Question probably dumb question about safety seat specs...please inform me

neefer

New member
Hello all,
I was searching the net for an answer to my question and came upon this forum, so this is my first post. My question is about how to interpret the manufacturer specs for car seats/boosters. My daughter is using a Britax Marathon 70, so of course the specs say it can be used to 70 pounds. My question is whether the seat should actually fit her up to the 70 pound and 49 inch spec...or are manufacturers specs just saying it isn't safe to go over those limits, and children aren't necessarily meant to actually fit in them up to those numbers.
I'm asking because my daughter is only 45 inches tall, and 41 pounds, and I assumed when I bought the seat that it would last her til she hit one of those stated specs. But she only fits in the seat now if she is not wearing a heavy coat. I'm pretty sure I have the harness straps as loosened as possible. It doesn't look to me like a 70 pound child could possibly fit in this seat. It is fine for her as far as the height of the straps coming out of the back and also the height of her head/ears resting in the seat, but we cannot buckle her in when wearing a winter coat anymore.
Thank you in advance for your help.
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Hi there.

She shouldn't be wearing a heavy coat in the car anyway. They're unsafe. Your manual states on pages 3 and 32 to "Adjust the harness to fit the clothes the child is wearing. Remove bulky coats and/or jackets before putting the child in the child seat."

Is she likely to make it to 70 pounds or 49 inches? Both are possible, neither is terribly likely. She'll outgrow it when her shoulders go over the top harness height, the tops of her ears go over the top of the shell (not the headrest), 70 pounds, or 49 inches. Whatever comes first. The usual is the shoulder height. By putting the limits higher than the shoulder height, that allows a child to actually outgrow the seat's useful life, rather than limiting the seat while it can still be used.

Wendy
 

NessieNess

New member
No to the heavy coat, as Wendy said. If the coat forces you to loosen the harness from where it would be without the clothes, it's too thick.

That being said, my older daughter is a 95th percentile (and above) kid in weight and often height. She has a very long torso. I've found that many stated limits do not apply to her. Also, many kids outgrow their seat by height before they outgrow it by weight -technically my daughter was below the weight limit of 90lbs for our harnessed Britax seat, but she outgrew it by height a long time ago. After some financially painful experiences, I've learned to ask more knowledgeable CPST friends and online forums to get recommendations for seats that may fit my child's particular body type.
 

neefer

New member
Thanks so much for the replies. I tried to reply to you the other day and it didn't post. I'm thinking I wasn't signed in.

I was pretty sure your answers would be targeted at the puffy coat issue. I thought to have her put her hood up so that she's not adding that poof to her placement and it helped. It's not a terribly puffy coat, but I need to address this issue soon and get her into something else.

So now I'm asking for suggestions. She is 45 inches and 41 pounds. She is 7 years old (so a tiny 3-4 percentile kind of kid). She will be 8 in May. I just feel in my gut that she's safer in a harness than in a booster with car's belt system, so I really was hoping the Marathon would last longer than it is. Do you agree that a harness as long as possible is a good pursuit? Before posting my question here, I was looking online at Britax Frontier and Evenflo SecureKid. I don't have a store near me to look at them and have her try it out. So any input from forum members here is appreciated. If I go with a system like the two I mentioned, does anyone have a guess as to how long she can use it? And I'd love to hear of better suggestions if these aren't a good idea.
Thank you again for your help!
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Most 7.5 year olds are booster ready. They have 7.5 year old skeletons and 7.5 year old maturity, even if they’re small.

What’s your budget? Likely a combination seat is not needed.

Wendy
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I'd go with Wendy and try a booster. My almost 6 year old is the same size as your child and mine is on the last height position of her Frontier ClickTight. And my kid is more legs than torso. So even if you get a Frontier, I doubt it is going to last you long in harness mode.
 

neefer

New member
Most 7.5 year olds are booster ready. They have 7.5 year old skeletons and 7.5 year old maturity, even if they’re small.

What’s your budget? Likely a combination seat is not needed.

Wendy

Money is not big factor. I want her to be comfortable (that means less irritable for Mom) with decent cushioning and ergonomic seat. I wouldn't mind spending the money, but if she'll only use it less than a year, for instance, that would be too wasteful.

So for the people replying, are you saying a backless booster is preferred? Or a booster with a back, just not necessarily a harness? Again, specific recommendations would be great!!!!!
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
A high back booster. A booster doesn't have a harness. They come in high back booster and backless booster varieties.

I'd look at the Peg Perego Viaggio Flex 120, Evenflo Spectrum, Chicco KidFit Zip Air, Diono Monterey, Britax Parkway, Graco Turbobooster.

Wendy
 

neefer

New member
I was very happy to read your replies this evening. I can't tell you how useful they've been! I immediately went researching and shopping on the internet. So far I've only shopped for the seats that Wendy listed above. I've narrowed down to Chicco KidFit Zip Air and the Britax Parkway. The Chicco is very enticing with its comfort features. But I am wondering about the Britax safety features. They claim that the base materials are impact absorbing. And also, it features that SecureGuard clip for the lap belt and I don't see another seat that offers such a thing. I'm very aware of the importance of belt placement on the body and this seems like a really good idea. Anyone care to weigh in on the two Britax safety claims, especially the lap belt clip? Is it gimmicky or effective? Otherwise the choice is difficult between these two.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
All seats pass the same safety tests.

Submarining risks are highest under 40 pounds. So not a concern for you. The SecureGuard wouldn't be necessary. All bases take crash forces somehow. I don't know if Chicco has a crumple zone, as it were. I do know all seats are VERY VERY safe when used properly.

Wendy
 

NessieNess

New member
My kid hated the SecureGuard and claimed it was uncomfortable, though she's also on the heavy side, so that may have been an issue. I stopped using it fairly soon after we got the Parkway.

Two issues with the Parkway I only recently became aware of is that (1) when you use it in no-back mode, it only has a 'check fit' rating for the belt fit, and (2) my daughter finds it very uncomfortable because without the back, they slide about an inch further down the seat and there's no padding over the plastic part where you slot the back into place. Also, again due to my daughter's size, that additional inch further down means the seat is actually too narrow for her. Again, this may not be an issue for your daughter, but I wish I'd known about this before I bought the Parkway for my particular kid.
 

neefer

New member
Thanks again. Now leaning even more toward the Chicco Zip Air. You ladies have saved me many days of research since I have so little time in front of the computer, and live in a small town with no way to see these seats in person. And I probably would have mistakenly wasted my money on the convertible harness booster. Happy Thanksgiving!!
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
The parkway secureguard strap always loosened on us so I had to remove it as it was changing her belt fit. I contacted Britax about it and the did nothing and no solutions. I know this also happened to other people. I don’t know if Britax has solved it. But otherwise the parkway has been awesome.

As for the parkway in backless mode, my 11 year old currently uses it that way and it’s great for her. It doesn’t fit her with the back anymore but an Incognito isn’t tall enough in our truck. She finds it comfortable and hasn’t complained in the 6 or so months she’s been using it that way.
 

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