Torso is 17" exactly -help me find my 2.5 years old a new car seat for tall kids!

Hi, my name is Kellie. I found your awesome site and have read through so many posts. I was hoping someone would be able to help me find a car seat for my daughter.

I need to purchase two new car seats as my tall daughter is now shoulder level with the top shoulder straps in her Boulevard and close to being too tall for her Triumph. She has always been over 100% on the growth chart for height, but compounding that is the fact that she has short legs and a long torso. So I feel kind of stuck. I don't want to put her in a booster until I absolutely have to, but at this rate I feel like she will be in a booster when she is 3.

Is the Regent my only option to keep her in a 5 point harness as long as possible? She is only 30 pounds, so she is skinny too. The Regent just seems so huge and has no side impact protection so I am pretty bummed about giving up her Boulevard for a monster that seems less safe.

Is there a car seat that goes as tall as the regent but has side impact protection or at least is not so wide?

I am looking at the Signo as well but I saw that I would get an extra torso inch out of the regent and for the price I am not sure what to do.

I have a Cadillac SRX so I am not even sure the Regent will fit. I know it will definitely not fit in my husbands truck (a Chevy Colorado).

I was looking at the Safeguard Go but it looks like the torso height is only 17 inches on that seat as well. Can anyone confirm that for me? I can't find it on their mfg website.

So, I guess my big question is if anyone has any advice on which seat to get for a super tall two year old with a long torso?

Welcome to the boards! I'm sure we can help you figure out some options.

But wow, that's REALLY long-torsoed for a 2yo! You're sure the Boulevard is adjusted as high as it goes, and she's even with the slots on that highest setting? What's her overall height? How much room does she have in the Triumph (and is it the regular Triumph, or Triumph Advance)?

If she's really about to outgrow the Boulevard by height at 2.5, I'd strongly suggest a Regent, at least in the primary car, or a Safeguard Child Seat or a Graco Nautilus. Those would really be the only ones I'd consider. :twocents: The Nautilus should work fine in a truck, spacewise (I'm assuming it's extended cab, and that's why you think the Regent won't fit?). My daughter is 50.5 inches tall with an 18+ inch torso and still has some room in the harness.

If it's any comfort, my daughter was also long-torsed at 2 years old (though not as long-torsoed as your daughter, she didn't have much room in the Marathon when we tried it out at age 2.5, so we went with the Husky, the precursor to the Regent). After age 3.5 her torso slowed down and her legs caught up dramatically. She's grown 12.5 inches in 4 years, but only 3.5 inches of that has been torso growth. Most kids do slow down with torso growth and start sprouting legs after age 3-4.

We like to shoot for at least age 5 before moving to a highback booster from a harness because most kids are not mature enough to sit properly in a booster at all times until about age 5-6. Kids need good impulse control to be able to sit properly at all times. Also, some studies show that kids under age 5 who are in boosters have higher rates of head injuries than kids who are still harnessed.

Also, how did you measure her torso? Sitting flat against a wall? Because I have to warn you, torso height measurement is not an exact science. When I sit my daughter against the wall and measure her, I get 19 inches for her torso. But, she fits in the Graco Nautilus with a bit of room, and it has 18.5 inch top slots. She only has about an inch in a Regent, which is supposed to have 20 inch top slots, I believe. So by her seated measurement, she should be over the Nautilus top slots already, but she's not. It's always best to go by how the child fits the seat. :thumbsup:

scatterbunny said:

If she's really about to outgrow the Boulevard by height at 2.5, I'd strongly suggest a Regent, at least in the primary car, or a Safeguard Child Seat or a Graco Nautilus. Those would really be the only ones I'd consider.

Most kids do slow down with torso growth and start sprouting legs after age 3-4.

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ITA with all of this. I wouldn't go for anything less than 19" top slots, and I'd skip the Recaros unless you wanted to rear face her some more. Plus they can be narrow through the shoulders, though your little one sounds narrow through the shoulders as well.

Piper's torso has grown maybe a quarter or half inch in the last year. She's grown four inches overall. She used to have stubby little legs and now she's pretty normally proportioned. So there is hope that the torso growth with slow.

Welcome, and you'll need to register to reply.

Wendy

wendytthomas said:

ITA with all of this. I wouldn't go for anything less than 19" top slots, and I'd skip the Recaros unless you wanted to rear face her some more.

Wendy

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The Nautilus only has 18 inch top slots, but my long torsoed just turned 7 year old is even with those top slots, and she only has about a half an inch or so in the Regent.

And Gypsy, that's why I posted what I did about torso height, as measured, not meaning as much as how the child fits the seat. H has about half an inch in the Nautilus and about an inch in the Regent. Your dd is a bit more torso than mine.

scatterbunny said:

And Gypsy, that's why I posted what I did about torso height, as measured, not meaning as much as how the child fits the seat. H has about half an inch in the Nautilus and about an inch in the Regent. Your dd is a bit more torso than mine.

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Yeah. I just hate the way all the seats measure. It's a pet peeve of mine lately. I measured the Nautilus at 18 inches, the Radian at 17 inches and the Decathlon at about 16-16.5 inches.

I'm going to measure a friends Husky because my dd has an 18 inch torso and certainly doesn't have 2-3 more inches in the Regent -- and yeah, I know different kids fit differently in different seats, but it really shouldn't be this inconsistent from measurer to measurer and seat to seat. May that's why Britax lowered the top measurement on the Regent? didn't they move it down to 19.1 inches or something? that's far more believable based on how my dd fits in it. I wish there was someplace local with a SafeGuard Child Seat so I could try her in that.

Yes, I agree, top slot height is a pet peeve of mine lately, too. My dd never did fit in the Britax 65 pound seats up to a 17 inch torso, as everyone claimed the Britax seats could accommodate. She was too tall with a 16-16.5 inch torso, and fit the Fisher Price Futura (exactly 17 inch top slots, no padding whatsoever to make it ambiguous ) a full year longer.

She's got about half an inch in the Nautilus (which I measure at 18.5 inches for the top slots), which puts her at about an 18 inch torso, but when I measure her against the wall I get 19 inches. In a Regent she's got about an inch, so the Regent's top slots probably are about 19 inches, definitely no more than 20 inches.

It's been a while since I measured dd's torso, I'll measure her tomorrow -- I'm really curious now, especially since my dd and your dd are basically the same size, and seeing how H fits in all those boosters...

Just curious, what's the difference in Husky and Regent. I considered a husky some years ago. It's bigger isn't it?

As for the OP Have you tried to fit the Regent in your DH's truck? And I only ask cause the Regent is bigger than my last seat and I thought it would be an issue but it fit's nicely in my car and there is actually more room for passengers. I have a 96 sable. I think the size is intimidating but it's not as bad as it looks.

The Husky is the precursor to the Regent. It's virtually identical. I agree that it fits in surprisingly small spaces. I had it in a 1991 Honda Accord for awhile. But I can see how, with the recline bar, it wouldn't fit in, say, an extended cab truck.

I would then try to get one pre 6/18 and lose the year, cause she may be out in 6 yrs. I was actually hoping for one of those but got one DOM 1/2008.

scatterbunny said:

Also, how did you measure her torso? Sitting flat against a wall? Because I have to warn you, torso height measurement is not an exact science. When I sit my daughter against the wall and measure her, I get 19 inches for her torso. But, she fits in the Graco Nautilus with a bit of room, and it has 18.5 inch top slots. She only has about an inch in a Regent, which is supposed to have 20 inch top slots, I believe. So by her seated measurement, she should be over the Nautilus top slots already, but she's not. It's always best to go by how the child fits the seat. :thumbsup:

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i bet that's because when she's sitting against the wall her back is relatively straight with no curve of the spine, as in the regent which is pretty straight-backed, as well, whereas the nautilus has some curvature/recline to it, sort of like the other britaxes, but not as obvious, when compared to the regent. does that make sense?

so you are absolutely right...measuring torso height is tricky and doesn't give you the whole picture because if the child slouches or the seat is inclined or curved in any way, it would effect where the harnesses lie in relation to the shoulders.

Yes, I think you're right. :thumbsup: The recline of different seats and how the child sits in the seats plays a big role in how tall the child's torso seems. In a more reclined seat my dd seems to "spread out and up" and outgrow it by height a bit sooner than what the slots seem to measure/should allow. In more upright seats she seems to have more growing room. Of course, that's all just generalizations, because every seat is different.

Another example is my dd. R is almost the same size as Gypsy's dd. She is an inch shorter with a 17.5 torso. (measured against a wall). She is about .5 inch over the radian top slots. She sits up so straight in her booster seats and she doesn't really settle down into the seats. She outgrew her 17 inch top slot graco cargo around 4.5 years old, but only just recently outgrew the radian which has top slots that measure the same. I think she would have about an inch left in the harness of a nautilus.

My son has about a 16 inch torso measured against the wall, but he sinks down into his seats after about a minute. He is not slumping in the seat though, just sinks a bit. (not sure how else to decribe it.) He has about 1.5 inches left in the radian, about 2.5 inches in his fisher-price booster, and I think that he would still fit heightwise in a graco cargo.

To the op:
I would try to find a nautilus and a regent to try your child in. Remember that the fit of a child in a seat in the store will change a bit when the seat is installed in the car. Many children will sit taller in the harness when it is installed. If at all possible try the seat out in your vehicle before making a decision.

Hi everyone, wow thank you so much for all the replies. I registered so I could respond. I am going to try to answer all the question I saw below.

I am not sure exactly how tall she is. Probably about 39 inches now. She is going through another growth spurt so I am thinking she has 2-4 weeks left in the Boulevard.

I measured her torso while she was asleep in her bed.

I have a store that carries the Safeguard, Recaro, Sunshine Kids, and Britax brands nearby (20 miles or so) so we will have to go and visit them. And thank you for the tip on the fit being different when the seat is installed. I told my husband we have our work cut out for us this weekend installing all these seats in my car to check them out!

I am not sure which Triumph she has. We bought it in Dec of '05 if that makes a difference.

My husbands every day truck is his work truck so it is small. He has a Chevy 2500 that he drives only occasionaly and it is huge so a Regent would be no problem in that beast! His work truck is a Chevy Colorado with no extra cab. Do you guys think a Regent would fit in there? Whatever car seat he gets he moves between the work truck and his regular truck only when we travel to the snow or desert. So it will be 95% of the time in the Chevy Colorado.

I pulled the Boulevard out of my car just to check that it was up as high as it can go and yes it is. The weird thing is that she can get more time torso-height wise out of the Triumph than she will the Boulevard. I checked her in the Triumph this morning and she probably has another inch. In the Boulevard, I checked her last night in it and she probably has a half-inch. This would be until her shoulders are even with where the shoulder harness exits. But I would like to have time to order whatever seat I get and I should transfer her to a higher height seat once her shoulders are level with the top height right?

I think that was all the questions. I still can't believe how helpful everyone is! Thank you sooooooo much!:thumbsup:

Bumping this up because I just noticed the latest questions and I don't have time right now to answer!

Hi everyone, I thought I would update after trying out the Safeguard, the Regent, and the Signo in my car. The Regent will definitely be the seat that will grow with her the most. It would be the last 5 point harness seat (hopefully) I would need to buy. The Safeguard accommodated the taller torso really well. However I thought the Safeguard just looked really uncomfortable. The Signo was very nice however for the price I would probably not get enough time out of it before I would need to move my daughter to the Regent.

Oh, and I tried all of them in my car. Now that was a workout and a half. So, here is what I discovered. If you have a child with a tall-torso then:

The Regent is best if it will fit in your car. If it will not fit in your car then the Safeguard Child Seat is a little skinnier. Then lastly the Signo is awesome, it is definitely something I would have considered if I was thinking of putting my child in the Boulevard. It gave me about an extra inch in torso height over the Boulevard.

So that is my report! As for my husband's truck. Well, she still fits in her Triumph so I will cross that bridge when I get there

Since you have the old Triumph, which has MUCH lower top slots than the new Triumph Advance, and you say she is about to outgrow that, I would double check your Boulevard and verify that you have it dialed to the tallest setting, because it's top slot position is at least an inch taller than the old Triumph's top slots.

Also, measuring on a bed is not going to give you the truest torso/seated height (floor to top of shoulder).

I took the Boulevard out just to check it was dialed to the tallest spot. I also checked the Boulevard in the store to make sure they both matched and they did. I am sure the difference must have to do with the Triumph being more rounded and reclined in my husband's truck (if that makes sense). My car seat is more straight-backed and the Boulevard installs without much of a recline. So, that is the only explanation I can think of...

I have found that it also depends on the seat the carseat is installed on... My ds was even with the 3rd MA slots in the center of my car. I had to fit in a SR and could not puzzle them to leave him in the center, so moved him outboard. Before reinstalling, I moved the straps up to the top slot. B/c of the headrests, the seat installed really differently (more upright) and he magically was back under the 3rd slots.... Literally having this seat outboard vs. in the center bought him more time in the seat!

I was so suprised - but I wonder if this is why everyone has different measurements - i was suprised in the same car, in teh same row of seats, the difference the new angle had on the install.