looks like he will be in this for awhile, since at the time his ears get to the top of the headrest, he will need to come out of the seat b/c his head will be at the top of the roof of the car. I think my pix is not very good b/c the top of the Monarch is almost at the top of the roof (prob. only about 4-5 inches until then)...so at that point, i think he will be too tall (in the torso) for the backless booster part. I SHOULD have taken more pix but he kept saying "are you putting this pix on the net" (lol!).

the "at or below the shoulder" issue is probably going to cause him to outgrow this seat before the "ears" portion, right? it looks like he only has a few inches of growth there.

my vehicle does have side impact air bags and also the curtain side air bags (not sure the terms here..i know there are 2 different airbags on each side and have been wondering about those and car seats also).

i knew this seat wouldnt be used for very long. im honestly ok w/ the price and if i were to send this back for the Monterey, it wouldnt save me any money since i would need to pay return shipping for the Monarch. A friend of mine just got the Monterey and she isnt finding any greater height for her son...so im a bit conflicted.

i so appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

one other issue i think that i never thought about w/ one of these seats is that it needs to be have the seat belt around it when not in "use"......i try to prevent projectiles in the car and realized today as we were traveling w/o ds2 (who rides in teh Monarch) that unrestrained, this is another projectile! duh me!!

[Defrost]

the "at or below the shoulder" issue is probably going to cause him to outgrow this seat before the "ears" portion, right? it looks like he only has a few inches of growth there.

Yes, it's usually outgrown by the shoulder rather than the ears. :)

my vehicle does have side impact air bags and also the curtain side air bags (not sure the terms here..i know there are 2 different airbags on each side and have been wondering about those and car seats also).

Your vehicle manual should have a detailed explanation.

one other issue i think that i never thought about w/ one of these seats is that it needs to be have the seat belt around it when not in "use"......i try to prevent projectiles in the car and realized today as we were traveling w/o ds2 (who rides in teh Monarch) that unrestrained, this is another projectile! duh me!!

Yep, and they're really big, heavy projectiles at that! Sitting up rather high on the vehicle seat, as well. I always buckle our boosters in, even though I find it rather annoying. I've tried to teach my kids to do it, but they still forget. :rolleyes: