Need help with seat for three year old, was: SafeDad

[Unregistered]

Hi, I would like to get any suggestions for my Son who is 3yo and 33lbs.and is 3' 3 1/2" tall. Currently, he is RF in a Britax Diplomat in a 2005 Honda Accord. He will soon outgrow the Diplomat which is now near expiration anyway. He also rides RF in our 2007 Mazda5 in a RadianRXT. I had planned on getting a 2nd Radian for the Honda for extended RF, but my Wife has trouble tightening the harness on the Radian. Also, at 3yo I'm not sure how much longer he will be RF. Does anyone have any alternate suggestions to the Radian? Should I consider FF at this point and get a Frontier or similar? My 6yo daughter has a Frontier (Pink Unfortunately) and a Monterey. Thank you for any suggestions or advice.

 

[Stelvis]

I'd probably not buy a new convertible to RF a tall 3 year old. What about just buying a new cover for the Frontier, and a booster for your 6 year old?

 

[Unregistered]

Stelvis,
That makes too much sense... lol. I guess I was hoping for an alternative to the Radian, but he is getting kind of big at this point, so maybe it's time to turn him around. I'll try him in the Pink Frontier to see how it fits. He doesn't care about the color yet, but I will. The covers seem expensive just for a color change, but it's better than buying a whole new seat I guess. My daughter is really starting to prefer the booster in the other car over the harness anyway. I haven't converted the Frontier to booster mode yet, so maybe another Monterey for her (in a neutral color) would be better. I've heard that the Monterey's are a better booster than a Frontier in booster mode (but I haven't tried it yet). When she's older and ready for a backless booster maybe he can use the new Monterey and Frontier in booster mode in the other car, but I'm not rushing it. Now, how long do you think he'll stay RF in the Radian once he get's a taste of FF in the other car He hasn't complained about RF yet, but I think that's gonna change. .
Thanks for your advice! I've gotten a lot out of reading this forum over the years.
Bill

 

[jess71903]

We don't get a lot of questions like yours from people who have rear-facing 3 year olds! Good job keeping your kids safe! My kids both turned just after their 3rd birthdays, at my hubby's insistence.

I agree with passing down the Frontier and getting a new cover for it. If you pay the small subscription fee here, you can have Swap access and post your cover for trade for a gender neutral one. Is it a Fronter 80 or 85? You'd have better luck finding 85 covers.

 

[mom2ari]

If you were willing to sell the pink cover it could fund/offset the cost of the new cover as well. I chose a blue cover for DD1's fr85 but DD2 is not into blue at all, so when she needs the seat in a few years that is what I have decided to do.

 

[Jan06twinmom]

Now, how long do you think he'll stay RF in the Radian once he get's a taste of FF in the other car He hasn't complained about RF yet, but I think that's gonna change. .
Thanks for your advice! I've gotten a lot out of reading this forum over the years.
Bill

My twins rode forward-facing in one car seat and rear-facing in another car seat without any issues.

Actually, my twins were more likely to complain about being forward-facing than rear-facing. When my DS was around 5 or 6 years old, he told me that he was mad at me because I didn't let him ride rear-facing as long as his twin sister did. He was off-the-charts big and she was barely on the charts small

 

[mom2ari]

My oldest also had no problem switching seat directions when she hit the limit on one seat but not the other. In fact, at just shy of 5.5 she still requests to ride RFing occasionally, but I think she is over the limits of the seat

 

[cookie123]

You'll likely get lots of 'my kid did both' responses! My grandson rode rfing 2 years longer in my car and his moms than he did with his dad without issue.

Replacing the Frontier cover is a great idea. You could check Craig's list for a cover too.