Rf'ing height limits - was Re: Seat recommendation for tall baby please!

[Unregistered]

I understand this thread is old, but I feel that any new person reading this discussion (such as myself) should have some further information...

I find it disturbing that of all the posts, not one person, professional or otherwise, has notified you of the maximum height restrictions for the Marathon and Radian in the rear facing position!

Both the Britax Marathon and the Sunshine Kids Radian have a maximum height limit of 32" in the rear facing position (http://www.britax.ca/car-seats/marathon.aspx and http://www.skjp.com/simg/5353841.pdf respectively). A high rear facing weight limit is convenient if you have a heavy baby, however, this maximum height is what the seat is tested to (along with the maximum weight). By putting a taller child in there, you run the risk of injuring them in a crash.

With a tall, light child, you might just find yourself in the position that there is no car seat that will bridge the gap and meet the Canada Safety Council's guideline of keeping your child rear facing until they reach 10kg (http://www.safety-council.org/info/child/childcar.htm). I have been looking (as we are in a similar position with our little guy) for recommendations on what to do in the interim, but have not yet found anything.

I hope you were able to find a suitable car seat for your needs.

[snowbird25ca]

This post was initially added on to this old thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=13085

Since it's an issue that reappears on a fairly regular basis, the decision has been made to approve this post and just separate it in to a new thread. :thumbsup:

[snowbird25ca]

I understand this thread is old, but I feel that any new person reading this discussion (such as myself) should have some further information...

I find it disturbing that of all the posts, not one person, professional or otherwise, has notified you of the maximum height restrictions for the Marathon and Radian in the rear facing position!

Both the Britax Marathon and the Sunshine Kids Radian have a maximum height limit of 32" in the rear facing position (http://www.britax.ca/car-seats/marathon.aspx and http://www.skjp.com/simg/5353841.pdf respectively). A high rear facing weight limit is convenient if you have a heavy baby, however, this maximum height is what the seat is tested to (along with the maximum weight). By putting a taller child in there, you run the risk of injuring them in a crash.

With a tall, light child, you might just find yourself in the position that there is no car seat that will bridge the gap and meet the Canada Safety Council's guideline of keeping your child rear facing until they reach 10kg (http://www.safety-council.org/info/child/childcar.htm). I have been looking (as we are in a similar position with our little guy) for recommendations on what to do in the interim, but have not yet found anything.

I hope you were able to find a suitable car seat for your needs.

CMVSS 213 standards are weight based and not height based. What this means is that a seat will pass or fail standards based on the weight of a child. Fit of a child in the seat is also very important, but cannot be determined simply by looking at a numerical amount due to the fact that children come in all sorts of different sizes and proportions - some kids carry their weight in their torsos, while others in their legs. This means that some kids can be under a maximum height limit and have outgrown a seat by height, while others can be over the height limit and still fit the seat properly. A child being over the numerical height limit who otherwise fits the seat by weight and other guidelines (1" or more of hard shell above the head in the case of a rf'ing seat,) will be as protected in the seat as a child who is under the numerical height limit and otherwise fits the seat.

I understand that numerical limits are something that are a difficult situation with many seats in Canada, and not all parents are comfortable making the decision to go past the 32" limit that some seats give. Thankfully we have some excellent options available now that do not give any numerical height limit but rather give only one limit for the seat and then state 1" of hard shell above the head. If you're in the position of having a light weight child who is also tall, and aren't comfortable making the decision to exceed the 32" limit, then the EFTA (Triumph Advance,) or the True Fit are both seats with high shells that do not have that limit but instead use the 1" rule.

Since standards are weight based and not height based, it is imperative that a child meets the minimum weight to ff in a seat at a bare minimum. Putting a child who is under the minimum weight limit ff'ing is taking a huge risk. If there is less than 1" of hard shell above the child's head than a larger rf'ing seat will need to be purchased and used until the child is heavier. If the seat still fits and you're comfortable going past the 32", then that's an option. If you're not comfortable with that, then you'll need to buy a seat without the 32" limit and use it. I can't stress enough that at no time should a child forward face before the minimum ff'ing weight limit regardless of what his/her numerical height is.

This has been discussed in pretty big detail in other threads in the past, so you may find it helpful to search through some of them. It's nice that some manufacturers have quit using the arbitrary 32" and parents have more choices now. We still hope that more manufacturers will follow suit, and at one point some letters were sent out. So hopefully as time goes on we will see fewer manufacturers using the 32" numerical limit and the issue will become a moot point. :thumbsup: