Carseat for my 2yo with Down syndrome

mamamonkmee · Feb 2, 2010

1st off he turned 2 in Oct. he's 30lbs and 35in tall. he has pretty good muscle tone. he's currently in a AOE that rf to 35lbs and ff to 40lbs he's erf.

I plan to buy him a new carseat next month. i'm really leaning toward the radian. but what i'm having trouble with is picking which one. the 80sl or the xtsl? also would it be worth getting the 80 or the xt that rf to 40lbs and not the 45lbs? they are a little cheaper than the new ones?

Or if you have a better suggestion. i wanna make a good choice since they cost $$$.

jess71903 · Feb 2, 2010

I think a Radian would be an excellent choice for him! I also think that a 40lb one will probably also be fine, but I would still get an 80SL or XTSL if you can. Atlanto-axial instability (a loose joint at the top of the neck) is common in kids with DS and keeping him RF as long as possible is probably smart.

Just to give you some background on me- my 2 year old son has spina bifida. In June he had a Chiari decompression in which they removed parts of the first 2 vertebre. Because of that, I got a Radian 80SL so he could remain RF as long as possible. If he had been a typically developing child, I probably would have turned him around this week, when I found out that he is at 34lbs (he was riding in a True Fit before we got the Radian).

Cooper's mama · Feb 25, 2010

Hi there,
Congratulations (a few years late..) on your kiddo!
Our son w/DS is turning 5 next week, and has just hit 40 pounds. He's been riding in a Radian 65 very happily for the past two years. Of course, they are darned awkward to move between cars.
That said, he's been totally happy in his Britax Roundabout (which he still uses from time to time.) So, in part I wish I'd bought the Britax Marathon, which I think has a high RF limit too. If he's not outgrown his current carseat, I wonder if it would be worth waiting until he's closer to the limit. It seems like there are more and more high weight limit car seats coming out all the time, and in 10 pounds you might have more (or less expensive) choices.

Calleiah · Feb 26, 2010

Cooper's mama said:
Hi there,
So, in part I wish I'd bought the Britax Marathon, which I think has a high RF limit too.

Actually, the Britax's have not been keeping up very well with the raising bar for RF weights. The last increase they did was to 35 lbs with no current plans for upping that any time soon. In terms of cost and benefit, Britax convertibles have dropped down the list significantly.
Top seats for high RF limit and best viability in the long run are
Complete Air
Graco My Ride
Radians

Those each have 40-45lb RF limits. That extra 5-10 lbs over a 35lb RF seat can last years!

Carseat for my 2yo with Down syndrome

mamamonkmee

New member

jess71903

Ambassador

Cooper's mama

Guest

Calleiah

Active member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics