Recline question....

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Domino'sGirl

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #1

How far back would you recline a convertable carseat for a 6 month old? The full 45 degrees? How do you know how far your child needs to be reclined? My little girl has very good head and neck control, but she does not sit up by herself yet (she can, but only for about 30 seconds.....lol....)

Thanks!

 

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LuvBug

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #2

I go by what recline they need while sleeping, since they tend to nap in the car even on short trips. If she has good head and neck control, then she may not need the full 45* angle.

 

desiree_leigh

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #3

I wouldn't worry about a full 45 degree recline for a 6 m/o - I would try a BIT more upright (maybe 40 degrees?) and see how she tolerates it. Likely she'll be fine away - it'll be when she falls asleep you'll know if you have enough recline. If her head flops, recline it more. That said, I never watched for an exact "angle" myself - just as they seemed to do better with head control, I made the seat more upright. HTH!

- Des

 

mamoomorgan

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #4

not to hijack...but is there a reason to NOT have a 45 degree angle? My dd#3 is in a MA, not sure the angle but pretty reclined. She's almost 3 and rf. Should she be more upright if she's happ?

Morgan

 

desiree_leigh

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #5

I'm sure a tech will chip in with the why, but more upright is safer A 3 y/o doesn't need a 45 degree recline. HTH!

- Des

 

crunchierthanthou

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #6

45 degrees isn't unsafe for a toddler, but more upright would be safer. Having more of the shell directly behind the child means more of the crash forces will be absorbed by the seat. Older babies and toddlers with good head control can be as upright as 30 degrees, as long as they are comfortable.

 

mamoomorgan

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #7

Hmm, OK, for some reason it seams really hard to install the seat without it reclining so much. By the time we have it in there tight it's super reclined.
I guess I'll have to get dh out there to re-check it. (hope he doesn't want to turn her ff while he's at it, she's 29.5#'s)

Thanks for the help,
Morgan.

 

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LuvBug

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #8

be sure you are not using the tether to get it super tight. You only want to remove the slack from the tether, not crank it down. This turns out to be what was breaking the recline mechanism in their seats.

 

mamoomorgan

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #9

No it's not cranked, maybe it's the shape of our seats, it seams to sit on the seat belt stalks a bit. We have a toyota sequoia.

 

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LuvBug

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #10

there is a trick to getting it installed a little more upright when rearfacing. If you pull the base slightly out of the bite of the seat and put your weight in the bottom while you install it, it should install more upright than with the base in the bite.

 

mamoomorgan

New member

• Jan 26, 2008

• #11

thanks luvbug, we'll try that

 

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hipmaman

Moderator - CPST Instructor

• Jan 26, 2008

• #12

crunchierthanthou said:

45 degrees isn't unsafe for a toddler, but more upright would be safer. Having more of the shell directly behind the child means more of the crash forces will be absorbed by the seat. Older babies and toddlers with good head control can be as upright as 30 degrees, as long as they are comfortable.

Click to expand...

Also the (backward) rotation of a carseat in a collision would depend of the weight on the child and seat. So the heavier the child, the bigger the rotation angle, therefore you don't want the recline angle to be too much for an older/heavier child.