Monterey Questions

CarSeatPoncho

New member
I just removed the Apex 65 from our Sienna and installed the Monterey. It is definitely a good, solid booster (as opposed to the Apex, where the flimsiness always bothered me).

I have some questions, though:

1.) LATCH: Should I be fastening this as snugly as a car seat (no more than 1" movement, etc.)? Or should it just be snug enough to prevent movement when he is getting in and out of it?

2.) Headrest: According to the manual, I think the belt guides should be a smidge above his shoulders, but when it's there the top of his head is above the top of the headrest, which seems weird to me. I know the headrest positions the belt guides so that the shoulder belt fits correctly... maybe I'm just not used to seeing the top of his head over a restraint. The Apex had a really high headrest shell.

3.) Anyone bothered by the lack of top tether?

4.) HOW DO I GET HIM TO STOP STICKING HIS HEAD OUT OF THE WINGS??? He's only ridden in it once, in all fairness, but the whole time I was telling him, "GET YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE BACK OF THAT SEAT!" (I was in the front passenger seat, not driving, btw.) It scares the heck out of me bc it seems like if there's an impact and his head is craned out of the wings, his injuries would be a lot more severe than if he were in the Apex.

By far, #4 is my most pressing concern. If I am not confident he'll keep his head in, I don't know/think I should keep it. :(

Maybe I need to recline it so that he'll sit deeper? Or will he just lean forward more? I have the LATCH pretty tight now... maybe if I loosened it the seat would be able to come forward a bit, and he'd be less inclined to lean?

Crud. I really want this to work out. A solid, LATCH-able booster with SIP and adjustable width, so perfect on paper... :confused:
 
ADS

emandbri

Well-known member
1. It doesn't get as tight as a car seat, there will be some play. This bugged me when I first go it but after watching the oobr videos on transport Canada I think it i might be safer to have some give.

2. The shoulder guide needs to be at least 1 cm above the shoulder. If you doing this the head should be fine.

3. I think not having a tether is okay, the top is supposed to move with the child in a crash.

4. I don't know. Could you bribe him? Put a sticker chart on the headrest in front of him and tell him if he keeps his head in the whole trip he gets a sticker. Would showing him a crash test video be too scary for him? Explain to him that he needs to keep his head in or he could get hurt.

Here is the video of the monterey.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlI7FI9xBww"]YouTube- Sunshine Kids Monterey Booster Seat Side-Impact Crash Test[/ame]
 

Gena

New member
I don't have the LATCH done tight on my son's Monterey. It's definately looser than his harnessed seats were. I think the advantage of having it LATCHed is that it doesn't move around when he climbs in/out and it won't become a missle when it's unoccupied.

I think there is some question about how much the booster should be allowed to move with the child in a crash and if having it LATCHed too tighty might interfere with this. So that's why I don't tightened it down too much. It's also why the lack of a top tether donesn't bother me.

I think the manual says to have the shoulder guide at least 1 cm above the child's shoulder. I have it a little higher than that on DS, since we get a better belt fit that way. I think as long as you are following the manual it's OK for the toy of his head to be a little out of the wings.

It took a little time for my son to get used to the headwings. The first few rides it seemed like I was constantly reminding him to "sit between the wings." I also told him that if he could not remember to sit the right way it would mean that he was not ready for a booster and would have to go back into a harnessed seat. But he loves his Monterey with it's red color and soft cushy feel, so he was highly motivated to sit correctly. He very quickly adjusted to the headwings and it's not usually a problem now. If there is something very interesting just outside his window he may lean forward to try to get a better look, so in that case I do need to remind him.
 

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