Mergath Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 DD and I are going to be driving across the state tomorrow to spend a week with the grandparents. I'm worried though, because I'm not sure if her carseat is safe. She's in one of those larger convertable carseats (forward-facing, obviously) and she's thirty-two pounds, so she's still below the forty pound limit. However, her shoulders are way, way above where the shoulder straps come out of. Like, three or four inches above. She's very tall and skinny. I thought I read somewhere that once their shoulders are above the slots the shoulderstraps come out of, you have to switch to a new seat, but I'm not sure. Should we upgrade her to a booster seat? Is the one we have safe? I'd really like to find out before we leave tomorrow so I can make sure she's safe when we're on the road. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 The straps need to come from above the shoulders while FF. My DD is 4 but had outgrown some seats FF by height by 2, and she's not extremely tall. My sons are 18 months and would be too tall for some of the shorter convertibles FF (though they are RF). However, a 3.5yo is still to young for a booster. Can you get her a taller harnessed seat between now and tomorrow? Maybe one that converts to a booster later? The Graco Nautilus is pretty easy to find (Walmart or target would have it) and is tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 I think that's actually what I was looking at in the store. Looks like a cross between a booster and a carseat with a back on it? Is that it? That's what I would get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Nyssa Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Can you look at the caseat manual online & see if it can be adjusted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I second the Graco Nautilius. My kids are all tall and skinny, and they are harnessed in that seat until 8, and we switch to a booster after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Can you look at the caseat manual online & see if it can be adjusted? I don't think it can. The straps are coming up out of the top slot, and her shoulders are way above that. Plus, her head is way above the top of the seat. I'm a little embarrassed. I just assumed that if she was under the weight limit she was okay, but apparently not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 I second the Graco Nautilius. My kids are all tall and skinny, and they are harnessed in that seat until 8, and we switch to a booster after that. I think I'll go with that one. I've always called all those kinds of seats "booster seats," but apparently there are more categories involved here than I thought. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtney.byrum Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 We highly recommend the Nautilus as well. You can get them at Walmart and Target among other places for less than $150 (sometimes closer to $100) and it will easily get her to 7-8. We have 2 of them for my kids. One is a replacement for the one we had since DD was 2.5 (it was in an accident). With both kids it is now in booster mode but I *think* they would both still fit in the harness but have been in the top slot for over a year now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 We have a Nautilus and love it. My 5 year old still fits in it harnessed. She's 44 inches with a long torso. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 3.5 is generally too young/immature for a booster. I would also recommend the Nautilus or another combination seat such as the Britax Frontier, Diono Radian, etc We have both a Nautilus and Frontier - my daughter prefers the Nautilus. (It has nice high straps, too. She's 7.5 and still fits into the harness) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I'm considering the Britax Frontier or the same with SICT. I have a similar problem - a tall child but under the weight limit. Also, I'm not willing to let go of the 5-point harness. Your post is a good reminder for me to order today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 my son outgrew his Nautilus at age 5. He had been very uncomfortable in it long before that. He's tall and thin - 48 in and 52 lbs, but the shoulders were not wide enough, he was cramped, and the crotch strap was very short. On the 2nd slot it was always pinching him. it can last a long time for some children, but not all, so be aware of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 my son outgrew his Nautilus at age 5. He had been very uncomfortable in it long before that. He's tall and thin - 48 in and 52 lbs, but the shoulders were not wide enough, he was cramped, and the crotch strap was very short. On the 2nd slot it was always pinching him. it can last a long time for some children, but not all, so be aware of that. What are you using now? Those are measurements similar to Dd's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k2bdeutmeyer Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I think that's actually what I was looking at in the store. Looks like a cross between a booster and a carseat with a back on it? Is that it? That's what I would get. The one you were looking at does have a 5pt harness though, right? It's not just a high-back booster? At 3.5yr, a child still needs to be in a 5pt harness IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) nm, too outdated :) Edited May 15, 2012 by Susan C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I would NOT switch her to a booster seat yet. She needs a larger 5pt harnessed seat, the straps should be above her shoulders FF. The girls ride in Britax Regents, now the equivalent seat is the Frontier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Its been awhile, but when dd was smaller, but large for her age (at 3 she was the size of a 5 year old), I had a police officer come over to tell me what to do because dd didn't fit in the booster seat anymore... (but was still required to use it). He said to take the front off of the booster (the large cylinder-like thing that holds them in) and use the bottom w/ the car seat belts, adjusted with a "I don't know what it is called, but it snapped around the shoulder and lap belt and I was able to adjust it to land in the right place on the child." Please be aware that not all police and fire fighters are trained in child passenger safety. Unless they have taken classes and are SafeKids certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, their advice can be downright dangerous. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I also recommend the Graco Nautilus. Both of mine are in them. ODS just switched to using it as a high back booster a few months ago, after his sixth birthday. He was 47 inches tall and 47 pounds at his 6yo checkup and was fine that way. The only problem was that the crotch strap was hurting his boy stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Please be aware that not all police and fire fighters are trained in child passenger safety. Unless they have taken classes and are SafeKids certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, their advice can be downright dangerous. :( :iagree: the firefighter who tried to install one of my seats once knew nothing. It was awful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Please be aware that not all police and fire fighters are trained in child passenger safety. Unless they have taken classes and are SafeKids certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, their advice can be downright dangerous. :( And unfortunately even those trained can still give bad recs! This happed with ds. We use a vest from ez-on products of florida. Its the 103-z in a small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Please be aware that not all police and fire fighters are trained in child passenger safety. Unless they have taken classes and are SafeKids certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, their advice can be downright dangerous. :( I agree, that advice just didn't sound very safe to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I agree with giving the Nautilus a try - you can check walmart.com online to see which local stores carry it, not all of ours have it in stock. I agree the crotch strap is a little short and I find the buckles a little difficult to do, but based on the options available, it's still my preference compared to a much more expensive seat. So far my dd moved into it at 3.5 has been very comfortable in it the past two months, especially coming out of Scenera. My dd did still fit in her Cosco Scenera forward facing and it is cheaper than the Nautilus but then you're still going to need to buy a booster later. We handed that seat down to her little sister that grew to tall for another convertible seat we had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I'm considering the Britax Frontier or the same with SICT. I have a similar problem - a tall child but under the weight limit. Also, I'm not willing to let go of the 5-point harness. Your post is a good reminder for me to order today. I just bought my DS the frontier, he is 48" tall, but only 41 lbs. he had outgrown his radian (and his little bro needed it) anywyas, he loves it, it's very roomy, and he's only on the second to last slot. I highly recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 What are you using now? Those are measurements similar to Dd's. I have Britax Regents, it was replaced with the Frontier - I'd get that instead of a Nautilus. I got the Regents the same time I got the Nautilus - they were on closeout. Love those seats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 My 3.5yo is currently in a Graco MyRide 65, and he has a while to go in it before he outgrows the straps/height. (Actually, he will probably need to pass it down to his little brother before he actually outgrows it, since the baby will need it when he's about 15-18 months.) My 7yo was able to fit in the MyRide until he was close to 6. I got that seat for its rear-facing capabilities (the 3.5yo was RF'ing in it until he was 3), but if I hadn't wanted that, I would have gone with the Graco Nautilus, first with the harness, later as a booster. My 3.5yo still falls asleep in the car a lot, so I wouldn't be comfortable with him in a booster (and in my state, it's illegal anyway). We have a secondary seat for the 3.5yo in DH's car, and we needed something smaller for it; we went with the Evenflo Maestro, which also has a harness and later converts to a booster. I really like it as well and think it would also be a great choice. (Fwiw, the 3.5yo can buckle both seats but cannot unbuckle the crotch part of the MyRide; I'm not sure about the Maestro, because it's been a long time since I've ridden in that car with the 3.5yo.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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