Toddler ERF in Britax MA-please help me with suggestions!

[Unregistered]

Hello, I think this looks like the right place to ask my questions :)

My daughter is 2.5yrs old, she is approx 27-28lbs and 36-37" at the moment. I have her RF in a MA but just noticed that the height limit is only 32" for RF. She has plenty of room at the top of the shell so I just assumed it was the same as FF, when they are within 1" of the shell they have outgrown it-I sure hope I'm right-I must be b/c 4yr olds can RF in MA's and are taller than 32".

My seat only RF's to 30lbs. I am going to check dd's weight soon, but I am feeling anxious about turning her around when she is approx 3-3.5yrs old.

Originally I had planned to have dd RF in the seat until the limit, then turn her FF-now I am wondering if I should look into a seat that RF's to 35lbs. We also have a nearly 7yr old who is riding EH in a sunshine kids radian. Dd was going to go from the MA to the radian when she outgrew the MA (ours is an 06 model with a 48lb limit) but now I wonder if I should sell our MA and get something else so dd can RF longer.


I would appreciate any input here, none of my friends ERF at all, so to have a 2.5yr old RF is not the norm IRL. I have told everyone the importance of ERF and EH but nobody seems to care.

Would you turn a 30lb 3yr old FF in a MA or buy something else? If you would buy a seat that RF to 35lbs what would you get?

Thanks so much!

[vonfirmath]

The weight on a car seat is absolute, but the height limit is not.

A car seat is outgrown Rearfacing by height when there is less than an inch of shell above the head. A child with a proportionally smaller torso will have a larger overall height when this happens.

[TechnoGranola]

Are you in Canada? If so, then the Britax manuals have a couple of warnings in the manual about the 32" RF height limit (they threaten death if you don't follow it). That being said, there is no 32" height limit on the seats in the U.S. and it really seems to be that Britax has it there due to a misunderstanding on CMVSS which requires a height be listed (but that height does NOT have to be 32"). Personally, I am irked that Britax has put that limit, has likely misunderstood CMVSS and has kept the majority of their seats at 30 lbs max RF in Canada.

My DD is a bit older, a little bit heavier but about the same height and fits great in The First Years True Fit which goes on sale for $149 at Zellers (and is also sold at ToysRUs/BabiesRUs). It rear-faces to 35 pounds and the height limit listed in the manual is the 1 inch rule (RF until top of head is within one inch of shell). It also has a really nice tall shell so plenty of room above a child's head. With your child being close to the weight limit on the MA, I'd seriously consider a TF.

[Unregistered]

Hi,
Yes I am in Canada. Wouldnt 32" be around 1.5yrs old? Are they aiming for everyone to turn their kids around at a year and 20lbs? YIKES!!

Overall we LOVE the MA. I love the britax quality and am a bit apprehensive about trying other brands. We also really like the radian, but it has the same RF limit.

I used to own an evenflo victory 5 (for those of you who have been techs for a while or really know your seats) for my nearly 7yr old and it was such a terrible seat I nearly had a tantrum everytime I tried to use it. I was told at BRU that it was "the best" and at $150 it was one of their pricier seats at the time (2003) Britax was not even available in mainstream stores, I dont even think I had seen one at that time.

We bought the evenflo and HATED it with a passion. I even called CS thinking the seat was defective, I could hardly tighten the crotch strap when the seat was RF. We got rid of it and moved on to the MA when they became more readily available (after using a harnessed booser in the meantime) and I have never looked back.

When we were buying the radian I looked at some other seats but nothing we saw compared to it IMO (I did not see every seat, and I'm sure there are many more out there now)

Bottom line is that I'm not sure if dd can RF over 32" in the MA in Canada, and once she hits 30lbs I am torn about turning her FF. I will check out Zellers for the seat mentioned above, but is it as nice as my MA? I know dh loves our seats as well and would not agree to a switch if we were switching to something that was not at par with the MA.

Does anyone have suggestions of stores with staff who actually know about carseats? I know BRU staff do not, and TJ's staff are mediocre at best. I did find the people at babies world helpful when we bought the radian, but techs are probably the best bet with my questions right?

It's nice to find a board like this. I'm sure 99.9% of the people here are going to tell me to replace my MA with a seat that RF until 35lbs so dd can RF for as long as possible. The other board I visit (not car seat related) would think I'm crazy for even considering keeping my 2.5yr old RF, let alone dropping another large chunk of change on another seat to keep her RF even longer. There have been some HUGE debates going on, and it's quite sad really.

One last question, if I do part with my MA, how much would you sell a 2006 (July) model for, no accidents of course. I want to be prepared to give dh all the info if I do decide to switch to another seat. Its best to have all the info and then just let him know what I want to do and why ;)

Thanks again for the replies!

[Unregistered]

bumping :)

does anyone know if its dangerous to RF in a MA an Canada past 32"?

[syd'smom]

I have a radian premiere that has the same silly 32" "rule" in their manual. DD is 2.5yo, 27lbs, and about 34-35". She is still rearfacing. There is a good 6-7" of shell above her head; so I have no problem ignoring the 32" thing. That said, she too is nearing the weight limit.

I am currently trying to decide between the trufit and the new radian xt (both with 35lb rfing limits). I think there are a couple of other seats that rf to 35lbs, but they don't also ff in the harness to 65lbs like the trufit and radian - so those are my 2 choices right now. Happy shopping! ;)

[TechnoGranola]

bumping :)

does anyone know if its dangerous to RF in a MA an Canada past 32"?I don't believe there is anything about Canada that makes the seat magically not work after 32" RF. :) I suppose it is possible that the seat doesn't pass CMVSS testing after 32" RF, but I really doubt that. Especially because different 32" tall kids will fit the seat differently anyway depending on leg vs upper body length. I guess the main issue is that you're technically going against the manual (all the red box warnings Britax has in the manual) and I suppose an insurance company *could* try and give you hassles in an accident because the seat was used against manufacturer's guidelines. I also think that's doubtful because there is much greater misuse that happens all the time and insurance companies aren't hassling people about that (small kids in seat belts, unrestrained kids, etc.).

As for the TF compared to the MA, well I've had both and I much prefer the TF. The TF has WAY more leg room, shoulder room and height than the MA. It has larger sides for sleeping, and it sits lower so it's easier for a child to climb in without bonking their head on the door sill. It also doesn't have a base and is kinder to the vehicle seats than the MA (at least in both vehicles I installed it in). It's only drawback really is that the harness adjuster can be difficult to get to in some vehicles, but even that is better to me than how difficult the MA harness was to adjust (I couldn't stand tugging on the MA adjuster a billion times to tighten). I did find the MA quicker to install and liked how there was separate adjusters for each UAS hook, but the TF wasn't difficult to install and it's not like I need to install it often. My parents have a TF in their vehicle as well and my dad installs it a few times a week and says it's a breeze now that he's used to it.

Like the previous poster suggested, you could also check out the Radian XT.

[momto2princes]

My DS turned 3 in April and is just shy of 30lbs and almost 39" and until today he was happily RF in his Marathon. I just bought and installed the Radian XT so that he can continue RF for another 5lbs. I have only owned the XT for 10 hours and other than it being tricky to install RF I would have to say I love it and DS loves it too!!

I had a hard time deciding to part with my Marathon but I can confidently say I am more than happy with my decision and will not be looking back at all.

I tried my best to love the True Fit I looked at it several times in the store because the price point was so desirable but for what ever reason I just couldn't bring myself to take it to the check out.

[Unregistered]

Thank you for all the replies :)

So the consensus here is that it is worth buying another seat to keep a toddler RF until 35lbs vs the 30lbs limit my MA has...and the radian xt or true fit would be the best options. What is the difference between the radian 65 and the radian xt, is it the 35lb RF limit? We have the radian 65 and really like it for our nearly 7yr old.

Where is the best place in the lower mainland of BC to look for the above mentioned seats?

Thanks so much!

[Unregistered]

I just looked up the radian xt on a canadian website and it appears to have the same limits as the radian 65 we have, meaning RF only to 30lbs (though it RF's to 35lbs and FF's harnessed to 80lbs in the US) I wanted to double check this with you ladies.

[momto2princes]

Yes the XT is the only Radian model that goes to 35lbs RF in Canada.
Also the Truefit, XT, or apparently a few 3n1's are your only 35lbs RF choices.

[sparkyd]

There are actually now 7 seats that RF to 35 lbs in Canada, but only 3 of them harness FF to 65 lbs:

- First Years True Fit
- Radian XT (ONLY the XT)
- Britax Advocate (ONLY the Advocate - no other Britax seats)

So if you are really enamoured with Britax, you can get an Advocate for $450. A little rich for my blood. Although if I actually thought it was worth that price, I'd pay it. Obviously, I don't.

I'm a True Fit fan, it is hands-down the best value for money for a convertible seat. It installs well for a toddler (i.e. at a more upright angle; it can be a little trickier installing at 45 degrees for a teenie baby, depending on your car). The only thing that can drive you nuts is the fact that the harness adjuster is hard to get at when RF. There are things you can do to make this almost a non-issue, however. Just search the forums about it or ask and you'll get a bunch of tips.

I guess your key question is whether to keep your LO RF or not, and that will totally depend on you. My DS is 30 lbs now (2 yrs old), I bought him a True Fit to replace his Marathon awhile ago so I could keep him RF. Would I have done that if he was 3? I don't know. I do know that we may have come up against a car sickness issue with him (question posted in "Car Seats" forum... please comment anyone that has any insight) and even though he is past the "goal" age of two years for RF, the thought of turning him FF makes me kind of queasy.

In case you haven't seen it, there was a study put out in the British Medical Journal recently (discussed here: http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=87181) that recommends RF until the age of 4. Whatever anybody says, it's a tough call that only you can make.

[Unregistered]

I looked at the britax seats today, so many new ones since I bought my MA 2yrs ago! I will look at the true fit seat tomorrow if I can find one. I also need to weigh my dd. She is 2 1/2 and was 27lbs a while ago so I assume she is 28lbs now. She has been a fairly slow grower so she may not hit 30lbs until after she turns 3-or I may be in for a shock and find she had a major growth spurt and she's nearing 30lbs now.

When I mentioned the new seat to dh he thought that buying another seat for 5lbs was silly, but I reminded him that 5lbs is over a year in the life of a toddler. He will agree if I telln him about the new study.

Is the true fit similar quality to the MA? or the radian?