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What was Dorel thinking
- Thread starter Pixels
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kandamom
New member
I was wondering the same thing and even called them about it. I was told that that's what had been tested. In that case, I'm confused about the proportions of the dummy. Did they really test it until the head was even with the top of the wings using a 40" dummy?
I was very interested in this seat but went with the Radian primarily because of the 40" rf limit on the CA. I thought about using it an inch or two past it just to get my kid rf to three or so, but I wouldn't feel right going WAY over the dorel limit. I wonder dorel would ever revise the 40" limit...
Rebecca
K - 7.5, 51.5", 57 lbs
A - 25 months, 37.5", 32 lbs
I was very interested in this seat but went with the Radian primarily because of the 40" rf limit on the CA. I thought about using it an inch or two past it just to get my kid rf to three or so, but I wouldn't feel right going WAY over the dorel limit. I wonder dorel would ever revise the 40" limit...
Rebecca
K - 7.5, 51.5", 57 lbs
A - 25 months, 37.5", 32 lbs
joolsplus3
Admin - CPS Technician
They were just giving you the stock answer, there's no such thing as a 40" dummy.
If I can get my snail-slow child out of the house I'll go see what she looks like in the seat...oh, she's 40.5, I'll be breakin' the law
If I can get my snail-slow child out of the house I'll go see what she looks like in the seat...oh, she's 40.5, I'll be breakin' the law
joolsplus3
Admin - CPS Technician
Whoa, LOADS of growing room in that seat. 6-8 inches above her head, and she was at the third to top slots. It looked cozy, though I didn't check to see if the straps were too close to her neck, and she only wanted to sit in the Paloma AOE (grey with pink flowers, of course, pink flowers are ALWAYS best...sigh)
bobandjess99
Senior Community Member
yep. thats what i said from the beginning...a 40 inch child will have about 6-8 inches over their head, like jools said. Given the way torso growth is proportional to overall growth, I can see many, MANY kids, if you use the 1 inch rule, fitting into this seat at over 48inches tall. Which would be well over 6 years old for most kids...unless they hit 40 pounds first..which most kids certainly would in this seat.
dorel is stupid.
dorel is stupid.
kandamom
New member
Thanks for checking out how your daughter fits in the CA! At least she would sit in the seat at all for you. My ds2 won't even do that for me.
He just wants to play with the seats without sitting in them. So as someone who has been a tech, would you use it rf (much) beyond 40"? I'm usually a stickler for rules, but in this case, the rules don't make much sense. In any case, I'm not happy with it. Maybe 40" will get most kids to 3-4, and dorel figures that's good enough. According to the growth chart, ds2 will hit 40" at 33 months.Rebecca
K - 7.5, 51.5", 57 lbs, Monterey
A - 25 months, 37.5", 32 lbs, rf in a Radian65
Pixels
New member
I figured it out, I think. The limit is even with the top of the headrest, not the outer shell. So if the child is rear facing and head is over the top of the headrest, the harness must be moved up. Page 17 of the manual.
gsdguenter
Well-known member
I'm fairly new at this so please excuse the silly question, but I don't get what you guys are talking about. I have the CA and want to make sure I don't use it wrong, even though I did read the manual
So, are you saying since the shell is so high the weight limit rfing should be higher too? I feel really dumb right now
So, what I understand is I can use if rfing with my DD until she is 40 lbs or her head is even with the top of the shell. Is that right? What am I missing?
So, are you saying since the shell is so high the weight limit rfing should be higher too? I feel really dumb right now
So, what I understand is I can use if rfing with my DD until she is 40 lbs or her head is even with the top of the shell. Is that right? What am I missing?
LISmama810
Admin - CPS Technician
I'm fairly new at this so please excuse the silly question, but I don't get what you guys are talking about. I have the CA and want to make sure I don't use it wrong, even though I did read the manual
So, are you saying since the shell is so high the weight limit rfing should be higher too? I feel really dumb right now
So, what I understand is I can use if rfing with my DD until she is 40 lbs or her head is even with the top of the shell. Is that right? What am I missing?
We're talking about height limits, not weight limits.
Dorel says that the rear-facing HEIGHT limit is 40 inches. So technically, if one follows the manual, one should stop using the seat rear-facing when a child is 40 inches.
In a seat that tall, a 40-inch child will have TONS of room left before getting to the top of the shell (or an inch from the top).
We generally...encourage...people to disregard the actual height limit since children of the same height can have different sized torsos, and that's what really matters. Usually, though, the stated height limit and the height of the actual child who still fits in a seat are relatively close.
Parents will have to decide whether or not they're comfortable using this seat with a child who is more than 40 inches.
Pixels
New member
I'm fairly new at this so please excuse the silly question, but I don't get what you guys are talking about. I have the CA and want to make sure I don't use it wrong, even though I did read the manual
So, are you saying since the shell is so high the weight limit rfing should be higher too? I feel really dumb right now
So, what I understand is I can use if rfing with my DD until she is 40 lbs or her head is even with the top of the shell. Is that right? What am I missing?
We're discussing the 40 inch limit on the seat. Dorel placed the following limits on rear facing in the Complete Air: 40 pounds, 40 inches standing height, or even with the top of the headrest. When any of those are met, the seat is outgrown RFing.
gsdguenter
Well-known member
Aaaaaaah I get it now. There will most likely be a lot of room left height wise in regards to the top of my DDs head and the top of the shell when she is 40 inches and this is not typically the case, right.
So, do parents follow the 40 inches rule, or top of shell, or 1 in. rule? It is up for us to decide . . . . I don't like making decisions like that
I get it now. There will most likely be a lot of room left height wise in regards to the top of my DDs head and the top of the shell when she is 40 inches and this is not typically the case, right.So, do parents follow the 40 inches rule, or top of shell, or 1 in. rule?
It is up for us to decide . . . . I don't like making decisions like that
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To give an idea of differences in height, my 45.75" child had just over 1.5" above her head. Her torso is a little longer than average. But she's over 40 pounds, so she's outgrown that seat by weight rear facing.
We rarely pay attention to the height limits stated, but weight limits are set in stone.
Wendy
We rarely pay attention to the height limits stated, but weight limits are set in stone.
Wendy
So, do parents follow the 40 inches rule, or top of shell, or 1 in. rule?
Most seats are 1" from the top of the shell. This one specifically states to the top. So for the CA it's 40 pounds or when the head is even with the top of the headrest.
Wendy
Mama!
New member
I skooled a BRU employee today.
I got my hands on a CA. I put ds in it (4 yrs, 2 mos, 42 inches and 37 lbs dressed, looong torso) and cranked the headrest up .He had a good 2-3 inches over his head.:thumbsup: TONS of legroom!
Random employee wanders over, after I've already tried my almost 6 yo DD (she was even, as in just outgrown :thumbsup: ), and we start discussing it.
He wants to say that if a kid is over the listed height limit, they can't ride RF. He seemed a little perplexed that I kept him RF to 35.
I told him the CA allows for use to the top of the headrest, and weight limits are absolute. He was like "but, but but..."
Then I told him my kids were in Regents, and he actually said "Oh, those big mammoth overkill seats?"
Yeah buddy, those. Those that kept my kids safe when a woman drove her car up into the hatch of my van at 55.Idiot.
kandamom
New member
Aaaaaaah
So, do parents follow the 40 inches rule, or top of shell, or 1 in. rule?
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like making decisions like that.
Rebecca
amyd
New member
So here's a question...if we don't care that the Snugride limit is 26", why do we care that the CA limit is 40"? Can't we just disregard the height limit on this seat like we do on every other one? Or is this one different somehow? I haven't had a chance to play with this seat yet since it's not out in Canada yet.
Mama!
New member
well, for me personally, I'd use it to the top of the headrest, like the manual says, and I'd do it even if he was over the arbitrary 44 inches max height or whatever.
Pixels
New member
Personally, I am not comfortable telling parents that it is okay to disregard the stated height limits, particularly in a case like the Complete Air where it is obvious that the limit is not the height at which most kids will outgrow it by height (1 inch rule for RF or shoulders even with top slots or top of ear over top of shell for FF). Am I gonna have a heart attack if my kid is 31 inches in a seat with a 30 inch limit? No, partly because children are proportioned differently so will have different torso heights at the same standing height, and partly because measuring kids isn't an exact science by a long shot. My kid "shrank" an inch and a half between her 9 month and 12 month checkups. But I am not comfortable with a 50 inch child in a seat with a 40 inch limit. :twocents:
4boysmom
New member
Interesting you say that, I was just about to say 50 inches is probably more accurate sounding for a 1 inch or at top of shell height. Of course even a string bean will likely be well over 40 pounds at 50 inches.
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