# Do any car seats work for kiddos taller than 40 inches?



## widemouthedfrog (Mar 9, 2006)

My 2 1/2-year-old daughter is in a car seat (forward-facing) that goes up to 40 inches and 40 pounds. She's 35 pounds but is rapidly approaching the 40 inch mark. She's 39 inches at the moment. Yeah, I grow tall kids.

I've done a bit of a search for forward-facing car seats (not boosters) that fit taller children. She's only 2 1/2...I don't want her in a basic booster seat...not yet! I thought that I would ask for your accumulated wisdom as well.

Any ideas? Different car seat? Booster with the wings?

Thanks!


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

The Britax Regent is supposed to go up to age 6 and 80 lbs.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

My dd is 38 in and still has way more than 2 in of room in her boulevard. (and she's currently rf too







)

But yeah, regent is your best bet for a tall kid. The "height limit" is really meaningless. On height, what's important is the strap height. FF the straps need to be at or above their shoulders.

And yeah, she's WAY too young for a booster. I would not even consider a booster for a child under 4- period. Really I'd have a hard time with a child under 5 in one unless there was NO other choice.

-Angela


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

Yep, there are a bunch of seats that will go well past 40". 40" is only a reference point-- if you have a long legged child, they will fit longer than a long torsoed kid in any seat. My 44" almost 5 yr. old is leggy and can fit in all of the 50+ lb. convertibles on the market still-- the Triumph Advance, the Britax 65 lb. convertibles, the FP Safe Voyage, the Radian 65, the Recaro Como or Signo, the Cosco Apex, the Britax Regent (aka Husky). We have him in a Britax Husky and I imagine he has at least 2 years until he outgrows it by height (he won't come close to the 80 lb. weight limit). My just turned 2 yr. old is 36" and rear-facing in a Radian 65 which will last him until 6ish. I really love both the seats we have and would recommend either to a 40" child. My other top choice would be the Recaro Como.


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## widemouthedfrog (Mar 9, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestions!

Like me, she has a normal sized torso and really long legs, so it's the leg-sticking-out thing that I'm concerned about. That's why we switched her to forward-facing. On our seat, her legs were just too long. We have a Corolla. The shoulder straps are ok - we're on the last one, but they are still ok. I guess we should move the front seat up, because her legs seem like they are taking up a lot of space back there.

Those of you who have a rear-facing taller child, do you have a larger vehicle?

Yes, the booster concept totally freaks me out and I would not be willing to do it yet. She's not even three! Thanks for the ideas about the regent/husky. And thank you for the huge list, hotmama! I'll see what's available in Canada.


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## JBaxter (May 1, 2005)

look at the sunshine radian. it goes to 49 inches 65lbs. Nathan is 43in 43 lbs and has plenty of room to grow. I like it because its a narrow seat


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## LilyGrace (Jun 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *widemouthedfrog* 
Thanks for the suggestions!

Like me, she has a normal sized torso and really long legs, so it's the leg-sticking-out thing that I'm concerned about. That's why we switched her to forward-facing. On our seat, her legs were just too long. We have a Corolla. The shoulder straps are ok - we're on the last one, but they are still ok. I guess we should move the front seat up, because her legs seem like they are taking up a lot of space back there.

Those of you who have a rear-facing taller child, do you have a larger vehicle?

Yes, the booster concept totally freaks me out and I would not be willing to do it yet. She's not even three! Thanks for the ideas about the regent/husky. And thank you for the huge list, hotmama! I'll see what's available in Canada.

Just for future reference - for rear facing, the legs don't matter. As the saying goes, better to have a broken leg than a broken neck, and there isn't even anything to support evidence of legs breaking in a crash when rear facing. Here's pictures of children in extended rear facing and how they fit.

I'm not sure what all seats are available in Canada, but you might try the safety forum. The car seat techs tend to weigh in quite a bit there.


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

Her child is too heavy to rear face in Canada. All rear facing seats currently available only go to 30 pounds.

The SK Radian and Britax Marathon are available here and the Evenflo Triumph Advance should be coming out in the next couple of months. Those are all convertible seats though, and you'll be paying more for them because they RF and FF. There are likely some decent FF options out there for you that would likely be cheaper. I'll see what I can find out.

What seat is she currently in?


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

I just looked through my info and the 3 seats I listed are likely your only option if you want to keep her harnessed as long as possible. The Radian and Marathon both harness to 65 pounds. Not sure what the ETA FF harness limit will be until it is released here. It is 50 pounds in the U.S. though. Most HWH (high weight harness) seats are outgrown by height before weight anyway.

ETA: Okay, wait, I forgot about the Safety 1st Apex which is a FF/booster seat that now harnesses to 65 pounds. It will be the cheapest option for you, BUT your vehicle has to have headrests for this restraint to be used. http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index....entPage=family


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## dallaschildren (Jun 14, 2003)

Moving to Family Safety.


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## LilyGrace (Jun 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TechnoGranola* 
Her child is too heavy to rear face in Canada. All rear facing seats currently available only go to 30 pounds.



Perhaps that is why I started my post with "For future reference", in the event she has another child she'll have more information to work with.


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LilyGrace* 
Perhaps that is why I started my post with "For future reference", in the event she has another child she'll have more information to work with.

Actually, I wasn't responding to your post, you can see that I did not quote you. I was only providing info specific to Canada, in case anyone suggested she should be RF, since our seats have a lower RF weight limit than the U.S.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *widemouthedfrog* 
Those of you who have a rear-facing taller child, do you have a larger vehicle?









Hardly... we have a Honda Civic









-Angela


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Somehow I missed she was in Canada. The seat that would last the longest available in Canada would be the Radian.

-Angela


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
Somehow I missed she was in Canada. The seat that would last the longest available in Canada would be the Radian.

-Angela

Does it have higher harness heights than the Apex 65? I don't know much about the Apex 65. If harness heights are comparable, and is a concern for her, the Apex would cost less than the Radian.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TechnoGranola* 
Does it have higher harness heights than the Apex 65? I don't know much about the Apex 65. If harness heights are comparable, and is a concern for her, the Apex would cost less than the Radian.

I *think* the radian slots are higher than the apex (didn't know the apex was available in Canada... filing away for future reference)

Personally I would choose a radian FAR over an Apex. I would only use an apex if I couldn't afford a radian at ALL.

-Angela


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
I *think* the radian slots are higher than the apex (didn't know the apex was available in Canada... filing away for future reference)

Ya, I wasn't sure. I don't know much about the Apex.

Quote:

Personally I would choose a radian FAR over an Apex. I would only use an apex if I couldn't afford a radian at ALL.
I agree that the Radian is a better seat. The only thing going for the Apex in this situation, is that is a much better value since it can be used as a booster which the Radian can't. And the OP won't use the RF feature of the Radian. So, after the Radian, she still needs to buy a booster which is an additional cost she needs to consider. (I know you know this Alegna, just stating the facts for others reading for information!).

A Radian here is $269 + cost of future booster (about $99 - $149 for a good high back here). Or, the Apex, which is $179 and covers the booster stage. Of course if budget allows, the Radian and then a Parkway booster would be nice (or whatever fancy boosters happen to be out in several years!).


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

From memory- the apex has 17" slots and the Radian has 19 in slots. BUT on top of that, the Radian can be used when the shoulders are ABOVE the slots...

So the radian would keep the child harnessed a LOT longer









-Angela


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
From memory- the apex has 17" slots and the Radian has 19 in slots. BUT on top of that, the Radian can be used when the shoulders are ABOVE the slots...

So the radian would keep the child harnessed a LOT longer









-Angela

Good point. I think the Triumph Advance has decently high harness slots too, and I am pretty sure she has enough time in her current seat, to wait a bit and see if this one fits her criteria. At least that way, she'll have a choice!


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

From what I've heard (I have no true experience with either one of these seats), the Apex lasts longer then the 65lb Britaxs' because it sits more upright. Same with the Radian, the Apex is supposed to be quite a large and wide seat for the slot heights that it has. The radian is very narrow, my DD1 hated it because of that, but many children love it.


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## lajn (Jun 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
From memory- the apex has 17" slots and the Radian has 19 in slots. BUT on top of that, the Radian can be used when the shoulders are ABOVE the slots...

So the radian would keep the child harnessed a LOT longer









-Angela

Angela, how come the Radian can be used when shoulders are above the slots?

...Lisa


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## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lajn* 
Angela, how come the Radian can be used when shoulders are above the slots?

...Lisa

That's what the company says. I personally wonder why only this one seat out of all the seats out there can be used for one inch above the slots. What makes it that much different? There are some that are not comfortable with using the Radian for that one extra inch.


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## widemouthedfrog (Mar 9, 2006)

Thanks, Technogranola, thought that I had to turn her around at 30 lbs. We have less choice in seats up here.







Not that I wanted to turn her around, for the same reason that I was freaked out about a booster seat.

She's currently in a Cosco seat, I believe the Scenera...but I can't remember.







Yes, I know that one has a recall...it's on the stuffing for one of the seat backings, which kids have been eating. We don't have that seat backing, though.

Ack! The Radian is expensive, but if it will last to 65 lb we will likely go for it. The grandparents all do child care 1 day per week, so we may go for an Apex for them. This is an investment in 3 car seats per change.... Funny how we always spend our Christmas money on car seats.

The narrow seat sounds good too, both for room in the back and for occasional napping.

Thanks for the info about legs and rear-facing. Don't think that we're going to have a second child, but if we do, I shall keep that in mind. Good to know that it works in a civic, too Angela







...same size as our Corolla. And both sets of grandparents have a civic.

I really appreciate all of your help!







I am not the most car-seat savvy, and the sheets put out by the local insurance company are not too helpful. Their sheets rate all of the car seats almost equal for safety...their different ratings seem to be for ease of installation.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Peony* 
There are some that are not comfortable with using the Radian for that one extra inch.

I'm one of those.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
I'm one of those.

The Radian has 18" top slots, fyi,

This is an email from Russ @ SK to a mom on another forum about WHY the Radian can be used with the childs shoulers above the top slots....

Radian's unique design and incredible strength permits a child's
shoulders
to go above the top harness slots as long as the child's ears are below
the
top of Radian's seat back. While there will be some very tall 65 lb
occupants for whom this will make a difference, more practically it is
focused towards the Radian80 to allow the highest percentage of larger
and
older occupants to still be able to take advantage of Radian80's
harnessed
capacity and yet continue to maintain an overall height that allows the
flexibility of rear-facing.

Radian65 is the strongest car seat in its class and (to our knowledge)
Radian80 is the strongest car seat in the world.

So, how can Radian allow a child's shoulders to go above the top
harness
slot?

Simply put, both Radian65 and Radian80 were crash tested with large
size
dummies whose shoulders were above the top harness positions and the
performance results were excellent. Currently there are NO established
governmental requirements for child seat certification when crash
testing
with a test dummy above 50 lbs other than structural integrity (ie. no
breakage in the CRS). At Sunshine Kids, we have developed our own
internal
requirements that go far above what is required by law. Even for the
80 lb
child occupant, we have adopted the FMVSS213 excursion requirements for
the
under-50 lb occupant of 720 mm with tether and 813 mm without tether.
As
well, compliance to those same biomechanical requirements of FMVSS213
required for the under-50 lb occupant, we have decided to adopt for the
heavier occupants: below 60 G to the chest, under 1000 HIC for the head
injury criterion. As well, we have internal requirements for neck
loading -
hence the use of Safe Stop for the lighter occupant.

The test dummies used for crash testing (whose shoulders are above the
top
harness slots) were fully instrumented to record loads in all 3 vectors
of
movement: X, Y and Z (i.e. fore-aft, horizontal and vertical). The
numerical
values recorded during crash testing show that the biomechanical loads
experienced by the dummy in each of these three vectors. Results of
these
crash test showed that all the biomechanical values were all well below
those values established by NHTSA in FMVSS213.

What this means is that even with the child's shoulders above the top
slots,
Radian's vertical chest loading (Z- vector) was sufficiently low enough
(i.e. well within NHTSA's values) to demonstrate that there is no
excessive
spinal loading.

The current trend to harness heavier occupants in child restraints
requires
the restraints to be built in a manner that truly adjusts performance
for
each size occupant as the physical characteristics of a 3 yr old are
very
different that that of a 6, 7 or 8 year old. Radian's design embraces
that
approach exemplified by Safe Stop energy management for the small
forward
facing occupant, unmatched strength for the larger occupant and
incredible
stability for the rear facing occupant up to 33 lbs.

Sunshine Kids' policy is to always encourage the use of top tether, as
long
as its installation and intended use conforms to the instructions of
the
vehicle and for the child with whom it will be used. There are some
professionals who take a well-thought, but different, position on this
issue. While we have great respect for their experience and knowledge,
as a
car seat maker we must maintain a certain position on this matter that
does
not compromise the instructions of the vehicle. The use of top tether
with
the higher weight occupant (50 lb to 80 lb) in a harnessed child seat,
is
not allowed by most if not all vehicle manufacturers. The fact that
the
Radian can safely and conveniently utilize just the lap belt in these
heavy
occupant applications gives the consumer the ability to safely secure
their
child and follow all manufactures instructions (Child Restraint and Car
Manufacturers).

I understand and appreciate the concerns about shoulder harness heights
as
it relates to safety and performance. I hope all this information helps
explain both our design and performance criteria.

Best regards,
Russ
------------------------------------
Sunshine Kids
Russ Berger
[email protected]
147 Tower Avenue
Needham, MA 02494
USA
tel: 781-453-0309
fax: 305-574-0309
mobile: 617-817-3201
www.skjp.com


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## JavaFinch (May 26, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *4evermom* 
The Britax Regent is supposed to go up to age 6 and 80 lbs.

My son is almost 9 and around 72 pounds and still fits just fine in his. He's still below the top slot.


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## OnTheBrink (Jan 24, 2004)

My 6.5 yo daughter is 45 inches and 45 pounds. She's in a Radian. In fact, I have 3 Radian's FF in the backseat of my Camry. One for my daughter, one for my son and one for the kid we carpool with. I LOVE this seat!


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
The Radian has 18" top slots, fyi...


Yes, I am aware of SK's stance on the subject, and I have been over and over the information. I have a Radian for my 2.5 yo, and there is no way I'm comfortable with the risk of spinal compression. JMO, of course.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
Yes, I am aware of SK's stance on the subject, and I have been over and over the information. I have a Radian for my 2.5 yo, and there is no way I'm comfortable with the risk of spinal compression. JMO, of course.

Just wanted to share for other posters who were asking why it was allowed.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Oh I know, sorry if I came across as argumentative, I was just sharing my personal/professional opinion


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