Is a HWH needed?

shashoo

New member
The family i nanny for decided to turn their dd ff at 15 months, 23-24 pounds, not sure of length, but fits just below the second harness slots on her Triumph. Her older brother (3 and 41#'s) is ff in a Radian outboard with 2 inches of growth left. They want to get her a new seat as the Triumph is so wide and makes it uncomfortable for an adult passenger to sit in the open outboard position (it is also having harness tightening issues).
I was thinking that they could just get a combination harness/booster seat for her to use since it is unlikely that she will need a seat with a higher harness limit while her brother is still in the radian. But what combination seats make good boosters that he could use when she is ready to move into the Radian. The only seat that comes to mind in the Recaro Young Sport. However, at that price, i think they would rather get another radian. What do you guys think?
I know that she could still be rearfacing, but has outgrown the triumph by height rearfacing and they are not interested in ERF.
 
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shashoo

New member
When I mentioned that to dad he didn't seem thrilled with the idea of spending that much money, and I know there are a lot of other cheaper combination seats. I'm just not sure if any of those make good boosters. The Radian is also hard for mom to use. She has a hard time getting the harness tight and is looking for something easier to use correctly.
 
You have to rachet the harness adjuster to get it tight. If that's still not working, Does she have an older model with the more shallow harness path? The newer models are MUCH better with harness friction. Also, getting bigger buckle tongs (for free from SK) may help as it allows the harness to slide more freely.

Stephanie
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
With big brother being over 40 pounds, the only other seats (besides the Radian) I would recommend would be the Apex or the Regent. Big brother could use the Apex or Regent and little sister could use the Radian.
 

shashoo

New member
You have to rachet the harness adjuster to get it tight. If that's still not working, Does she have an older model with the more shallow harness path? The newer models are MUCH better with harness friction. Also, getting bigger buckle tongs (for free from SK) may help as it allows the harness to slide more freely.

Stephanie

I think it may be a model with the more shallow harness path (not for sure though, bought almost exactly a year ago), but we always pull up on the harness to get it tight on his legs before pulling the adjuster strap. It isn't impossible to get tight, but it doesn't even compare to my Britax with ease of use. And i can see with her being in the middle, it will be hard to get the right angle on the adjustor strap to get it tight.

With big brother being over 40 pounds, the only other seats (besides the Radian) I would recommend would be the Apex or the Regent. Big brother could use the Apex or Regent and little sister could use the Radian.
I was actually thinking that big brother will be able to use it as a BPB when he outgrows his Radian (this is way in the future of course). He won't need to use the seat in 5 point mode so a 40# harness would be ok?

These are the seats I'm thinking of telling them about:
Graco Cargo - harness only to 40#, not good bpb - ~$100
Recaro Young Sport - harness only to 40#, does the booster adjust as high as a dedicated bpb? ~$249
Radian - hope they get a newer one with deeper harness path. ~$200

Side note: the Britax convertables do not fit in her car ff because of the non removable headrest.
 

nisi

Senior Community Member
If they aren't going to rf the 15mo, then I agree that a 40lb harness combo seat makes sense. It isn't likely she'll need a higher weight harness at all, and certainly not before they're going to move the 3yo out of the Radian. (cuz let's face it, if they aren't going to rf the 15mo, they probably aren't going to keep the older kid in the Radian until he's 6+yo either) In 2-3yrs they can swap seats and the older kid can use the combo seat as a booster while the younger one gets the Radian. Then they're set for another couple years or until they want the younger one in a booster.


These are the seats I'm thinking of telling them about:
Graco Cargo - harness only to 40#, not good bpb - ~$100
Recaro Young Sport - harness only to 40#, does the booster adjust as high as a dedicated bpb? ~$249
Radian - hope they get a newer one with deeper harness path. ~$200

Good list. I would only add Evenflo Generations. Around $100, 40lbs in the harness, same knob adjusters they're used to from the Triumph, and makes a better booster than the Cargo ;)
 

momof2kiddos

New member
If they aren't going to rf the 15mo, then I agree that a 40lb harness combo seat makes sense. It isn't likely she'll need a higher weight harness at all, and certainly not before they're going to move the 3yo out of the Radian. (cuz let's face it, if they aren't going to rf the 15mo, they probably aren't going to keep the older kid in the Radian until he's 6+yo either) In 2-3yrs they can swap seats and the older kid can use the combo seat as a booster while the younger one gets the Radian. Then they're set for another couple years or until they want the younger one in a booster.




Good list. I would only add Evenflo Generations. Around $100, 40lbs in the harness, same knob adjusters they're used to from the Triumph, and makes a better booster than the Cargo ;)

ITA!!:) I also second the Evenflo generations.I had one for my one year old:rolleyes: before I found this site and turned him back RF until he hit the weight limit of his DC,but that is one great booster/harness.
 

shashoo

New member
If they aren't going to rf the 15mo, then I agree that a 40lb harness combo seat makes sense. It isn't likely she'll need a higher weight harness at all, and certainly not before they're going to move the 3yo out of the Radian. (cuz let's face it, if they aren't going to rf the 15mo, they probably aren't going to keep the older kid in the Radian until he's 6+yo either) In 2-3yrs they can swap seats and the older kid can use the combo seat as a booster while the younger one gets the Radian. Then they're set for another couple years or until they want the younger one in a booster. QUOTE]

I just wanted to say that I'm sure they will keep him in the Radian until he outgrows it and will then pass it down to his sister. I'm not sure any of us can guarentee that he will be harnessed past 6 in that seat with only two more inches of torso growth, but I hope at least 5.
Just my thoughts on ERF. I don't think that society is going to change over night with the idea that their kids "graduate" to ff. The fact that they kept her rf till the limits of her seat I think is great instead of turning her when their pediatrician told them it was okay as she was able to gain 4-5 more pounds before she was turned. I'm sure if they had a different seat to begin with then maybe she would have stayed rf longer. So, just because they turned their daughter ff I don't think should reflect their parenting skills and that assumptions should be made about what they will do with other children in the car. (I'm not upset by the comment, but just wanted to share the other side of the story.)

I will add evenflo generations to the list, i had looked over it because the harness height was lower than the others seats (I think) and I read it didn't give good sleep support and it was a little flimsy. Is that right?:confused:
Recaro YS - Does it adjust about to the same height as dedicated boosters?
 

mommycat

Well-known member
If they did get another Radian (and it installed well RF), would they RF her again? I know you said they are not interested, but if they could, would they? Two Radians would certainly be narrow and make more room for that adult passanger. As for the troubles tightening the Radian, I have found it easier with mine to just leave it untouched when I take DS out (I used to adjust my AOE every time, but it seems to be a pain with the Radian). I usually just check the fit and either pull it tighter or loosen a bit if DS complains or seems squished. The best way I have found to get the right tension is to lift the metal part on the adjuster, pull the belt to the right tightness and then lower the metal part by hand to fasten in place - otherwise when I let it "catch" on its own it seems to loose some tension and loosen before it catches properly.

Not to say the other options aren't good options too. I know nothing about the other seats mentioned. :)

Someone correct me if this is way off base, but I tried roughly estimating the boy's growth room in the Radian:
According to http://ceplacer.ucdavis.edu/newsletterfiles/KidFood_Newsletter8363.pdf
"Children grow an average of 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches each year between the ages of 2 and 5."
And I had written down previously that someone here said 2-3 inches overall growth gives about 1" torso growth.
So the 3 year old should have about a couple more years in his Radian.

Assuming the Radian he is riding in wasn't old when they bought it and won't expire before they get good use out of it passing it down to DD (and they only came out recently, so this isn't really possible, is it?), I think I agree that a combo seat that turns into a decent booster may be a more efficient solution.
 

nisi

Senior Community Member
Oh, gosh, I didn't mean it as a reflection of their parenting skills! They're doing fine, better than most even :) But I do think that the choices parents make for one child are often predictive of the choices they will make for another. Without any other knowledge of the family or the circumstances, I think it was fair to say they aren't likely to keep their older child in a harness past 5yo. But you actually know the family, and if you say they would, great! And if he does outgrow it before then, it's a moot point anyway.


I will add evenflo generations to the list, i had looked over it because the harness height was lower than the others seats (I think) and I read it didn't give good sleep support and it was a little flimsy. Is that right

harness height is about the same as the Cargo, maybe *slightly* less

true, not much sleep support

I wouldn't call it flimsy - it's no Regent, but it's no Apex either ;)
 

shashoo

New member
If they did get another Radian (and it installed well RF), would they RF her again? I know you said they are not interested, but if they could, would they? Two Radians would certainly be narrow and make more room for that adult passanger. As for the troubles tightening the Radian, I have found it easier with mine to just leave it untouched when I take DS out (I used to adjust my AOE every time, but it seems to be a pain with the Radian). I usually just check the fit and either pull it tighter or loosen a bit if DS complains or seems squished. The best way I have found to get the right tension is to lift the metal part on the adjuster, pull the belt to the right tightness and then lower the metal part by hand to fasten in place - otherwise when I let it "catch" on its own it seems to loose some tension and loosen before it catches properly.

Not to say the other options aren't good options too. I know nothing about the other seats mentioned. :)

Someone correct me if this is way off base, but I tried roughly estimating the boy's growth room in the Radian:
According to http://ceplacer.ucdavis.edu/newsletterfiles/KidFood_Newsletter8363.pdf
"Children grow an average of 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches each year between the ages of 2 and 5."
And I had written down previously that someone here said 2-3 inches overall growth gives about 1" torso growth.
So the 3 year old should have about a couple more years in his Radian.

Assuming the Radian he is riding in wasn't old when they bought it and won't expire before they get good use out of it passing it down to DD (and they only came out recently, so this isn't really possible, is it?), I think I agree that a combo seat that turns into a decent booster may be a more efficient solution.

I'm not sure if they would rf her again if they bought another Radian and I have never thought to try their Radian in the car rf. I did try it in mine however :p it didn't work. The Radian and my car just don't get along. I could try to bring up that point, but I'm not sure how it will go over. I have said that she isn't even big enough to ff in my carseat yet and that she will be rf a while longer and they don't seem against it, but i don't know about their car. KWIM?
As far as his growth pattern, we have been saying for the past two years that it will slow down, but it hasn't happened yet! I just moved his harness up to the top slots in his Radian maybe 2-3 months ago and he is already an inch above the slot (unless he is feeling super slouchy). Right now, I'm hoping that he will make it till 4 in the thing!
Can you use all the Radians till an inch above the top harness slot or is that just the 80s?


Oh, gosh, I didn't mean it as a reflection of their parenting skills! They're doing fine, better than most even :) But I do think that the choices parents make for one child are often predictive of the choices they will make for another. Without any other knowledge of the family or the circumstances, I think it was fair to say they aren't likely to keep their older child in a harness past 5yo. But you actually know the family, and if you say they would, great! And if he does outgrow it before then, it's a moot point anyway.




harness height is about the same as the Cargo, maybe *slightly* less

true, not much sleep support

I wouldn't call it flimsy - it's no Regent, but it's no Apex either ;)

I think I'm going to go to Babies R Us to try and check out the seats tonight on my way home. Maybe I can take the kids there tomorrow to try her out in the seats. And if I snap some pictures and she looks uncomfortable in the seats then that could help convince them for ERF!! :D
 

mommycat

Well-known member
I think you can go over the top slots on any Radian, though you may have seen discussion around here where a lot of people say they are not comfortable with that idea no matter what SK says. Lemme see if I can dig up the thread...
 

Suzibeck

Active member
Is the Generations seat narrower than the Triumph? We had one briefly, and it struck me as really wide. It does make a much better booster than the other combo seats, with the exception of the Recaro, however.

I think I'd be inclined to tell the parents that if they switch to a combo seat, they will still need to buy a dedicated booter for the older child when they pass the Radian down. The narrow combo seats just don't make good boosters, unless they want to spend the $$ on the Recaro. :twocents:
 

Morganthe

New member
Don't forget, the new Recaro Como/Signo carseat is coming out this month and next. That might be an option too. :shrug-shoulders:

Honestly, I wouldn't think that turning a child ffing at 15 months would be any indication of pulling another one from a well fitting harnessed seat into a booster. Parenting is one of those 'learning as you go' experiences. Sometimes it's a predictor, but other times it is not. :shrug-shoulders:
 

shashoo

New member
Is the Generations seat narrower than the Triumph? We had one briefly, and it struck me as really wide. It does make a much better booster than the other combo seats, with the exception of the Recaro, however.

I think I'd be inclined to tell the parents that if they switch to a combo seat, they will still need to buy a dedicated booter for the older child when they pass the Radian down. The narrow combo seats just don't make good boosters, unless they want to spend the $$ on the Recaro. :twocents:

I went and checked out the Generations seat yesterday. It is about 17 inches wide which I believe is more narrow than the Triumph. The BRU I went to only had the new Advance version so I couldn't compare. I liked that the seat had high top harness slots and had a good inside depth and width for an older child to use as a booster, but it has no EPS foam. :( I'm also concerned how the side harness adjustment knobs will work with carseats on either side of it. The Cargo is out if they want a seat that can be used as a booster. The inside width was only 12 and the depth was 10 inches. I also don't know how i feel about their new covers with the gracopedic foam. Seems too squishy, but that seems to be the trend with the seats (new Titan infant insert and Triumph).

Don't forget, the new Recaro Como/Signo carseat is coming out this month and next. That might be an option too. :shrug-shoulders:

Honestly, I wouldn't think that turning a child ffing at 15 months would be any indication of pulling another one from a well fitting harnessed seat into a booster. Parenting is one of those 'learning as you go' experiences. Sometimes it's a predictor, but other times it is not. :shrug-shoulders:

The new Recaro seats are 20 inches wide :eek:. I don't think that will work with three across back there or another adult passenger.

I saw that the Graco Safestep 2's are on sale at Amazon.com. Would that make a good toddler seat? I hear they are big, but are they wider than a Triumph? I read on another thread that they have 17 inch top harness slots. I think that could be a good right now solution. Then they can just get him a dedicated booster when the time comes.
 

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