Is there a rear facing seat that goes beyond 36"

My oldest boy is 2 years old, weighs 19lbs and is 32" tall. We have an AOE and the height limit 36". I know he'll outgrow the height long before he outgrows the weight (35lbs.) but I really don't want him forward facing yet. Is there another car seat with a higher height limit?

Rf height limits are guidelines and aren't absolute. Children grow at different rates and in different proportions. It is outgrown when his head is within 1" of the top of the shell.

What vehicle will it be in and what is your budget?

Taller seats than the AOE are the 65 lb Britax convertibles, or the Sunshine Kids Radian65 (the 80 isn't necessary as it's the same height as the 65 and he is definitely not heavy for his age). They are all rumored to go to 35 lbs rf soon. There is the Recaro Como or Signo (coming soon) that both rf to 35 lbs. The Evenflo Triumph Advance is also taller than the AOE, has a 35 lb rf limit and is less expensive than the other taller convertibles.

The height limit is general--most kids will outgrow the AO rearfacing around 36", so that's their "limit". They have to print something, you know! As long as he has one inch or more of shell above his head, he's fine. At 32", unless he's really long-torsoed, he should have a while yet rearfacing in the AO. Honestly, we have a FPSVD and a Britax Dec, and they only offer about 1-1.5" more growing room rearfacing than the AO. That's a lot, however, it depends on where your child grows the most--if his legs get a lot longer, but his torso doesn't, he may have a year or more rearfacing in the AO. My ds is about 34" tall, and we traded my sil our FPSVD for her AOE, so that she could keep our nephew harnessed. DS still has over 2" of shell above his head in the AOE (and he's long torsoed).

When he only has 1" of shell above his head and you still want to keep him rearfacing, I'd check out the Britax convertibles (like the Marathon and the Blvd, I'd skip the Dec, b/c I've had trouble w/our harness adjuster!), Fisher Price SVD, Evenflo Triumph Advance, or Sunshine Kids Radian 65. I personally would consider the Evenflo Triumph Advance, as our old Triumph is ds's favorite seat for comfort (important for a skinny one that's going to rearface for a long time)--it's a steal for a higher weight seat w/tall harness slots at $129 at Target/Walmart/Kmart. All of these have top harness slots of at least 17" and backs that are several inches taller than the AO's.

hths

henrietta

crunchierthanthou said:

Rf height limits are guidelines and aren't absolute. Children grow at different rates and in different proportions. It is outgrown when his head is within 1" of the top of the shell.

What vehicle will it be in and what is your budget?

Taller seats than the AOE are the 65 lb Britax convertibles, or the Sunshine Kids Radian65 (the 80 isn't necessary as it's the same height as the 65 and he is definitely not heavy for his age). They are all rumored to go to 35 lbs rf soon. There is the Recaro Como or Signo (coming soon) that both rf to 35 lbs. The Evenflo Triumph Advance is also taller than the AOE, has a 35 lb rf limit and is less expensive than the other taller convertibles.

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Right now we have a '99 Tahoe (but we may be getting a minivan in the next few months). My budget isn't that great only because if I want a new car seat it's going to be tough to convince DH. He thinks we should flip DS as soon as we can. Even when he does hit 20lbs he's still EXTREMElY skinny so I want him rear facing.

When you say within 1" of shell do you mean the adjustable part that is directly behind his head? Or the outer part of the car seat (the part that will be the booster once he's that big, does that make sense?)?

When checking for the 1 inch of shell, I'm pretty sure you go by the actual seat shell (not the adjustable part), but the others will tell you for sure.

Great job keeping your tiny man rear-facing! Like the others have said, it sounds like he's got a long time to go rear-facing, unless he's really long torsoed!

So regardless of his weight I have to turn him soon? That makes me sad. He's such a skinny guy that just doesn't seem safe. Thanks for the help ladies! :thumbsup:

You probably have at least another year RF in that seat, it's really fairly tall...my 4.5 yo was barely too tall for it after she outgrew her Marathon by weight at 33 pounds. 2 is when their legs start to grow long, and putting the seat more upright can give you an extra inch or two (kids sink down shorter in more upright seats).
Check this picture... http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/TaivenAO.aspx Now, I'd look at that and say he has like 3 inches over his head on the seat shell part, and the seat should be more upright.

My little guy is almost the same size as yours is. He is finally 22lbs fully clothed and 32.5 inches tall. I completely understand you wanting to keep your child rearfacing. It is definitely safest. Mine will be rearfacing for quite some time yet. You probably have more time left in the ao than you think. After age two children's torsos don't grow as fast as they had been.

Have you seen the video of the rearfacing crash test and a forward facing crash test? I don't have the link, but maybe you can have your husband watch the videos and see why rearfacing is safer. I know they definitely convinced me.

Not to mention, the bare minimum allowed for FF in the AO is 34 inches and 22 pounds

"When you say within 1" of shell do you mean the adjustable part that is directly behind his head? Or the outer part of the car seat (the part that will be the booster once he's that big, does that make sense?)?"

On the AO, there are 4 harness slot positions, but 5 headrest positions (the top headrest position is ONLY for booster use, and you must remove the harness b/c it's not reinforced to use w/the harness). The top harness slot height that is usable w/the harness is about 15" on the newest AO's, maybe 15.5 depending on how you measure. The 1" rule in this case applies to the headrest portion (adjustable part) that is directly behind your child's head, and it only goes about one half inch above the shell behind it anyways when it is in the top position usable with the harness (position 4). This headrest is not removeable, and it goes up 2-3" above the back of the carseat's shell in booster mode (which you will probably never use anyways--you've got a long skinny kid who probably will not be 40 lbs at 4 years old, which is the bare minimum to go into a booster seat).

You will need another carseat later to keep him harnessed to a minimum of 4 years and 40 lbs, but that can wait until he's outgrown the AO both rearfacing and forward facing if necessary. If you have the money a year from now, you may prefer to buy a higher weight convertible seat to keep him rearfacing even longer and to keep him harnessed forward facing longer after that. Most kids can still rearface in a higher weight convertible seat like the Britax Marathon in the third harness slot (one down from the top) that is the same height as the top usable slot on the AO...so you've got more time to rearface in another seat if you prefer. Then, you could use the AO as a spare seat or sell it to help pay for the new seat.

You will have loads of options later to look at--Sunshine Kids Radian 65, Cosco/Safety First Apex or Safety First Biltmore, the new Graco combo seat that will go to 65 lbs and turn into a booster (like the Apex), Recaro Young Sport may work for you b/c he's a lightweight, Britax Regent, Britax Marathon/Boulevard, and of course, the Evenflo Triumph Advance, etc. etc.

To me, I know more about the carseats and safety than my dh, so I make the rules. DS is not getting turned, period. He's too little. DH doesn't fight me about it.

hths

henrietta