Three year old with >90% head size.

It's been awhile since I've been to the boards; life got pretty crazy, and my three year old son still fits rear facing in his Radian, so I've not had much to ponder carseat-wise.

Part of the insanity in my life has been moving from Las Vegas, NV to Las Cruces, NM. This matters because my in-laws have previously only used the Peg Perego convertible with my son (the Peg Perego currently hangs out in a closet in a spare bedroom in their house in Vegas). The reason for this is because it is physically easier for them to get the straps adjusted properly, as well as less frustrating. Now that they come out here on occasion to visit, they are using the Radian with my son, and it seems that they have difficulty in getting the straps properly tightened. I wasn't happy when I saw how loose the straps were, but I also didn't freak out as they were tight enough he wouldn't be ejected from the seat, and while he still has enough shell above his head that he should be safe if he ramps up in an accident. However, that won't be the case for very much longer.

My dad and step mom recently visited, and while they opted not to take Samuel out without us (they've not seen him as often and they were concerned about him freaking out), I'm pretty sure that they would be unable to get the straps on the Radian tightened properly either.

So now I'm wondering what to do? I am concerned about looking for a harnessed seat that has a smoother tightening mechanism as I really don't like the idea of him being harnessed forward facing due to his head size. His head is large enough that when we took him shopping for a bike helmet (at a bike store) a year ago he had to get a child's size helmet as there was no chance that a toddler size helmet was going to fit on his head. I made him a hat for his first birthday that his 14 year old cousin can wear on her head, and I can wear the newest hat I crocheted for him on my head; it's just a bit snug.

I'm not suggesting that he's ready for boostering either, as while I'm not concerned about him staying in position for the belt (he's very obsessed with his games on the tablet and rarely moves around as it is), he's about the same height as most of his classmates, he just looks taller because his height is all in his torso and his head. He also weighs around 30lbs. Which makes me feel that except for his enormous noggin he's still a bit small for boostering.

Am I overly concerned about harnessing him forward facing? I know that his spinal column should be starting to ossify at this stage, but I don't know that will be sufficient with the size of his head. My plan was to keep him rear facing until he was old enough to booster train. But he looks like the average 4 year old in his seat, so I'm not sure we have that long. Plus I'm also concerned about how to ensure he's properly restrained when he goes out with his grandparents.

Ideas? Suggestions? Information to help lessen my concerns about harnessing him forwardfacing?

Thanks a bunch.

My youngest is five now, and has somewhat grown into his head, but when he was three, his head was literally off the growth chart big, on a 50th percentile height/weight body. He was my little bobble-head! We did the bike helmet thing, too, and had to buy him one meant for a teenager, so your story gave me a laugh! :spit:

I too had serious concerns about turning him FF because of that big noggin, and managed to keep him RF until shortly after his fifth birthday in our primary vehicle with his Diono RXT. He did have occasional FF rides in our other car, and with grandma, and I was okay with that.

I don't know if there is any science behind this, but I felt more comfortable having him in a FF seat that had some recline to it, like the MyRide. It was easy for everyone to use, easy to get him in an out of, and didn't feel like there would be quite as much strain on his neck in a collision. Again, science might disagree with me, but it put my own mind at ease.

I definitely would not be looking to booster, and if he can remain RF primarily, that's wonderful. If he needs an easier occasional FF seat for the grandparents to use, could they go with you to the store and try adjusting a few options to see what works best for them? I agree that the Radian is just a bit too tricky for those who aren't accustomed to the fiddling it sometimes needs.

Could they just not adjust the harness?

Mom of another 95+% head on a 50% height and weight body here

Do you think they could do the buckle if you just left it the proper tightness? Would they be OK with not tightening and loosening it each time?

If you really wanted to keep him RF and would buy another seat, you can get a buckle like the ones that are on Britax seats for the Graco Size4Me/Headwise/MySize 70. The grey buckles that are on there now are difficult but the IMMI/Britax ones should be much better. I have heard some people have trouble getting the last little bit of slack out of the harness so you would want them to try it out first. Or I guess they could just not loosen/tighten.

ETA: Cross posted and I forgot to mention that one of the Graco triplets would give him more RF height.