Talk me OUT of importing

linneabw

New member
DS will be 4 next week, about .5" left til he outgrows his xtsl rfing and he just weighed in at 44lbs (fully dressed). I am not ready to turn him!!! But dh isn't on board with spending $ to import..but then he said I could do what I wish with some of the tab return. It really should go to homeschooling supplies but I am tempted to get a car seat.
 
ADS

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I agree with Brianna. If you really don't want to turn him, maybe a Foonf - but even as someone who prefers to RF to age 5 or 6 I would turn an almost-4yo who had outgrown a Radian (and did. Former nanny change J was turned at 3y11m and 44.8lb.)

It's not that there's NO return on the safety investment after 4, it's a combination of finances and legality that make it a lesser return than would be worth it to me. A properly restrained FF 4yo is very well protected.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I would most definitely not import for a 4 year old. .5" is probably 6 months- possibly more. I would RF to the limit and then turn without a hesitation- or possibly before the limit if he persistently asked to FF after age 4.
 

linneabw

New member
Thanks! It's just a little scary and maybe because it's a change that I don't want to have to do! I am happy he's made it thus long! I will watch his weight and height closely and keep him rfing as long as possible, but I doubt it will be much longer, kid likes to eat! I'm going to give him a complex having him step on the scale every few days!
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Heh, I was a little nervous the first few weeks when I turned my third baby forward. But I got over it, you will too!
 

Kac

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Don't do it!!!! It's illegal! You could get it taken away!!!

Just kidding. :p Well, not really. Four is amazing!
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Now that you've talked OP out of it, I need someone to talk me out of it, too.

I mentioned to DH last night that there were studies showing that the Swedish seats were even safer than US rear facing seats... I said "Tell me that the seats we have are safe enough and I don't need a Swedish one" and he says, "Oh, you probably do." (facepalm). He's no help at all.

He's concerned about the legality, but not about the money. He'd buy me a Foonf if I wanted one, too.

DD is 30 months old, and 37" tall (mostly torso; 3T shirts and 24m pants), 35.5 lbs (naked weight). She's got a very unpredictable growth pattern; she was tiny until a year old, caught up by a year and a half, and was big by two. I'm not confident that she'll make it to 4 RF in her Radians, but she has plenty of space over her head for now. Her shoulders just made it above the 4th harness slots a few weeks ago.

I need another car seat like I need another hole in my head. I'm frankly kind of disappointed in DH for not putting his foot down and ending my obsession with having a Swedish seat.
 

Persimmon

Active member
Now that you've talked OP out of it, I need someone to talk me out of it, too.

I mentioned to DH last night that there were studies showing that the Swedish seats were even safer than US rear facing seats...

But did the US seats that were tested have ARB? If not, do you think ARB would have made a difference in those studies?
 

Phineasmama

New member
The Foonf didn't give me any more room than the Radian so I wouldn't be so quick to recommend that!

But I wouldn't have bought a Swedish seat if I didn't have a giant 1 year old who can make good use of it. Sure my 4 year old fits. And my 6 year old actually does too :p But I guess when the baby is 4 I won't have any more excuses :)
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
But did the US seats that were tested have ARB? If not, do you think ARB would have made a difference in those studies?

I don't know. Good question.

I was told in one of my CEU classes that anti-rotation (such as Australian method tethering) makes more of a safety difference than anti-rebound. I would tend to think the foot prop is what really matters. But I don't know.
 

Persimmon

Active member
Do you think the Foonf anti rebound bar would help more than the tether with the anti-rotation? Or would you feel better if you got a seat that had alleged extra safety benefits for FF so that you would feel better about the prospect of FF when the time comes? The Stratofix is coming out. You could sell your extra seats to fund a new purchase. Just some ideas. It can be so hard to quiet the mommy worry voices.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
At this point, I'm not really sold on the Foonf overall. I doubt the ARB really does that much more than a RF tether. I mean, it's nice and all, but it's not a foot prop.

The Stratofix is really interesting. I can't wait to see how it turns out. But right now I'm only really worried about RF. DD will be able to stay RF for another year in the Radian I think. It just depends on her growth pattern. I don't know that she'll make it to 3 in the CA65, since she is already at 37.5 lbs if she's wearing her overalls and rain boots...

Funding isn't a huge issue. I'm not saying I'm made of money, but it's an amount we could find a way to come up with if we felt it was important. You're right that I could sell some seats; I hadn't really thought about that much. Actually if I got a TWE or something I'd probably give my 80SL to a friend who I know could really use it and keep the RXT for my other vehicle.

I'm trying to tell myself that if she makes it to 3.5 RF in the Radian that's good enough, and that RF is so much safer already that the (possibly theoretical) even more safety of a Swedish seat is overkill. I was OK with the seats I had until, basically, I heard there was possibly an even safer option and now I'm questioning myself.

*sigh* I'm hopeless. I know first hand how safe a child who's restrained in a proper car seat is. My oldest came through uninjured in a very very bad crash in an old t-shield yard sale infant seat 19 years ago. There's got to be a point at which even if there's a safer option, the option I already have is safe enough that I shouldn't worry about it.
 

linneabw

New member
I think you may be surprised at how long the radian will last. DS has fluctuated around 42-43 for a long time, but he would have outgrown a 40lb seat by 3. He's quite large for his age too. I'm just very glad I insisted on getting the xtsls. He was huge as a baby then went down to 50th percentile at 9 months do I thought we'd have lots of time with a 35 lb rfing seat, yeah those were gone before he was two! I also don't think my rfing goal was 4 at his birth!
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Yeah, I just don't know. She was so tiny as an infant. About 18 lbs at a year old. Then she put on a whole bunch of weight really fast, and from there settled into gaining a pound of month for about a year. She just hit a plateau about 4 months ago when she reached 35 lbs. When we add full clothing, and a little margin for error after a large meal, she has about 7 lbs to go in the Radian. Based on her history, that could be until she's 4, or it could blow by before her 3rd birthday.

I'm not sure I'm really considering a TWE for rear facing longer. I mean, if I had one I obviously would use it that way. But I'm not sure I'd buy it just for that since I think DD will probably make it at least past 3 in a Radian. I'm not even exactly sure why I want one so badly, LOL. I started thinking about it when I read about how the Swedish seats got the best results in crash tests compared to US seats. But that seems kind of like a stupid reason to buy one. Or not. I don't know.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
You have 8 seats for 1 kid and you haven't thought about selling some?! Have you been smoking some of that car seat crack with Judi?

Um, yeah. Probably. :eek:

Well, I've got my Coccoro and Onboard Air posted for sale, but I don't want to deal with shipping them right now. Just too busy and I don't have boxes. So I'm waiting for a local buyer or to have time/energy/motivation to go pick up some shipping boxes, whichever comes first.

Edited to add: And, to be fair, two of the seats are for my husband's granddaughter or other older kids I babysit from time to time (a PWSG and a FR85, neither of which my DD rides in yet), and two are outgrown (and are actually for sale now), and one is just a cheap backless booster I bought for a friend but it didn't really fit her daughter so it's kind of sitting around waiting for someone to need it so I can give it away. My daughter really only has three rear-facing car seats that currently fit her - one for each of our three vehicles - not counting the FR85 which she could use but doesn't because she's still RF.
 

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