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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
emiliemadison
member
How to measure if your child has outgrown RF seat by height:
emiliemadison
member
I've seen a lot of posts that mention that their child is nearing the RF height limit of their seat so I thought I'd post this to show how to measure. I didnt do it right the first time around (most people dont!).
How to tell if your RF seat is outgrown by height:
It seems that how to tell when a RF (rear-facing) seat is outgrown is a
fairly common question. It can be really hard to tell when a RF seat is
outgrown, and a common misconception is looking from the front of the
carseat to see if it is outgrown. The seat will pretty much always look
outgrown from the front before it is truly outgrown because you need to
look from the side.
This picture shows the correct way to measure. A line is drawn
perpendicular to the shell/back of the carseat over the top of the
child's head (#1). Then a second line is drawn out from the top of the shell parallel to the first line (#2).
Now measure the distance between the two lines. When there is *less
than one inch*, the rearfacing restraint is outgrown by height.
This picture shows a common misconception with how people measure to check for the one inch rule. The line is drawn parallel to the ground from the top of the shell. You can see how this would appear to show the seat is outgrown, however it is incorrect to measure this way and this child still has room to grow in this seat.
The best place to measure how much room is left in the seat is when the
seat is installed in the vehicle. They're usually more upright in the
house and the more upright they are the more shell there will be above the child's head making your measurements not acurate.
*Disclaimer* This 1" rule works for all infant seats. Some convertibles allow you to have the head even with the top of the shell, refer to your manual.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How to measure if your child has outgrown RF seat by height:
Thanks Emilie!
Right from my manual: WARNING: Prevent serious injury or death:
Top of child's ears must be below top edge of child restraint.
Child's shoulders MUST not be above top harness slots.
It say nothing about the "one inch rule." or top of head placement. Point: read your manual.
There's also a restriction on the torso height, from shoulder to rump I believe.
This is for FF. It is the same reason they give a RF height limit. People are stupid. The one inch rule is universally accepted by all car seat companies and safey organizations as the RF height limit guide. Besides our 2 children can be the same height. Your's might not fit RF and mine might. It depends upon torso height, not overall height.
This is typically for a FF situation only. Which seat do you have?
I copied the wrong warning. The one for RF to FF states that if the correct placement for the harness requires the top slots, the seat needs to be FF. You can't rear face in my seat with the harness in the top slots.
My point was that it really doesn't matter if the top of the head is less than an inch below in this situation. So everyone should check the manual, not just the 1" rule.
Sadly, this is my hobby. Or at least my way of dealing with a very irrational fear. I'm terrified of getting in to a terrible car accident. Terrified. My way of dealing with it is making sure that I do everything possible to make my car as safe as possible. Car seats always installed and used correctly. I researched for months about what seat to buy. I also check my tire pressure weekly and replace my tires more often than most. Some people are terrified of germs, I'm freaked by car accidents. We all have our own weirdness. This is mine.
I hope you're not implying that I need a hobby. lol This debate prompted me to double check the guidelines in my manual so I had it out. Maybe I should go craft instead...
I agree with this. Not every seat is the same. You need to follow the manufacturers guidelines. There were established my engineers who tested the seats for extensive amounts of time.
I can't stress enough how unsafe it is to use a seat past the height/weight recommendation in the manual.
I wasn't referring to you Jen. You replied to the post with what your manual says, nothing wrong with that. I find this whole obsession odd, but I guess I won't be getting my mommy-of-the year award anytime soon.
It's not about Mom of the Year. It's because I'm a freak.
I didn't think you meant me, just checking. But I really do think I want to go get crafty now. lol
And I wasn't referring to you either! lol. I guess I'm now forced to openly call out the OP, who I think needs a hobby. The ERF links in the siggy and all these posts and Powerpoint slideshows are odd to me. Keep your kid safe using your best judgement and the instructions in your car seat manual. Why the need for a crusade? I think it's weird.
Thanks! I guess I feel better. I love your pink shoe. I kind of want it now!
Woohoo! Nothing like a forced callout;) I'm kidding and again really bored. :runs to the glue gun and glitter:
ETA; can I sneak in a wtg for tonif by sparking this sh!t her 1st day on this board:)
You dont have to watch the videos or listen to my advice. I'm not forcing you to. But considering that about 80% of carseats are improperly used, just using best judgment and manuals aren't always the answer. This is what I choose as my hobby. I think that keeping kids safe is really important, and if these things help even one child, it's worth everyone else thinking that it's "odd".
And yep, this is me. I have 6 seats (total, but I wish I had more!!). I'm registered for next year's CPST classes. I guess it's more than just a hobby, it's something I feel passionate about and I dont particularly care if someone thinks its weird
If that is your hobby and your passion, then fine. Fair enough. However, it isn't healthy to believe that you need to own 6 car seats. If you were that passionate, you might start donating those car seats to children and their parents who really need them.
At least ajanes can own up to the fact that she's a little obsessed with this. You are couching your obsession in the desire to help people. How about you take those 4 extra carseats down to your local women's shelter? That will help more than your siggy links. Promise.
I dont believe that I *need* 6 carseats. Just like I dont believe that I *need* 12 handbags. I like them. I collect them. And I do own up to my obsession, and part of that obsession sharing info. If you dont WANT info about RF or 5 pt harness safety, then dont click my links. I dont click every link in every siggy if I'm not interested. You're right, perhaps I should change the wording on my sig to be less preachy. But I can have the links and will keep them. Feel free to ignore them, though. And I donate money each year to a women's shelter and also volunteer my time. The fact that you feel so strongly that I"m crazy is almost as crazy as me being obsessed, though.
Nope. Not the same at all. First, I don't feel strongly about your crazy. Work is slow and TN is slow. So commenting on your crazy is all I have to do at the moment. Second, when work is over in a couple hours I will forget about this convo. You, however, will still be online trying to find a new carseat to "collect". And yes, I do give a side-eye to collecting carseats because really, who does that?
Like I said, fair enough if carseat safety is something you feel strongly about. If that's your thing go for it.
Well, a lot of the debates on here are borne out of boredom. That's the nature of message boards, and part of the draw. You can side eye. I dont mind. I dont actually buy seats often, but I have two kids and most of the seats are from the progression of them needing new ones, not buying them just to buy them. I cant even use 3 of them anymore (and those seats are being given to my sisters who both are due in the next few months). I really just enjoy seeing how they work, trying them out, etc. I honestly dont see how this is much different than anything else where there is more than one of something. You want to try them out and see how they all work and what differences, benefits and drawbacks they have.
Not to completely hijack your post, but since you have obviously done alot of research on carseats, have you found any info on how to keep DC from unbuckling themselves?
I just bought a 2nd carseat for DHs car, DD rode in it twice, and has figured out how to unbuckle the chest buckle. Now it's a game to her. I can't take the carseat back since it's technically used and I threw away the receipt. I contacted the company to see if they had a different clip, and they sent me some lame email obviously from someone who doesn't have kids.
If you PM me the specific carseat you have, I'll dig around and see if I have any solutions for you. How frustrating!