WWYD: RF or FF?

momto2princes · Jan 16, 2009

I am interested to see what opinions I get as this is weighing on my mind lately with the need to purchase a new seat(s) approaching possibly.

My youngest with be 3 in April. He is currently RF in his Marathon. He is about 2lbs shy of outgrowing it which I anticipate will happen somewhere within the next 3-6months.

Given that he makes until his birthday RF or possibly a bit longer what would you do when he hits the 30lb mark (we are in Canada so our Marathon is only weighted to 30lbs RF)?

Option #1: Switch him FF in the Marathon with the intention of purchasing a Frontier soon after. I am going to be purchasing a Frontier for my older one and I like them to match (silly I know but I have two granite Marathons now!)

Option #2: Purchase a True Fit or similar and keep him RF longer which at the rate he grows he could be 4+ before he would hit 35lbs. Then into a Frontier down the road.

What would be the added benefits to maintaining RF after 3+ years of age?

Thanks ladies!!

NannyMom · Jan 16, 2009

Well, if it was my child, I would buy another seat to get to RF longer. The neck doesn't mature until 4-6 years old. SO, as close to that as I can get.... I will. I've been blessed so far and my daughter is projected to get to 35 pounds after she's 5 years old. I'd feel more comfortable FF at 4 than I would at 3.

However, if my friends RF their kids to 3 years old, I'd be thrilled! I'd be so happy they made it that far (kuddos to you for doing it :thumbsup

. ha, especially since both my friends with kids had them FF at 12 months and 20 pounds

:twocents:

SPJ&E · Jan 16, 2009

We turned ours FF at 3 yrs/30 lbs. fully clothed in his Marathon and soon after, bought him a Nautilus (he uses the MA in one car, Nautilus in the other). He could have rear-faced to 33 lbs, which he barely is right now (fully clothed) at 4 yrs, 1 month old. 3 yrs. is just THAT age for us and I can't really explain why...but it's our minimum AND maximum.

If it were my child, I'd turn him FF at 3 yrs. and get the bigger seats for the 2 of them (although I'm a big Nautilus fan, over the Frontier). That'll be the most cost effective option at this point. But by all means, if you feel more comfortable keeping him rear-facing, go for it!

momto2princes · Jan 17, 2009

Thanks for responding girls.

I am so on the fence about this. On one hand DS is happy rear facing and I wouldn't mind keeping him that way but on the other hand I don't know if I can justify the $$$ for 5lbs because I know I am going to want 2 Frontiers when I do turn him.

Worst case I would buy the True Fit now and be buying the Frontier within 6 months from now.

Best case I buy the True Fit now and he uses it for a year then buy the Frontier.

I wish I had a crystal ball to know if he was going to hit a major growth spurt soon!!

I guess I will wait and see how long it takes him to hit 30lbs first then go from there.

canmom · Jan 18, 2009

I would be inclined to think 7 lbs on him would take at least a year. I would be very suprised if he out grew the TF by weight in 6 months... even in 12months.

ETA: my son is 2, from age 1-2 he only gained about 2lbs max. Currently sitting right at 30lbs.

momto2princes · Jan 18, 2009

canmom said:
I would be inclined to think 7 lbs on him would take at least a year. I would be very suprised if he out grew the TF by weight in 6 months... even in 12months.

ETA: my son is 2, from age 1-2 he only gained about 2lbs max. Currently sitting right at 30lbs.

Out of curiosity I just looked up my oldest growth chart to compare and he didn't hit 35lbs until he was 4.5 years old and my youngest seems to be a lb or two behind him at the same ages but .75" to 1.5" taller.

I would love some more responses. Guessing if I was to get the True Fit he could be RF in it until 4-5 years old.

I would love to know from someone who RF their child until those ages if height ever became and issue because he is tall for his age. I will have to go measure torso height but he is already close to 38" at 33 months.
Added: Torso height 14" legs crossed

NannyMom · Jan 18, 2009

My daughter is petite. Accordng to the growth charts, if she stays the same percentile (she's 2 years and has always been 10th percentile for weight), she shouldn't get to 35 pounds until after she turns 5. I plan to rear face her until at least 4 years. She has many seats, and if she outgrows them by height, I plan to buy True Fits if needed. It has such a tall shell that is great for rear facing.

Pepse · Jan 18, 2009

The only seat in Canada to Rf to 35lbs is the True fit

The radian is only 30lbs

tanyaandallie · Jan 18, 2009

I personally would not spend the money to buy another rf seat if you have rf to the max limits of the current seat. If he was 18 mos, the answer would be different, but he is 3. I'm not saying don't buy the seat! If you want him rf, by all means, buy another seat. But I wouldn't do it. I turned my ds ff when he hit 3 and about 28 or 29 lbs. He complained and begged so I flipped him. I always said i wanted to make it to 3 and after that I would see how it went.

zeo2ski · Jan 18, 2009

I'd buy a 35 lb RFing seat, honestly. As far as the money factor goes, if you only use it for a year you can certainly sell it when you're done! And since you're willing to spend $ simply to have matching seats (and I don't blame you there) I'd say spending $ on 5 extra lbs of RFing is very justifiable. And you could possible sell the MAs to recoup some of that.

momto2princes · Jan 18, 2009

Thanks for your opinions they do mean a lot.

I got a rain cheque for the True Fit today at Zellers so at least if I do decide to get one it will be at the sale price!

I am thinking I might get the True Fit for now for him. Why mess with a good thing considering he isn't complaining about being RF!

I will get DS#1 a Frontier as soon as he outgrows his MA which will within this year sometime.

Then when DS#2 gets to 35lbs or 4 years old I will get him the Frontier and turn him FF.

Thanks for the input girls!!

fyrfightermomma · Jan 18, 2009

I am in your shoes right now with a decision having to be made soon

. I have a tiny daughter who is 3.5 and barely 25 lbs but super tall. She'll outgrow by height before weight, but neither will be before she is 5 or 6.

I am not willing to RF that long. She has enough issues to deal with, the last thing I need is her to be made fun of for rear facing in 5K or 1st grade :twocents:

So I haven't decided what to do. She needs more leg room so I need to decide if I'm gonna get a Radian or TF to give her more leg room, or is the money better spent getting her a better FF seat since she's approaching 4 years old. While she's small and well under the limits to RF, she is also approaching 4 years old. I have to decide if RFing at that age is that much of a safety benefit

She honestly has no leg room left in her MA. She is pretty tall (99%) at 39-40" and is ALL legs. She physically doesn't fit anymore with her legs. There are no where to put them. They are in her face right now. She is very uncomfy. So I need to decide soon whether to buy a spacier RFing seat or a FFing seat. At the same time I have to also buy a 35 lb limit seat for my chunker 1 year old who is near the limit on her 33 lb seats. So I have some tough decisions to make.

I am leaning towards FFing her though. Past age 3, I think RFing is great, but I honestly don't think it has a huge safety advantage at that age like at younger ages.

There is no right answer. But just know you are not alone!

momto2princes · Jan 18, 2009

I am glad I am not alone! LOL

I am really struggling.

Part of me would just like to buy 2 Frontiers and sell both MA's and be done with it.

But I don't want to turn him if the benefits of keeping him RF past 3 years of age are that worth it. Even though I don't think I would keep him RF past 4. He might not actually hit 30lbs until April-June so I would be essentially buying the True Fit for 6-9 months because even if he wasn't quite 35lbs I would turn him at 4 years old.

If your daughter is close to 4 I would probably be inclined to turn her also if she was my child.

sparkyd · Jan 19, 2009

I'm just repeating what someone else said, but figured I would just to add another voice!

Given that money doesn't seem to be a big issue I'd probably get the True Fit. Rear-facing is safer. The longer the better. Selling seats when you're done with them (or maybe giving them to people who really need them?) is also always an option.

Until his weight gain slowed recently, I was worried my DS wouldn't even make it to 2 RF in a True Fit. If we could get those Swedish 55 lb seats here, I totally would.

Splash · Jan 19, 2009

What would *I* do?

Leave him in the MA untill he is 33 pounds. Then turn him around and be done.

If you don't want to use the seat to 33 pounds, I'd turn him when he outgrows it and leave him in it or buy him another seat if matching is that important.

I don't think it's worth it to buy another seat for a 3 y.o. for a few more pounds. Use what you've got. If you planned on using the TF FF as well, by all means I would do it. Since you're not, I think it's unnecessary to buy another.

momto2princes · Jan 19, 2009

Splash said:
What would *I* do?

Leave him in the MA untill he is 33 pounds. Then turn him around and be done.

If you don't want to use the seat to 33 pounds, I'd turn him when he outgrows it and leave him in it or buy him another seat if matching is that important.

I don't think it's worth it to buy another seat for a 3 y.o. for a few more pounds. Use what you've got. If you planned on using the TF FF as well, by all means I would do it. Since you're not, I think it's unnecessary to buy another.

In Canada our MA's are only weighted to 30lbs RF.
No I don't think I would use the TF FF only for the added RF time. That few pounds could be for an entire year though and that is where my indecisiveness comes from.

I wish there was just a cut and dry answer that could solve my dilemma for me.

joolsplus3 · Jan 19, 2009

I'd be with Splash... the seat's fine to 33 (actually 35, no matter what the label says north of the border

)... But seriously? I don't blame you for not wanting to ignore the labels, and I bought a seat for my 29 pound 3 year old to rearface again, and she happily rode in it till 4.5 http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx
But... it only really worked in our minivan...do you have a biggish car? I mean, there was no way I could fold her in half in the Prius past age 3.5 to get her in there RF, but she could have RF'ed another couple inches in the minivan easily if the seat had been certified to 35 pounds back then (it was only 33 when it came out here).
:twocents:

momto2princes · Jan 19, 2009

joolsplus3 said:
I'd be with Splash... the seat's fine to 33 (actually 35, no matter what the label says north of the border )... But seriously? I don't blame you for not wanting to ignore the labels, and I bought a seat for my 29 pound 3 year old to rearface again, and she happily rode in it till 4.5 http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx
But... it only really worked in our minivan...do you have a biggish car? I mean, there was no way I could fold her in half in the Prius past age 3.5 to get her in there RF, but she could have RF'ed another couple inches in the minivan easily if the seat had been certified to 35 pounds back then (it was only 33 when it came out here).
:twocents:

I wondered what the issue would be if he happened to be in the seat past 30lbs.

Yes we have a minivan with bucket seats no bench so space isn't an issue.

Splash · Jan 19, 2009

There really wouldn't be an issue. The seat failing isn't gonna happen at 31 or 32 or probably even 38 pounds. No cop is gonna whip out a scale and weigh your child and ticket you.
I wouldn't suggest using it past its tested limits of 35 pounds (33, if you prefer, if it's older), but the legal part? I wouldn't sweat it. The seat didn't molecularly change once it crossed the border.

momto2princes · Jan 19, 2009

Splash said:
There really wouldn't be an issue. The seat failing isn't gonna happen at 31 or 32 or probably even 38 pounds. No cop is gonna whip out a scale and weigh your child and ticket you.
I wouldn't suggest using it past its tested limits of 35 pounds (33, if you prefer, if it's older), but the legal part? I wouldn't sweat it. The seat didn't molecularly change once it crossed the border.

That makes sense. Thanks!!

WWYD: RF or FF?

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