Car stolen, need new car seat.

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

Hi
Our car was stolen on the week-end and we need a new car seat for our daughter.
Our daughter just turned three and weights 30 pounds. We had a Britax marathon and drove a Subaru forester. We still rear face her. I would like to continue to rear face her , but some people say it is more dangerous because in an accident the weight from her legs could cause her legs to fly up and snap her back. Is this true?
We liked the Britx but so many choices including the Clek foonf.

Should we start to forward face? She travels well in the car and is normal size.
We live in Ontario Canada.

Thanks

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

Sorry, weighs 30 pounds

Keeyamah · Jan 9, 2014

I'm in the US so I'm not sure what seats are and aren't available to you. But I just wanted to say that the people who are saying that your baby will somehow break her back while rearfacing just don't understand physics. There hasn't even been a known (that I've heard of) case of kids breaking their legs from RFing, let alone their backs. However, there have been known instances of kids breaking their legs because they were forward facing. Rfing your baby protects their head, neck and spine by supporting them in an accident. Good job on keeping her rearfacing so long, once she is 4 her neck and upper spine will have calcified (ossified is the medical term) enough to handle forward facing

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

Thanks so much Keeyamah,
I had never heard of a child being injured that way by rear facing either. Thanks for the information on when it is safest to start forward facing.

Does any one recommend getting another Britax Marathon or something else where we can continue to rear face.

Thanks

canadiangie · Jan 9, 2014

As the top of a rear facing seat rotates down towards the front of the vehicle, her head, neck, and spine are kept fully aligned. The back of her car seat acts like a backboard, and absorbs crash force so that she has to absorb less. While her seat is rotating down, her legs will be pulled into her body, and her arms up into the air. Her limbs strike nothing, and are very well protected in a crash. Because the seat is rotating down while this happens, her legs aren't snapping up - and her back isn't under strain (in fact, quite the opposite). Towards the end of the crash, her seat rotates back up, also called rebound, her arms come back down, her legs release out a bit - likely contacting the vehicle seat - but crash forces are coming down at this point, so this is not risky. And all the while, her head, neck, and spine are still kept fully aligned. It is truly the most protective orientation to be in, if you're still small enough to ride that way.

I'm not sure why there is so much concern about lower extremities being injured by rear facing. There isn't any data to support it, you can't find any warnings about it, car seat manufacturers essentially beg parents to rear face as long as possible, the government bodies who oversee these things also essentially beg parents to not turn children forward facing any sooner than they have to. I don't get it. As time goes by I grow less annoyed by it, and more curious about why people just can't let it go.

Legs are fine, people! The world is also round, not flat! I promise, I'm not making it up..

To answer your first question, do you have your Subaru back? Or do you have a different vehicle now?

nannykates · Jan 9, 2014

If she doesn't fit rear facing in the britax I wouldn't recommend it(she needs 1" of hard shell not headrest above her head).

The foonf, peg prego convertible, and diono radians would probably be better.

MommyShannon · Jan 9, 2014

The new Britax seats in Canada (Marathon G4, etc) require them to be tethered rear facing. If you don't think you will have a place to tether it behind the seat and don't want it running over the top Aussie style ( makes it harder to load), I'd get a different seat. The Radian, Foonf, and Peg Perego (depending on her height) should last longer rear facing. The True Fit is nice too but only goes to 35lbs rf.

tam_shops · Jan 9, 2014

Agreeing that legs and spines break for a child in a forward facing seat, not rear facing. I really like this video b/c it shows both a rear and a forward facing child, in the same crash, at the same time.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8mFsXNXOLw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8mFsXNXOLw[/ame]

Agreeing that the new Britax seats may cause you a problem with rear face tethering, as it is now mandatory. AND, you know and understand that your child out grows the Marathon (MA) rear facing, when her head is 1" away from the top of the *shell*, not the top of that insert/sliding thing that gets longer/taller as it adjusts the harness. Right? So, my youngest son outgrew the last generation MA at about 2yo. He does have a long torso, but isn't over all very tall. Unless something has changed w/ the RF rules on the newest model of that seat, I've yet to read the manual on them...

I would consider this a wonderful opportunity to look at and try both the Diono and the Foonf, which will promote the extended rear facing that will keep your child safER longer. Neither seat have a rear facing tethering requirement, that I've yet heard of. Though, someone will correct me if I've missed it, as even the new MA requirement is very new!

tam

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

Heard from the police tonight, they found our car. But we are still thinking of replacing the car seat. We want to make sure she is safe.
She is still rear facing in the Britax Marathon. I thought she had head room left, but we will double check that.
Before we bought the Britax I tried a. Sunshine Kids in our car, but with the angle required for RF, the front seat passenger had to be right up to the dash for it to fit. So went with the Britax.
LOVE the video.
I'll check out the recomendations. I don't know much about the peg pereggo and the foonf. Hope they fit in our car.

MommyShannon · Jan 9, 2014

There is now an angle adjuster for the Radian that makes it install more upright. My 3.9 year old still just fits in the Marathon. She's about 38.5" tall.

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

Or the Diono. Is it the same as Sunshine Kids, just a. New name?
My DD is 36 inches.

Great to hear the Radian doesn't have to be angled so far back. Is that the same with the Foonf?

Naurelover · Jan 9, 2014

MommyShannon, is your DD in a Radian?

tam_shops · Jan 9, 2014

In the pic above, the seat on the left is a Britax Marathon, the one on the right is a Truefit.

Naurelover said:
MommyShannon, is your DD in a Radian?

Was your car damaged? At all? In any way? Was the seat removed?

If you said, "no" to all of those questions and the car wasn't gone long, I wouldn't replace the seat, personally. Though, if insurance was paying and suggested I had any reason to, then I absolutely would.

Everyone else?

tam

Naurelover · Jan 10, 2014

I'm not sure if it was damaged or not. We're getting our car back tonight.
So we'll be able to see then.
:shrug-shoulders::hug:

Naurelover · Jan 11, 2014

Our car is now at the garage, being checked over.
The insurance company said we can get a new car seat.
Reading about the changes to Britax and tethering. We have done that tethering system in our car before and it like gymnastics getting DD in/out especially as she got bigger. We would prefer not to have to do that again. Is there any other way to do the tether?
Thinking of checking out the Diono, Foonf or the Radian.
It looks like the Britax and the Foonf and maybe Diono have the same seat to head measurement.
Going to check them out today and then will have to see if it will fit in our car. Glad to hear the Diono is more adjustable now for RF.

Thanks everyone for all the formation you sent me, I've been researching more and am hoping to find a car seat to rear face for longer than I thought I could with our car seat and all the concern we get from others that our DD is still RF.

jess71903 · Jan 11, 2014

It sounds like you might have been tethering to the anchor meant for forward facing, so over the top of the seat toward the back of the car? If so, that's not really the preferred method. It's called the Australian method. The preferred method is the Swedish method, and may be what's required in Canada to meet rebound control regulations. For it, you use the included loop of webbing with a metal D-ring on the end to create a tether point toward the front of the car, usually using the front seat's track. That way, the strap is behind the seat and out of your way.

Naurelover · Jan 11, 2014

Thanks Jess,
That's what we were doing after that. Can we still do it that way with a new car seat(Britax)?
I was just looking on-line at the Diono Radian RXT. I like how we can RF to 45 pound and has a higher height than the Britax. Hope it fits in our backseat RFing.

Keeyamah · Jan 11, 2014

Naurelover said:
Thanks Jess, That's what we were doing after that. Can we still do it that way with a new car seat(Britax)? I was just looking on-line at the Diono Radian RXT. I like how we can RF to 45 pound and has a higher height than the Britax. Hope it fits in our backseat RFing.

The Radian has an Angle Adjuster that can be purchased separately to make it more upright. It's about $10 on amazon, I've read hear that it's made as much as a 4" difference for some people. Also, keeping the front passenger and driver seats as upright as possible (just a click or two reclined) gives you more leg room and more room for the car seat behind it.

Naurelover · Jan 11, 2014

Just came back from looking at car seats.
The Radian Dione you can't RF with the child being more than 30 inches.
Was told that if a. Holds legs are bent or touching the seat it is more dangerous and the child needs to FF.
The Foonf and the Peg perego fit shorter than the Britax.
I was told I would need longer straps from Britax.
I am so discouraged.

nannykates · Jan 11, 2014

Naurelover said:
Just came back from looking at car seats.
The Radian Dione you can't RF with the child being more than 30 inches.
Was told that if a. Holds legs are bent or touching the seat it is more dangerous and the child needs to FF.
The Foonf and the Peg perego fit shorter than the Britax.
I was told I would need longer straps from Britax.
I am so discouraged.

Who told you this information? None of it sounds correct to me (except some kids do outgrow the peg by height before the britax). The legs are not an issue, people are misinformed, there is absolutely no evidence to support this. The radian can rf to 44". The foonf headrest is reinforced and can be used for rf head clearance. Im not sure why you would need a longer strap from britax?

Im so sorry you are feeling discouraged! Its so hard when people present incorrect info to know what's true.

Car stolen, need new car seat.

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