Question How do you know when your LO has outgrown RF by height rather than weight?

Feel free to flog me if this has been asked a thousand times before, but I've not really found the answer or figured this one out. If your LO is under 33# (in a Britax), why would they have to be turned FF due to "outgrowing" their seat RF?

The specs that I've been looking at for RF on the seats I've been considering always give the weight limit for RF, but not a height limit The torso lengths in the specs only differ between RF and FF at the lower number-the max torso length (upper number) is the same for RF/FF. I keep reading posts (mostly about the diplomat/RA) that some seats may be outgrown for RF before 33/35 lbs./ when the child is still too young to FF. Is this just because in general the child may outgrow the seat by height (whether FF or RF) before the overall weight limit is reached? Or does it have to do with how close the top of the head will be to the top of the shell in only the RF position since it may be more upright?

Is this only an issue with the compact convertibles? I feel like somewhere I read that someone's child outgrew the BV as well RF by height ahead of the 33# weight limit. Was this just a very tall child or does this happen pretty frequently with the less tall seats? Am I missing something?

TIA for any help! I'm so glad I found this forum at just the right time

This link here has some really helpful information: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201

Because kids are all proportioned differently, some kids will outgrow a seat rf'ing by height before weight. This is especially common in seats with shorter shells on them. The manual for the carseat will instruct how much hard shell above the head is necessary when rf'ing. Most the rule is 1", but double check yours to be certain. :thumbsup:

duckpond said:

The torso lengths in the specs only differ between RF and FF at the lower number-the max torso length (upper number) is the same for RF/FF. I keep reading posts (mostly about the diplomat/RA) that some seats may be outgrown for RF before 33/35 lbs./ when the child is still too young to FF. Is this just because in general the child may outgrow the seat by height (whether FF or RF) before the overall weight limit is reached? Or does it have to do with how close the top of the head will be to the top of the shell in only the RF position since it may be more upright?

Is this only an issue with the compact convertibles? I feel like somewhere I read that someone's child outgrew the BV as well RF by height ahead of the 33# weight limit. Was this just a very tall child or does this happen pretty frequently with the less tall seats? Am I missing something?

TIA for any help! I'm so glad I found this forum at just the right time

Click to expand...

You are right, the RA/Diplo do tend to be outgrown by height well before the weight limit is reached (both RF and FF, but especially RF). The Britax manuals used to not have a stated height limit for RF, but now they do in the 2008 manuals. They now say one inch of shell above the head

Usually this is only an issue with the compact convertibles (old Evenflo Triumph, Graco Comfortsport, Britax RA and Diplomat) but some children do outgrow them by height before weight. This is definitely not the norm, though.

Thanks for the link:thumbsup: That was one of the threads I found when researching.

So, when the child outgrows the RF position in the seat by height have they not necessarily outgrown the seat overall ? In my infant seat we are following the one inch rule which is why we're getting ready to move up to a convertible, but I still don't think I understand fully...are there two different height limits on the same seat for RF vs. FF? Or when someone says their child has outgrown their seat RF by height that they've just completely outgrown the seat and it's time for a new one?

For example, is it possible that the height of a child could force you to turn your BV or MA to FF before they reach 33 or 35 lbs (I guess depending on when the seat was made)? I know the diplomat or RA could definitely be outgrown in general before 35 lbs...
When people say "x outgrew their seat by height RF" are they really just saying that their child outgrew their seat that had the ability to rearface?

me= and still

duckpond said:

Thanks for the link:thumbsup: That was one of the threads I found when researching.

So, when the child outgrows the RF position in the seat by height have they not necessarily outgrown the seat overall ? In my infant seat we are following the one inch rule which is why we're getting ready to move up to a convertible, but I still don't think I understand fully...are there two different height limits on the same seat for RF vs. FF? Or when someone says their child has outgrown their seat RF by height that they've just completely outgrown the seat and it's time for a new one?

For example, is it possible that the height of a child could force you to turn your BV or MA to FF before they reach 33 or 35 lbs (I guess depending on when the seat was made)? I know the diplomat or RA could definitely be outgrown in general before 35 lbs...
When people say "x outgrew their seat by height RF" are they really just saying that their child outgrew their seat that had the ability to rearface?

me= and still

Click to expand...

It really depends on the seat. When ff'ing the straps need to be coming from the seat shell at or above the child's shoulders, while rf'ing the rule is at or below. So on a few seats, it means that when the head is within 1" of the top of the shell, the shoulders are also over the top slot. The Scenera is a seat that can be basically outgrown ff'ing at the same time as rf'ing depending on the build of the child. Diplomat is another because the headrest slides to keep the strap height even with the shoulders and if the headrest reaches top height rf'ing, then the seat is outgrown ff'ing pretty much too. That and there's only a 5lb weight difference between the rf'ing limits and ff'ing limits on those seats.

So yeah, it can definitely happen that a seat is outgrown rf'ing and ff'ing at pretty much the same time. I don't think it's super common though. :thumbsup:

Examples....

Child A weighs 33lbs and has 3 inches of shell above his head = outgrown by weight
Child B weighs 27lbs and has less than an inch of shell above her head = outgrown by height

When FFing, the straps must be even with or above the shoulders (opposite of RFing), the child must be under the FFing weight limit and the tips of the ears must be below the top of the shell (compared to the 1" rule for RFing).

Does that help?

keri1292 said:

Examples....

Child A weighs 33lbs and has 3 inches of shell above his head = outgrown by weight
Child B weighs 27lbs and has less than an inch of shell above her head = outgrown by height

When FFing, the straps must be even with or above the shoulders (opposite of RFing), the child must be under the FFing weight limit and the tips of the ears must be below the top of the shell (compared to the 1" rule for RFing).

Does that help?

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Great! I knew about the difference in shoulder strap positioning RF vs. FF, but I didn't realize that when FF the tips of the ears were generally your reference point for outgrowing the seat by height FF. I think I had read about the tips of the ears thing FF, but didn't know if that was specific to certain seat shells or all seat shells.

Now I totally understand...yay! I researched my infant seat and then put off all this research for my "bigger boy seats" until now. It's kind of scary to think about not doing research like this before you pop your LO into their new seat...

Thanks everyone for clearing that up!

duckpond said:

For example, is it possible that the height of a child could force you to turn your BV or MA to FF before they reach 33 or 35 lbs (I guess depending on when the seat was made)? I know the diplomat or RA could definitely be outgrown in general before 35 lbs...
When people say "x outgrew their seat by height RF" are they really just saying that their child outgrew their seat that had the ability to rearface?

me= and still

Click to expand...

Yes, it's possible. The RF limits are, as we know, an inch of shell. The FF limit is then the child's shoulder is over the top strap height, OR the ears are above the shell (some seats have different rules).

For example, DD1 outgrew the old Evenflo Triumph RF at 18 months, when she had an inch of shell above her head. She didn't outgrow it FF (shoulder at the top slot) until 2.5.

On the other hand, in rare cases kids can actually outgrow a seat FF before RF. Case in point: Diplomat. DD at 2.5 had long since outgrown it by height FF but still had a little over an inch of shell above her head.

An Aurora said:

Yes, it's possible. The RF limits are, as we know, an inch of shell. The FF limit is then the child's shoulder is over the top strap height, OR the ears are above the shell (some seats have different rules).

For example, DD1 outgrew the old Evenflo Triumph RF at 18 months, when she had an inch of shell above her head. She didn't outgrow it FF (shoulder at the top slot) until 2.5.

On the other hand, in rare cases kids can actually outgrow a seat FF before RF. Case in point: Diplomat. DD at 2.5 had long since outgrown it by height FF but still had a little over an inch of shell above her head.

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Thanks...that picture really helps me visualize...so the top slots on the shoulder straps may very well be outgrown (is that the diplomat?) before the actual shell appears to be outgrown. So if I were to buy a compact convertible at all it would make sense to look for the highest shoulder slots (as well as the seat's reputation and other safety features). Can the ETA be tethered?

Unregistered said:

Thanks...that picture really helps me visualize...so the top slots on the shoulder straps may very well be outgrown (is that the diplomat?) before the actual shell appears to be outgrown. So if I were to buy a compact convertible at all it would make sense to look for the highest shoulder slots (as well as the seat's reputation and other safety features). Can the ETA be tethered?

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Yes that is the diplomat. This was 10 months ago and she has grown quite a bit since then.

The EFTA cannot be tethered RF. Yes, when buying a convertible you should always look for one with high top slots, to get the most bang for your buck. The EFTA has very tall top slots--higher than the Marathon, and about even with the Radian.

Of course, any "compact" convertible is going to be outgrown sooner both RF and FF than a 'larger' one (such as the Radian, Britax MA/Blvd, etc).