Bone Age Delay and Outgrown Seat

MommaMia

New member
Thank you for the sweet offer. Most of the groups I've found are specifically for growth hormone insufficiency. DS does not have that diagnosis. Although he's had some abnormal tests, he does not meet the criteria for diagnosis. I'm also not on Facebook (as a teacher there are problems with students always wanting to "friend" you). My husband is (albeit using a pseudonym). If the group is more general for growth delays/disorders and he's interested, then I'll pass the info on.

I sent you a PM.
 
ADS

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
However, I will absolutely agree with you that harnessing prevents being out of position laterally.

My comment was intended to add a mod note to the general discussion of the risks of being out of position for those in the process of educating themselves, not directed specifically toward you. I figured if I came across this old thread, others might be reading it too.
 

lanwenyi

New member
My daughter is roughly -10%tile now, but she does have primordial dwarfism.
She doesn't qualify for gh as she has some other metabolic complications that her team isn't comfortable with giving gh.

I tried to be onboard with the Swedish way, but my oldest is on the spectrum and was harnessed until he was 8. My middle is my teeny one, rear facing did start hurting her hips so at 4, her bones had just hit 2, we switched to ff..She will be harnessed for a little longer. So it just doesn't work for us.

Totally makes sense. I helped my sis harness her daughter until 8 bc she wouldn't hold still, so I totally understand needing a harness!

As for your tiny one, she has other needs. Given the same situation, I might very well have made the same decision. When dealing with special needs, there are always hard decisions to be made.

We may have to do it with DS. He's gaining height/weight more rapidly now, but not bone age. Before too long, he may outgrow all the 45-50 lb rfing seats I can get my hands on, so we'll have to turn him. Earlier in the thread, Ketchupqueen made a good point about bone age making a difference for booster readiness, so if he outgrows his rfing seats before his bones are old enough to booster, then we will FFing harness him and he won't get the Swedish method either.

I sent you a PM.
Thanks!

My comment was intended to add a mod note to the general discussion of the risks of being out of position for those in the process of educating themselves, not directed specifically toward you. I figured if I came across this old thread, others might be reading it too.
Makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.
 

jubgulia

Active member
It also has to do with bone density/fragility. Until around five ish bones aren't as... tough, for lack of a better word, and the additional spread points in a five vs three point harness may be helpful for force distribution. There is also the fact that the three point anchorage system of belt plus tether allows the seat to channel more forces away from the child; for a child whose bones aren't as strong or developed as his peers this obviously has special benefit. At some point most kids' bodies are strong enough to take those extra forces with the help of a booster to position the belt (and channel away some of the forces from their less-developed hips.) Since we aren't sure EXACTLY when that happens, and evaluation seems to place the risk going down for kids over five, five is a good safe age (or in this case, bone age.)

What about a normal bone age (as far as I know), but slightly low density and fragility caused by malformed collagen (Osteogenesis Imperfecta)? OI also causes joint/ligament laxity so I wonder whether FF harness or booster is most beneficial considering the spine. The child is 5, 38.5 inches and maybe 36 lbs, with a largish head and shorter legs. Last fracture was the collarbone over a year ago. He RF until past 4.5 years and is now FF in the Coccoro that is dated to expire at the end of the year. Do I continue FF harness in a new seat or move to the Rodifix we already have?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
For kids with OI I do prefer a 5 point harness as long as possible/practical, as it spreads the forces more, and use of a top tether actually reduces overall forces transferred to the child. I'd also want a seat with load-limiting features (like a Britax, with SafeCell and a rip-stitch tether, maybe. Or a Foonf with REACT.) I think the other potential benefits of booster over harness are probably outweighed by minimizing force transfer as much as possible in the case of kids with OI. It would also be potentially extra helpful in a side-impact to have the child more likely to have that large-ish head contained within the headwings as opposed to a booster...
 

jubgulia

Active member
For kids with OI I do prefer a 5 point harness as long as possible/practical, as it spreads the forces more, and use of a top tether actually reduces overall forces transferred to the child. I'd also want a seat with load-limiting features (like a Britax, with SafeCell and a rip-stitch tether, maybe. Or a Foonf with REACT.) I think the other potential benefits of booster over harness are probably outweighed by minimizing force transfer as much as possible in the case of kids with OI. It would also be potentially extra helpful in a side-impact to have the child more likely to have that large-ish head contained within the headwings as opposed to a booster...

Thanks for your perspective on this! We tried a Foonf and liked it, but even at full recline his head would always be fallen forward out of the headrest and his neck fully stretched out because of the way the headrest sticks out further than the backrest. We tried out a new Pria 70 because I like the air cushions and FF recline that he needs, but his head wouldn't even fit between the air cushions in the headrest, so it went back immediately. It looks like the Pria 85 has more space between the headrest cushions though, so I have been mulling that over. Do you know if the Flextech that it claims to have is a load-limiting feature?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
It looks like it is ”energy management” to manage forces in different types of crashes. They don't specifically say load limiting, just that it ”optimizes performance.” So hard to tell.

Have you looked at the Clicktight convertibles at all? Nice recline range available.
 

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