How should I measure for torso length in regards to car seats?

wendytthomas · Jun 5, 2006

I've looked it up (the search tool here didn't help much in this search) and I've gotten different points. Some say crotch to shoulder, others say hip to opposite shoulder, others say straight up from the shoulders to the top of the hip bone.... I don't know what is what for car seat measurements. Her seated height from the floor to the top of her head is 22", and from the floor to the top of her shoulders is 16". So I guess she's pretty evenly distributed, 16" in legs, 16" in torso, and 6" in head, but I'm not sure that's the right length. Also, for those who keep saying that they have a long torsoed kid, which I consider Piper since she fits higher in seats than her overall height implies, is there a proportion or measurement somewhere that confirms that, or I just know it because she did fit in a compass booster when I tried her in the store a year ago, and that the seatbelt did go over her shoulder nearly perfectly in a backless a month ago, and her Wizard's headrest is getting high in my rearview vision?

TIA!

Wendy

scatterbunny · Jun 5, 2006

There's two ways that I check torso height, I always try to do both because it seems to help, getting the cross-reference.

First, I have the child sit flat against a wall, bum right up against the wall, sitting up straight. Then I mark the wall right at the shoulder-level, where harness slots would be (if they were exactly even with the shoulders). After the child gets up, measure up from the floor to the mark on the wall.

The second method is less exact, IMO, because of differences in carseats (some are more reclined than others, some fit more reclined or more upright depending on the vehicle), but still helps to have. When the child is in their current carseat note which seat of slots they are using and approximately how far below those slots their shoulders are (1 inch, half an inch, quarter of an inch, etc.). Because there's a database listing the harness slot heights of various seats this info is nice to have.

I'm not sure what constitutes long torso or average torso or short torso. When my dd was 38 inches tall her torso was a little over 14.5 inches, because she had outgrown her Alpha Omega. People told me she had a long torso. Now that she's 46 inches tall her torso is only about 16.5 inches, so I think she's average torso now. Her legs have caught up and she's finally wearing the same sizes on top and bottom (used to wear bigger tops and smaller bottoms).

wendytthomas · Jun 5, 2006

scatterbunny said:
There's two ways that I check torso height, I always try to do both because it seems to help, getting the cross-reference.

First, I have the child sit flat against a wall, bum right up against the wall, sitting up straight. Then I mark the wall right at the shoulder-level, where harness slots would be (if they were exactly even with the shoulders). After the child gets up, measure up from the floor to the mark on the wall.

The second method is less exact, IMO, because of differences in carseats (some are more reclined than others, some fit more reclined or more upright depending on the vehicle), but still helps to have. When the child is in their current carseat note which seat of slots they are using and approximately how far below those slots their shoulders are (1 inch, half an inch, quarter of an inch, etc.). Because there's a database listing the harness slot heights of various seats this info is nice to have.

I'm not sure what constitutes long torso or average torso or short torso. When my dd was 38 inches tall her torso was a little over 14.5 inches, because she had outgrown her Alpha Omega. People told me she had a long torso. Now that she's 46 inches tall her torso is only about 16.5 inches, so I think she's average torso now. Her legs have caught up and she's finally wearing the same sizes on top and bottom (used to wear bigger tops and smaller bottoms).

Thanks. I'll try the first way tomorrow, though the second won't work because she's in a Wizard and it doesn't have slots. I know I just cranked the headrest up again yesterday even after I hiked it up last week after moving her from RFing back to FFing. I'd have to crack open the Radian to see where her shoulders are on those slots.

Wendy

scatterbunny · Jun 6, 2006

Well, you can still do it with the Wizard. Just adjust it until the straps are dead-even with her shoulders, then measure up from the seating area.

wendytthomas · Jun 6, 2006

LOL True. I think the slots are even with her shoulders now, so I can do that soon.

Wendy

Lea_Ontario · Jun 6, 2006

Okay - just for "fun" I did the sit against the wall thing with both my kids.

Boo (3 yrs, 8 mns) is 40.5" tall, seated height of 14.5", weighs 36.5 lbs

Bug (1 yrs, 8 mns) is 33" tall, seated height of 12.25", weighs 25 lbs

wendytthomas · Jun 6, 2006

Kashi said:
Okay - just for "fun" I did the sit against the wall thing with both my kids.

Owen (3 yrs, 8 mns) is 40.5" tall, seated height of 14.5", weighs 36.5 lbs

Heather (1 yrs, 8 mns) is 33" tall, seated height of 12.25", weighs 25 lbs

Ok, I just saw that in your siggy on another thread and I was going to ask you how you got those!!! LOL I was so excited when I saw you had posted here.

Ok, measuring Piper while sitting free I got a floor to shoulder height of 16". Measuring her against a line I drew on a door I got 14.5". Measuring how high her straps are in the Wizard I got 15". Which to go with? LOL Honestly, I'm mostly inclined to go with the free sitting one, since there's nowhere in our house that doesn't have quarterboard along the floor at least, if not baseboards too, and while not huge I'm sure they do affect the height measurements, and try as I may I can't be positive that the straps in the Wizard are EXACTLY at her shoulders.

Wendy

How should I measure for torso length in regards to car seats?

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