ERF misinformation from pedi??

okay, here I am with another question from DS1s BB...

Our pedi said that it's highly recommended to keep them RF as long as possible. But she also says that there's evidence that you should turn them around when they get w/in a couple of lbs. of the limit.

Our seat's limit is 33 and she said that it's a good idea to turn him around 30/31.

Have you heard anything about this?

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anyone? I figured yall would know...

I told her to keep in mind the difference in weight between clothed and unclothed...

maybe there's something I'm missing.

We know from Britax that they test their seats for several pounds over their stated weight limit for this very reason, and seeing as one of your kiddos is in a FPSVD which is made by Britax, I wouldn't have any problems keeping them in THAT seat right up to the weight limit, if not a hair beyond.

The Graco seat? I just don't rightly know if they test with slightly heavier dummies. Anyone know the answer to this one?

I would never trust a Dorel seat pushed right at/over the limit.

Only because some kids gain really quickly and home scales aren't always accurate. There's no reason to turn the kid early for any actual injury or seat-failure reason, just the 'forgetful parent' reason (all seats have actually been tested with a 34 or 35 pound dummy, so if your seat has a 30 or 33 pound limit, they have already built in a safety cushion for the average parent who doesn't weigh their kid daily). It took my own kid about a year to go from 31 to 33, so personally I would have ignored this ped....except wow, that is the best ped information I've ever, ever heard! :thumbsup:

Personally, I think this is a parental decision and there is no "right" or "wrong" answer. I also think it depends on other factors, like the child's age. If I had a 30 pound one year old, I'd be much more concerned about leaving them RF as long as possible.

For me, my kids are well past the age of 3 before they're even close to reaching the RF limit, so I'm lucky. I can turn them when I feel comfortable with it without having to worry about their weight as much.

Actually, I think it's pretty great that your pedi even mentioned ERF. A lot of them don't. I guess I can sort of see his concern that home scales might not be as accurate and some parents might forget to keep a close watch on their child's weight. I'm not crazy about a blanket statement to turn them at 30 or 31 pounds though, because for a lot of kids, it could take quite a while to gain that extra 2-3 pounds.

This is one of those gray areas for me and that's why I think it's a parental decision that should be based on each individual's circumstances and child. I have no interest in pushing the RF limit any more than I would consider pushing any other limit, like a 40 pound limit for a harnessed seat (which is why I won't buy one ). I really don't care what size/weight dummy they use to test the seat and my parental decision is not to exceed what's stated on the seat, even by a pound or 2.

joolsplus3 said:

Only because some kids gain really quickly and home scales aren't always accurate. There's no reason to turn the kid early for any actual injury or seat-failure reason, just the 'forgetful parent' reason (all seats have actually been tested with a 34 or 35 pound dummy, so if your seat has a 30 or 33 pound limit, they have already built in a safety cushion for the average parent who doesn't weigh their kid daily). It took my own kid about a year to go from 31 to 33, so personally I would have ignored this ped....except wow, that is the best ped information I've ever, ever heard! :thumbsup:

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As usual, Julie said it all.