How did/do you decide when to FF? Need recs on seat purchase.

I'm buying a new carseat to replace one that was in an accident. I have 2 kids. Ds is 4, 39 lbs, 42ish in tall. DD is 22 months, 28lbs, 34ish in tall. Sorry for the appx height measurements... Both are RF. DS is in a Radian XTSL. I just installed a Truefit for dd. The seat I buy will go in my car and the TF will go back into DH's car for ds to ride in when he's with him.

So, my question... I got a Radian because it has the highest RF capability and because it accommodates a taller (torso) child. When ds rode in the TrueFit for the first time FF in dh's car, he told dh, "Wow, this seat doesn't hurt my back!" He had never told me his Radian was hurting his back. So, do I A) Try FF him in the radian in my car and get dd a new seat? (Which one?!) or B) Get a different seat for him and put dd in the radian RF? Help!

[deleted] I replied in the wrong thread, oops!

la-ky-mama said:

I'm buying a new carseat to replace one that was in an accident. I have 2 kids. Ds is 4, 39 lbs, 42ish in tall. DD is 22 months, 28lbs, 34ish in tall. Sorry for the appx height measurements... Both are RF. DS is in a Radian XTSL. I just installed a Truefit for dd. The seat I buy will go in my car and the TF will go back into DH's car for ds to ride in when he's with him.

So, my question... I got a Radian because it has the highest RF capability and because it accommodates a taller (torso) child. When ds rode in the TrueFit for the first time FF in dh's car, he told dh, "Wow, this seat doesn't hurt my back!" He had never told me his Radian was hurting his back. So, do I A) Try FF him in the radian in my car and get dd a new seat? (Which one?!) or B) Get a different seat for him and put dd in the radian RF? Help!

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I'm so confused. I made a cheat sheet.

DS- RN
DD- TF
Both RFing

Just installed TF for DD (rear facing?)
DS rode in TF FF (Do you have a second TF?)
TF is in OP's car (FF for DS? What is DD using?)
- Needs new seat for OP's car so TF can go into DH's car FF for DS.

Am I correct ^? What seats do you have right now that are useable? I ask because it might make more sense to give your DD the convertibles and get DS a GN.

And to answer your title question, I have no qualms with a 39 pound 4 year old FF *at all*.

My 4yo is FF a lot lately because of everything from seats being in the wrong vehicles, to DH taking the kids to the beach and me not wanting DH to get annoyed with an RF seat, to DS not being able to buckle beside the RF seat. On our last trip 4yo started out RF, but was kicking her sisters on either side of her so I turned her FF and put her outboard beside an RF seat so there was no-one to kick. The trip before that, DH wanted her FF so she could watch a movie.

By around 4 I'm okay with FF for convenience. Around 3-3.5 I would be okay with FF because they outgrew their seat or it was the only way to get seats in the vehicle. Under 3 I would buy a different seat if necessary. I would only FF under 3 if the alternative was to buy another vehicle or import a seat kind of thing. But that's just my current comfort level.

In your case, I wouldn't give another thought to FF your son in whatever seat is comfortable and convenient and works in the vehicle. I would feel perfectly okay FF a 4yo for his comfort. If he likes the TF, I would say go ahead and let him use it. It should last until he's ready for a dedicated booster -- it has tall harness slots. As for your car, you could have your son ride FF a few times in the RN and see how he likes it. I would also have him try out seats like the Frontier & Securekid and see if those are more comfortable for him. If his favourite is the TF, you could have insurance buy you another TF and have FF TF in both your cars. Basically, I would say go with whatever FF seat works for your son (and installs well, and will last obviously).

ETA: If your son wants to keep his RN for FF, you should start another thread for recs for DD -- you'll get more input that way.

Can you tell it was really late when I posted that? I'm confused myself after rereading it. I am mostly stressing about turning ds FF. He's been RF and I feel like I need permission to FF him. I know how much safer it is to RF. That's why I got the Radian. But dh is kind of pushing for him to FF and ds would like to FF. So, I guess I need to be ok with that. I'll try him FF in his Radian and see how that goes. He moved out of the TF because he outgrew the RF weight. The TF was my extra seat so I installed that for dd after the fender bender.

Ok, last question about seats in this thread... What will ds go into after the Radian? It harnesses to 80 lbs FF. I'm guessing a booster of some sort. How do I know which kind?

Oh, LOL! Makes sense now. You have my blessing.

The RN won't last until he's really 80 pounds. The tips of his ears can't go higher than the top of the shell and he'd probably be way uncomfortable by then anyway.

You'll follow up the RN with a high back booster. But new seats are always being made and/or redesigned so when he gets closer to outgrowing the RN in a year or two, come back and start a new thread. Who knows what will be out by then.

So do you need to buy another new seat?

I do but I have some time to decide which would be better: Buy DS a FF seat he's comfortable in and put dd in the RN OR buy dd a new seat and just get ds a booster when he outgrows the RN. I'm leaning towards getting dd a new seat because the RN is a pain RF in our truck...

Well not so much a pain as it just takes up SO much room RF. But I'd like something similar in upper weight limit (40-45 lbs. RF) and something good for tall kids. She's always off the chart in height when we go for well checks. And she's got a long torso like her mama.

la-ky-mama said:

Well not so much a pain as it just takes up SO much room RF. But I'd like something similar in upper weight limit (40-45 lbs. RF) and something good for tall kids. She's always off the chart in height when we go for well checks. And she's got a long torso like her mama.

Click to expand...

Do you have an angle adjuster? That makes it take up less front-to-back room. You could always get insurance to buy you a Foonf . If you didn't like it, the resale value would be enough to buy just about anything else LOL.

I would probably get a good FF seat for him - Frontier maybe?

And then an angle adjuster to use with your DD in the Radian.