# Britax Carseats and reclining



## anewmama (Feb 25, 2007)

Do any of the Britax car seats recline while the child is in it? Seems most of the comments I find are that they only recline while being set up but can't be adjusted with a child in it.

I am leaning towards the Maxi-Cosi car seat for the reclining feature, particularly in rear-facing mode.


----------



## mimie (Mar 7, 2003)

No, you can't recline the Britax convertible seats (Roundabout, Marathon, Boulevard) while the child is in it. You need to uninstall the seat to change the recline position. Also, when the seat is rear-facing, it MUST be in the reclined position, and when the seat is forward-facing, if the child is over 33 lbs. it must be in the upright position.

I hope that makes sense!


----------



## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

All car seats recline rear-facing. There are only a couple that recline in FF mode, partly because it's not ideal for a FF child to be reclined.


----------



## anewmama (Feb 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mimie* 
No, you can't recline the Britax convertible seats (Roundabout, Marathon, Boulevard) while the child is in it. You need to uninstall the seat to change the recline position. Also, when the seat is rear-facing, it MUST be in the reclined position, and when the seat is forward-facing, if the child is over 33 lbs. it must be in the upright position.

I hope that makes sense!

Sort of. I understand that the Maxi-Cosi has an easy button to make it recline even in RF mode. So is this MORE reclining in rear-facing? Or is their easy recline button really only a function you use in FF?

As for "it must be in the upright position", they why does the Maxi-Cosi have a recline feature?


----------



## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Ok, as I understand it, this is the deal on reclining:

* Newborns need to be at a 45-degree angle due to lack of head control.
* Older rear-facing children are safer at a higher incline (around 30 degrees) so that the seat can absorb their weight better in an accident.
* Forward-facing children need to be even more upright, so that they don't fly forward as much in an accident.

So... I can see how it might be handy to be able to shift from a 45-degree angle to a 30-degree angle without reinstalling the seat, but you'd only want to do that once. In all cases, there's an angle at which the seat is safest; reclining it further or bringing it more upright from that point will reduce the child's safety. CPSTs, am I wrong on this?

In that case, if the recline feature is to enhance comfort while sacrificing safety, I can't say as it's all that desirable from my point of view.


----------



## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
CPSTs, am I wrong on this?

In that case, if the recline feature is to enhance comfort while sacrificing safety, I can't say as it's all that desirable from my point of view.

Nope, you are spot on. Save for special circumstances, you want the seat as upright as possible.


----------



## anewmama (Feb 25, 2007)

That's good info... I was sort of leaning towards the Maxi-Cosi for the reclining feature. We go to our property on weekends and it's 3 hours away. So reclining for DD to sleep sounded good. But not at the expense of overall safety.

Now I guess it's a question of which Britax if we go that route is the smallest to fit in a MIni Cooper on the off chances DH has her. We normally drive my Jeep Patriot which is a small sized SUV.

Does anyone have stats on the safest seat for side impacts? That is of particular concern in the Mini Cooper as there is not a whole lot of "Car" there!


----------



## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *anewmama* 
That's good info... I was sort of leaning towards the Maxi-Cosi for the reclining feature. We go to our property on weekends and it's 3 hours away. So reclining for DD to sleep sounded good. But not at the expense of overall safety.

Our DS1 has slept countless hours in his Marathon, both rear- and forward-facing, even on long car trips. He's been driven to Vegas twice and the Bay Area once, and slept through most of each journey.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *anewmama* 
Does anyone have stats on the safest seat for side impacts?

No. There is no official data on how car seats compare to each other *at all*, and the NHTSA doesn't test car seats in side impacts. The only data that exists on car seat performance in side impacts is the manufacturers' internal testing data, most of which is not made public.


----------



## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

How old is our LO and is she rfing or ffing?


----------



## anewmama (Feb 25, 2007)

She is 15 months and still in her Graco Snugride car seat rear facing! She is a small baby though tall at about 32" or 95% for height.


----------



## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Just make sure she still has a full inch of plastic shell above the top of her head. The Snugride claims a height limit of 29", though that assumes certain proportions, so a 32" kid whose height is mostly in their legs may still fit.


----------



## anewmama (Feb 25, 2007)

I think she is just hitting the limit. I looked at i briefly last night and it seemed ok so her height might be more in her torso. But we are needing to change.

I don't even know how I suddenly realized I need to change her seat. I had one of those uh-oh moments, I think I need to do this soon! I am hoping this weekend to get to it but it requires driving 45 minutes to a store that has Britax... so we'll see what I have time for.


----------

