RFing height limit question

[CHoney]

I noticed there are 2 hight limits for the Britax Marathon. One was a height guideline for RFing (18-32 inches) and one for FFing (29-49 inches). Can you keep a child RFing if they exceed the height of 32 inches?

My son is 4 months old, 27 inches tall and 14lbs, so I am trying to find a seat that he can stay RFing in the longest. We have a 2009 Corolla.

Also, when do new car seats come out in Canada?

Thank you for your help,

Carly

[Judi]

Yes. Go by the weight and make sure you make atleast one inch from the top of his head to the top of the seat shell.

[QuassEE]

Keep in mind that in ALL other cases, consider what your carseat manual and vehicle manual say to be REQUIRED. Children have varying proportions. As well, the increased safety associated with rear-facing is so important that it's impossible for me to recommend strict adherence to the arbitrary 32" number. Doing so would be recommending against best and safest practice. Until your child reaches the maximum weight limit of their seat OR 1" from the top of the shell, whichever comes first, they are far safer to remain rear-facing.

Keep in mind that there may be an issue of legality, depending on where you live. Disobeying the numerical height limitation could be considered illegal in provinces that require proper use. I would hope this would never be enforced.

-Nicole.

[Unregistered]

Ok, thank you! I am nervous because my son is so tall already, we have to replace his Graco Snugride soon, and I wasn't sure if I should wait until the new seats come out.

I was confused about the sticker limits on the car seats, but forgot about our new laws in Canada, so the new stickers might say they can FF when your child is one year, instead of 32"?

I'm happy to know you can leave them RFing until they are 1" from the top of the seat though or the max. weight. That's what I was hoping to do, and now I know I can.

Thanks again,
Carly

[canmom]

Keep in mind that there may be an issue of legality, depending on where you live. Disobeying the numerical height limitation could be considered illegal in provinces that require proper use. I would hope this would never be enforced.

-Nicole.

I wodered about that! Has anyone ever heard of that being enforced?

[snowbird25ca]

I wodered about that! Has anyone ever heard of that being enforced?

I haven't heard of it, but I'm going to email somebody and pose that question to somebody in the know here because I'm curious. :thumbsup:

eta: I sent the email but got an out of office auto-reply so I won't hear back until sometime next week. I'll update when I hear back.

[canmom]

KUP... I'm curious what they will say.

[snowbird25ca]

So in regards to the ticket question, it's ultimately up to the ticketing officer, but in the past there hasn't been a ticket issued unless a child has physically outgrown the seat rf'ing. Stickers aren't always visible at the roadside checks so most times it's unknown what the rf'ing limit is - so just the general 1" is used and straps below shoulders. :)

Now from a civil perspective, that's a different can of worms. But from a ticket perspective, there's unlikely to be a problem. :thumbsup:

[canadiangie]

OP,

We have two convertible seats in Canada with no numerical max rf height listed. Instead they go by the 1" rule. Those seats are the First Years TrueFit (rf's to 35lbs, ff up to 65lbs), and the Evenflo Triumph Advance (rf's to 30lbs, ff up to 47lbs if I remember correctly).

If you're worried about going against manufacturer guidelines, maybe consider one of the above mentioned seats. :thumbsup:

And good for you for wanting to rf your son as long as possible. :)