40" standing height limits for RFing

Cnidaria

New member
Talk to me about 40" RF height limits. Where does that number come from? Is one of the dummies 40" tall?

And why have standing height limits at all? It seems kind of bizarre to me. If a child has long legs, why would that affect how far they ramp up a RF seat? Or how their torso moves in a FF seat?
 
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aept

New member
I'll bet it also has something to do with a child's overall height being easier to measure/obtain and a less "subjective" measurement than trying to explain to the masses how to measure a child's seated height (or torso height or whatever is going to max them out of a certain seat.)
 

Cnidaria

New member
Oh, but it would be so much simpler for the public if height limits were just a straight 1" below the top for RFing (or even with the shell, or below the red handle, or whatever) and shoulder straps at or above for FFing.

It is SO confusing to people that their Keyfit or whatever is outgrown if the head is higher than 1" below the shell OR the baby is more than 30" tall OR weighs more than 30 lbs, whichever comes first. When I was early in my carseat education I read the "how to tell if your RF carseat is outgrown by height" page and somehow thought that that superseded manufacturers' standing height limits.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I'll bet it also has something to do with a child's overall height being easier to measure/obtain and a less "subjective" measurement than trying to explain to the masses how to measure a child's seated height (or torso height or whatever is going to max them out of a certain seat.)

Problem with this is that standing height is extremely subjective by itself. Posture, small differences in measuring tools, and human error all affect it. There have been several times when my kids apparently shrunk between doctor visits. Even my own highly scientific marks on the kitchen door method of watching them grow sometimes show odd discrepancies.
 

bnsnyde

New member
And the Sure Ride 40" limit RF?
I mean...that shell it TALL. The child will just end up FF. Wouldn't it be better to RF longer? But maybe Evenflo has some info. that makes it unsafe after 40", who knows.

But they also told me I have to discontinue the Amp after 57". It's fine, we can (we have some other seats and such). It's just my 8 YO is 56" and I don't see him 5 stepping once he grows an inch.

I try to follow what the companies say. Some of it is confusing though!
 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I don't have any information, but just want to second the comment that standing height limits are confusing for parents. I used to think that the 1" below the shell rule was confusing, as it didn't give me enough information to be able to predict when my child would outgrow the seat. But after finding out that virtually all seats have a "hidden" 1" rule anyway and that the seat could be outgrown by the 1" rule regardless of the standing height limit, I was even more confused.

I think people would pay more attention to the 1" rule if the were no standing height limits and the 1" rule was better publicized on the box. As is, a lot of people don't know that their seat can be outgrown by height at all.
 

meljc

Active member
All of my Caltech physics classes still leave me confused about the rationale of standing height limits. I haven't ignored one yet, but it's mighty tempting. 1" rule RF and harness above shoulders FF make sense because physics. But Evenflo's 37" limit to RF in the Symphony always killed me -- DS has just hit 37" but is so leggy that he still has several inches of room even on the middle click. Do they really think that he's safer FF at 38" even with all that headroom? Perhaps since they clearly have a 40" dummy now they can re-test with that one? Moving to 40" (or eliminating the standing height rule) gives at least another year for that seat.
 

zeo2ski

Well-known member
But why the sudden move to standing height limits? Wasn't it the complete air that had the first? Or maybe just the first that was low for the shell height? Everyone was confused about why they did it. That was not long ago and now it seems standing height limits are universal.

My kids are all torso/head, so it doesn't generally affect me but it kills me to see these kids with miles of shell room having to FF simply because of the standing height limit.

I guess they could be thinking the leggy kids would run out of practical leg room about the time torso-ey kids are nearing 1"?
 

rachelandtyke

Well-known member
Haven't standing height limits on infant seats been around for a long time? I'm pretty sure DD1's infant bucket had a height limit of 29in or something like that. It would have been manufactured 10 years ago. Maybe it is only newer on convertibles?
 

kaitlyn

Senior Community Member
I think they were always sort of there, and we ignored them in favour of the 1 inch rule because we felt they made no sense. If I remember correctly the Complete Air came along and it was so much shorter than we expected and Dorel was so hard and fast on it insisting there were very important reasons behind it and then we started taking them a little more seriously. I know though that when I was certified in 2010 the mantra at the time was 1 inch rule, "standing height limits don't really matter", then it slowly started moving to the "no these are very important and we need to follow them".
 

Cnidaria

New member
I know though that when I was certified in 2010 the mantra at the time was 1 inch rule, "standing height limits don't really matter", then it slowly started moving to the "no these are very important and we need to follow them".

That's so interesting! That might help explain why, around 2010-2011, I got the impression that the 1" rule superseded the standing height limit. I do now remember hearing chatter about the CA's standing height limit!

The reason I started this thread was because of the SureRide. Its 40" standing height limit is particularly absurd; any 40" tall child (and particularly a short- to average-torsoed one) would still have *miles* of shell above their head.
 

kelkel2090

CPST Instructor
image-922573519.jpg

This is my guy at 42 inches, just for pics. He's FF now and he's still got miles above his head at 46 inches.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I think people would pay more attention to the 1" rule if the were no standing height limits and the 1" rule was better publicized on the box. As is, a lot of people don't know that their seat can be outgrown by height at all.

So true. People see that weight limit on the box and think that's all there is. New parents, and surprisingly, second time parents, and most grandparents, really do think their kid will fit into an infant seat till 35 pounds, or an Evenflo Symphony till 110 :rolleyes:. It's an uphill battle for me to explain again and again and again while at work that height limits matter, too, and I feel like they rarely believe me.
 

Nedra

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
So true. People see that weight limit on the box and think that's all there is. New parents, and surprisingly, second time parents, and most grandparents, really do think their kid will fit into an infant seat till 35 pounds, or an Evenflo Symphony till 110 :rolleyes:. It's an uphill battle for me to explain again and again and again while at work that height limits matter, too, and I feel like they rarely believe me.

Exactly. I watch and read a lot of parent reviews of baby products. Even informed parents who want to promote extended RF-ing will frequently say, "this car seat will rear-face your baby all the way until 40 lbs!" Rarely a mention of height limits and I think that's why so many parents still don't believe it when someone tells them about height limits. Just a shrug and "it doesn't say that on the box" or "I've never heard of that before."

I would love for some manufacturers to advertise their seat back heights more prominently. But I suppose unless they all did it at the same time, people would still say, "well, I don't want a _____, because I have heard that THAT seat has all kinds of height limits, whereas with this one I only have to worry about weight..."
 

Cnidaria

New member
Yeah. I remember a conversation awhile back where we were talking about some (European?) seat that ONLY had height limits. It was engineered in such a way that it could support any weight of a child that was an appropriate height for the seat. Something like that would be so much better than our system.

Having seven different limits that a child might outgrow ONE seat by (RF weight, RF shell height, RF standing height, FF weight, FF standing height, ears over the shell, straps at or above the shoulders) is just way too much.
 

jwilliams

New member
Having seven different limits that a child might outgrow ONE seat by (RF weight, RF shell height, RF standing height, FF weight, FF standing height, ears over the shell, straps at or above the shoulders) is just way too much.

Absolutely! That's one reason I love to see limits increasing. Basically, if people are going to ignore limits, manufacturers need to make them something you don't need to even think about.
 

brooksfamily

New member
Glad I'm not the only one that gets overwhelmed by this...or frustrated by my families lack of knowledge. Last time I was home my mom told me that I could turn my then 18 month olds seat around, because in NY rearfacing until 2 isn't the law. I don't get why everyone thinks its so awful for a child to rear face.

I thought the height limits were 1 inch below the shell or standing height limit. Meaning you could use either...I guess I was misinterpreting the reviews...It seems odd that it's not just 1 inch below the shell for all...but I'm sure there's a reason....
 

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