Need harnessed seat for 6yo before I go batty

Keeanh · Sep 21, 2010

I have HAD IT with my 6yo in his booster on long trips. He's great around town, but after an hour or so he starts to get either sleepy or goofy. He cannot sleep properly in a booster. He keeps trying to curl up and can't seem to help it.

He's 49" and 49lbs with a 17" torso. How long would he last in a Radian, and can he really go over the top slots? I know the usual recommendation would be a combo seat, but I'm thinking of getting a Radian anyways.

Do any harnessed seats play nice with any of the seats I already have? What is the narrowest harnessed seat that would fit him? Oh, and since the problem is him sleeping, less head slump would be better.

Seats I have:
MR65
TF
Monterey
Snugride22

Thanks!!!

canadiangie · Sep 21, 2010

Tell us how you have your current seats set up, and in what vehicle you use most often (ie: where do the seats live?)

Keeanh · Sep 21, 2010

canadiangie said:
Tell us how you have your current seats set up, and in what vehicle you use most often (ie: where do the seats live?)

Hi Angie! I should have known someone would ask & headed that one off at the pass, LOL. The reason for my vague question is that this seat would be, at the moment, needed for long trips in the Chevy Express which has so many seats I can set it up a dozen different ways. I was asking about narrow &/or working well beside one of my seats because that would allow more options for future puzzling (we want more children), or for using in DH's car. If it works in place of the Monterey in the Safari, then I might use it for him full-time.

To answer your question, though, I suppose you could say my seats "live" in the GMC Safari.

The last time I installed them, I think I had:
Driver ---- 12yo
MR65 - SR22 - Mont.
10yo - TF - Mont.

There are tethers for the middle row, possibly one in the front passenger (have to check), and rear bench centre.

ketchupqueen · Sep 21, 2010

The Radian has around 17-18 inch top slots (depending on how it installs.) It allows use over those slots but only to 53" overall height. I don't think it's your best bet for this child. I think honestly a Frontier XT might be your best bet-- and I don't think it does play well with any of those seats, sadly.

Keeanh · Sep 21, 2010

ketchupqueen said:
The Radian has around 17-18 inch top slots (depending on how it installs.) It allows use over those slots but only to 53" overall height. I don't think it's your best bet for this child. I think honestly a Frontier XT might be your best bet-- and I don't think it does play well with any of those seats, sadly.

Thanks KQ. Yeah, I think the Frontier is probably too big for us

. But I would use it if ABSOLUTELY necessary I guess. I don't mind a seat that only lasts my 6yo a year or less. By 7 he should be okay, and there are at least 3 other younger than him that can use the seat. Did you ever hear back about the armrests on the Maestro being removable? Would he still fit in the Maestro?

ketchupqueen · Sep 21, 2010

I haven't heard back but I am almost 100% positive that you CANNOT use them with the armrests removed. The Maestro would last about an inch (or less depending on how it installed) with 18" top slots. Not sure how it compares width-wise to the Frontier.

Keeanh · Sep 29, 2010

I stuck him in the TF today and he *just barely* fits. I think he'll fit just fine when he falls asleep and slumps down

. I'm going to buy a Scenera for the 2yo and put 6yo in the TF on our next trip. :thumbsup: Not a long-term solution, but maybe he'll learn to sleep upright by the time he outgrows it... I hope.

We did have a great carseat discussion though! He started to fuss that it was a baby seat and flicked at the harness disgustedly when I told him to climb in. So I popped the headrest off, and set it up like for a newborn "See, like this is for R (newborn)". Then I put the straps on 2 and put the headrest on, still RF "This is for K (2yo)". Then I put the straps all the way to the top and made a BIG show of flipping the foot & turning it FF and said "This is for boys who want to curl up in the car". I can't use the word "sleep" because he insists he wasn't sleeping, he was just bored

.

Then, while I had his attention, I did yet another demo of what would happen in a crash if he was in a ball in his booster. He seemed to listen a bit better this time. Maybe the novelty of having the car seats & van bench out on the driveway instead of in a vehicle :shrug-shoulders:.

Morganthe · Sep 29, 2010

I wouldn't get a Radian for him. DD outgrew hers right around the 49" mark and she's short torsoed.

Does putting him the Monterey and locking the seatbelt work? It's an option I've used rather frequently for friends' kids in the the seat. Apologies in advance if you have a locking plate or something of that type instead of the seatbelt pulling out to engage locking mechanism. I never can keep what vehicle has what straight.

Keeanh · Sep 30, 2010

Morganthe said:
I wouldn't get a Radian for him. DD outgrew hers right around the 49" mark and she's short torsoed.

Does putting him the Monterey and locking the seatbelt work? It's an option I've used rather frequently for friends' kids in the the seat. Apologies in advance if you have a locking plate or something of that type instead of the seatbelt pulling out to engage locking mechanism. I never can keep what vehicle has what straight.

Hi! Thanks! I realized I wasn't really clear what I meant about "getting a Radian anyways". I meant I was considering getting one regardless of what I did with 6yo. I wouldn't get one FOR him; I was just wondering if he would fit in one if I had one, KWIM?

The van that we use for long trips does indeed have locking shoulder belts, which I've tried. It does help to remind him to stay in place if he starts to get antsy. But the real trouble is that when he falls asleep, he curls up, which slides his bum forward and the lap belt up. It also slides him down & away from the shoulder belt.

Using the TF on the next trip should buy me plenty of time to figure things out. He's perfectly fine around town in his booster.

Keeanh · Nov 25, 2010

ketchupqueen said:
I think honestly a Frontier XT might be your best bet-- and I don't think it does play well with any of those seats, sadly.

Okay, just had to update this and say that I'm coming around to your way of thinking KQ. I really didn't want another wide seat. And it's so expensive and doesn't seem to go on sale in Canada. But I don't see any other option. And I saw one in person (finally) and I'm starting to want one

. I will NEVER own a huge stroller, though, LOL. That's my new line in the sand (I'm a bit of a minimalist... with 7 kids, go figure

).

TerisBoys · Nov 25, 2010

Maestro has a 50# weight limit. He'd be over that after a good meal

Keeanh · Nov 25, 2010

TerisBoys said:
Maestro has a 50# weight limit. He'd be over that after a good meal

Yeah, I know. I kept forgetting that. I think the Canadian limit may even be a couple lbs less, not sure. It would be nice if they made a Maestro65. But now that we have the big van with no headrests, a Frontier would be good to have anyways.

amyd · Nov 25, 2010

Keeanh said:
Yeah, I know. I kept forgetting that. I think the Canadian limit may even be a couple lbs less, not sure. It would be nice if they made a Maestro65. But now that we have the big van with no headrests, a Frontier would be good to have anyways.

Yeah, the weight lit is 47lbs in Canada.

tam_shops · Nov 26, 2010

I heard back on removing the Maestro armrests. On the phone, the lady told me to remove them b/c they were hitting the door (3 across situation). She even told me how to remove them.

Then, I heard at BBC that you weren't supposed to remove them. So, I got nervous & emailed. The lady on the email said I could NOT remove them & needed to put them back on b/c my child's fingers could get stuck in the hole. Seriously, that's her reason? So, I asked about covering the holes w/ duct tape. She said that she couldn't advise me to do that...

I put them back on...pita & idiots IMHO! :thumbsdown:

tam

tam_shops · Nov 26, 2010

Oh, and w/ a 17" torso in a Radian, wouldn't you get a year in it? And, if you RF him, you'd have 5#s to do so if you got the right one & then you could go over that height, to 1" to the top of the shell. Right??

At 1" a year, he'd be in it for one year, and most importantly, one more summer for road trips...

Obviously, I'd only do it if I were trying to fit 3 across & was going to pass the seat down to another child when he's done w/ if after the year...Personally, imho if you aren't going to reface it, then I'd go for a Frontier & try to make that fit...

I know the Nautilus is about an inch wider than the Maestro, if that helps any...I compared the two when I was looking for the Maestro for d/c...I compared all the seats that would fit a 16" torso 38# child at TRU. Not a lot to choice from...

tam

babygund · Nov 26, 2010

My ds (6) has the same sort of stats as yours - maybe an inch taller in the torso as he is too tall for the true fit. He was for some reason over the top slots of the radian about 4 months before the true fit (maybe it was just the types of cars the seats were in that had them lose height). The nautilus would still barely fit him but his shoulders are squished. The frontier fits with growing room.

I have a monterey and a parkway sg for him. He just rests to the side in both to sleep no problem. I do like the sg feature on the parkway. I wonder if that would help your ds and stop the belt from riding up on him. It would be an extra reminder for him to sit up straight and maybe even more so if you locked the belt? Just a thought...

Keeanh · Nov 26, 2010

babygund said:
My ds (6) has the same sort of stats as yours - maybe an inch taller in the torso as he is too tall for the true fit. He was for some reason over the top slots of the radian about 4 months before the true fit (maybe it was just the types of cars the seats were in that had them lose height). The nautilus would still barely fit him but his shoulders are squished. The frontier fits with growing room.

I have a monterey and a parkway sg for him. He just rests to the side in both to sleep no problem. I do like the sg feature on the parkway. I wonder if that would help your ds and stop the belt from riding up on him. It would be an extra reminder for him to sit up straight and maybe even more so if you locked the belt? Just a thought...

Thanks! That really helps to hear your comparison of Nautilus vs Frontier. There are 3 children (at least) coming after him. I'm okay with the price of the Frontier, and am warming up to the idea of another big seat.

If he grows any at all in the torso he won't fit the TF. The harness straps are pretty much coming straight out.

The SG might help the lap belt, but I don't want to be turning around constantly while driving the Coquihalla Hwy in the winter to check on him. After seeing him sleep in the TF on this last trip, I know he needs to be harnessed for the long trips. He's fine in his Monterey as long as he's awake, or just dozing. But he sleeps like a baby -- curled up, thumb in his mouth. 7yo OTOH sleeps great in his Monterey.

Need harnessed seat for 6yo before I go batty

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