10lbs, 26 inches.... 4 years old. What would you do?

Now... what would you do with a 10lbs, 26 inches 4 year old? She isn't expected to break 30 inches, so definitely probably not 30lbs.

This is her website with many pictures... totally adorable!!!! I love her name and spelling too... so unique!

http://littlekenadie.com/gallery/?Qwd=./July-2004&Qif=kenadie-with-dad-court.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=FS

It just made me cringe... watching the show and seeing her in what I believe was a Scenera (definitely a Cosco) in a jacket, with strap covers. I am pretty sure she was forward facing though I couldn't swear to it. I can not find any pictures online or videos of her in her car seat. Chest clip was a the right level and straps were pretty tight. But with her being that small I just wasn't comfortable with the jacket, even though it was fleece.

It just made me think....Especially given that she still has a bottle and a pacifier. I figured they would still have her rear facing?

This is the only video I could find, but I didn't see any car seat shots. It was only for a few seconds in the show and I can't find any pictures online of her in her car seat.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eOyl2gHY_Eg

But, I'm curious. What would you do? You can't put a 10lbs child forward facing in ANY car seat. It would be against manufacter instructions. But, what would you do with a 14lbs 8 year old... would you keep them rear facing? Would you expect the average parent to do it?

Obviously I'm sitting there thinking... wow! If that was my kid, I could start out with a Key Fit and use that for a year or so until she wants to be sitting up. Then put her in a Boulevard, rear facing until it expired! Use the Boulevard rear facing until it expired...wow! I would definitely invest in a Boulevard or Marathon (they are in Canada) in that situation. Given her being so small and fragile and the fact that she can use the seat for the full lifespan... I would fork over the money for the most well padded, protective seat.

I would always keep my kids as safe as possible... so, the poor kid would probably be rear facing until they were driving if they were that small.

Play nice... no mean debates. I'm just curious... what you would do in that situation?

no surprise, my kids would RF to twenty if we had seats for it. I'd keep her RF.

I personally would keep her RFing in a Carseat forever. Period. She looks too fragile to be FFing and she is WAY to small!

What a little angel though!

Here is the email address if a tech would like to send her the information on extended rear facing... as well as letting her know that no seat allows forward facing until 20lbs...and that the law is 1 year AND 20lbs.

Like I said, I can't SWEAR that she was forward facing. But, the information would be good for her to have anyways. Just make sure if someone emails her that they address it from that perspective.

briannejourdin@gmail.com

Where did you see the pic of her in the carseat? I cannot find it

I thought about that as soon as I saw the show about her. I honestly don't know what I would do. I would definitely keep her rear facing until at least 10 or so but at some point, if she asked to be turned around, I might think about it even if she still fit. Of course, I would teach her about the safety of rear facing and 5 point harnesses so that she can eventually make her own decision because I'm assuming she'll be able to move out eventually. I don't think she'll ever be able to drive though, unless it's a go cart.

Oh, and they probably have a note from the doctor saying she can be turned around.

At four, I'd have her rear facing. At 7, 9, 12.... no, I would not. I'd have her in a five point harness forever, and probably a BV (where the straps can come down very low without being in the unreinforced area, and with excellent SIP and padding). But, eventually the kid needs to be treated like a normal kid. And I am sure her parents have no clue about this, and are doing great just having her in a seat period.
I saw the show about 2 years ago, and wondered about the car seat issue as well....

I saw the show last night. The show I saw, she was just having her 3rd birthday, so maybe it was a different episode. When they showed her in the carseat, it was such a close up shot that none of the car in the background was showing. I have no reason to think that she is FF. I asume that she is RF.

I agree with Splash, at some point she needs to be treated like a normal kid. She may even be able to drive some day. Would it be ideal as far as how far she is from the steering wheel? Of course not. But sometimes you just have to let go and live your life.

Honestly though, even if they did have her FF now. I would not email her parents about it. They have enough on their plate.

Splash said:

At four, I'd have her rear facing. At 7, 9, 12.... no, I would not. I'd have her in a five point harness forever . . . eventually the kid needs to be treated like a normal kid.

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Never saw the show, but ITA with this -- depending on Xrays to show the spine is mature enough.

Their Feb. 2008 blog entry is wonderful news

I wonder if EZ-ON has a product that would work for her size and shape properly? I'd look into that, but I don't think I'd freak out about using a harnessed seat FF under 20 pounds...there's no real reason it wouldn't be safe, it's just that they can't label seats based on the entire spectrum of human size without totally confusing the 99.9% of parents on the bell curve who do have kids of 'regularish' sizes.

joolsplus3 said:

I don't think I'd freak out about using a harnessed seat FF under 20 pounds...there's no real reason it wouldn't be safe, it's just that they can't label seats based on the entire spectrum of human size without totally confusing the 99.9% of parents on the bell curve who do have kids of 'regularish' sizes.

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Yep. Here vertibrea will fuse as the same rate as all other kids. Also, in the show they talked about how her head actually grows at a slower rate than the rest of her body. At 3 years old, they said her body size was that of an underweight 6 month old. She had the weight of a large newborn, but her head was smaller than a newborn's head.

natysr said:

Her vertibrea will fuse as the same rate as all other kids. Also, in the show they talked about how her head actually grows at a slower rate than the rest of her body.

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Considering this, I wouldn't persue RF *forever* -- if her spine is ossified, she'll still be very safe in a FF seat that fits :twocents: However, if like my DD, she actually prefers RF, then I'd have absolutely no reason to turn her....

I'd definitely have her rear-facing now, but not as long as she'd fit. She'll have enough to deal with.

She has the sweetest face!

Also, Kenadie is now 5 and 12lbs!

I don't know much about dwarfism: what I would do would depend on how fragile she was. Definitely RF until at least 5, and harnessed forever.

Regarding ff vs rf, I just don't know. She is so tiny and fragile looking but if her bones will fuse at the same rate as other kids than I'm not sure. My instinct is say to rf forever but the she does need to be treated normal.

Anyway, I was reading the blog and this gives you an idea of how tiny she is, her underwear is from build-a-bear


Kenadie is now 12lbs and still about 29 inches tall. She has graduated to an infants’ size 6 month for clothing, although the waist needs to be altered in almost everything she wears. We even found underwear for her... they are from Build-A-Bear... how cute

I saw her on TV. Her torso is so tiny. I'd have her in the best infant bucket seat with SIP money could buy probably. Such a tiny thing

I would keep her in a RF seat as long as I could without a huge fight from her.

I would rear face her till at least 5 or 6 then after that I would leave her that way until it became a issue for her.

I'd probably rear face to 6 or 7. A Radian might not make her feel so swallowed up like most other seats would, so it might be a good "big girl" low profile seat for her -- for life -- buying a new one every time the last one expires.

I posted here last night, and it shows in my CP as subscribed - but i cannot find my post??

I said that she would get the best value out of her car seats, would be in them for a long time. She is adorable!