# Britax Marathon - Rear facing at 2.5 - but where on earth are legs supposed to go? :)



## luminesce (Aug 6, 2006)

My DS at almost 28 months is tall but still way under the height and weight limitations for rear facing in the Britax Marathon. However, his legs are all crunched up against the seat. Isn't this dangerous?


----------



## ananas (Jun 6, 2006)

Subbing, because I've always wondered about this myself.


----------



## Adventuredad (Apr 23, 2008)

Good question. It's not dangerous and it's also not uncomfortable for 99.99% of children. Children don't mind sitting with legs crossed or bent. Over here in Sweden we don't turn kids forward facing until age 4 and that's not a problem. I can give you plent of examples of kids whoi are stitting rear facing until age 5 and are perfectly happy.


----------



## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

It's not dangerous, and even if it was, the choice is between protecting their neck or their legs... As for comfort, most kids will sit curled up if given the choice, so they don't seem to mind.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum.aspx Here are some photos of older children rf'ing.


----------



## Adventuredad (Apr 23, 2008)

Here are some photos of a 5 year old girl happily rear facing in a mid size Peugeot 307. She is 47 inches tall and has an 18 inch torso. She's sitting in a Britax Multi Tech "Marcel", a Swedish 55 lbs rear facing seat, and still has plenty of time left to rear face. Please note, in Swedish RF seats, seat can be used until tip of ears are at top of seat shell.

Rear Facing Swedish Car Seat #1
Rear Facing Swedish Car Seat #2
Rear Facing Swedish Car Seat #3


----------



## goodheartedmama (Feb 1, 2007)

http://images2c.snapfish.com/2323232...B7697337nu0mrj


----------



## pastrygirl (Jul 21, 2006)

Take a look at how toddlers sit while playing -- their legs are always scrunched up. They're very comfy that way! They're a lot more flexible than adults.


----------



## Ceili (Nov 21, 2001)

Even after we turned ds ff in his Marathon he sat with his legs crossed up in the seat because it was more comfortable than leaving them dangling.


----------



## luminesce (Aug 6, 2006)

I wasn't worried about how comfortable he was since it doesn't seem to bother him.







I was more worried about what would happen in an accident - particularly a rear impact - and what would happen internally if your legs were crunched up into your torso.

I'm sure in most cases it is safer because of the protection given to the head/neck/spine but it has just been something I've always wondered if anyone had any specific details about - like crash testing info, etc.


----------



## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

There are no documented cases of leg injuries for children in properly installed rfing car seats (that I've heard of). There are cases of leg injuries in ffing kids, however.


----------

