When to "Move up"

I have a Britax Roundabout for my 2 year old. The manual says it is good up to 40 pounds when facing forward. However, my DS is 36.5" tall (only 31 pounds). I can't find any info about height limitations.

Is it time to move him to a different seat or can we stay in the Roundabout until he hits 40 pounds?

According to SafetyBelt Safe USA-a non-profit organization dedicated to child passenger safety, a forward facing seat is outgrown (height-wise) when either of the following occur.

a)When the top of the child's ears are level with the top of the carseat.

b)When the childs shoulders are higher than the top slots used for forward facing.

Hope that helps. If your child is too tall you should look for a combination seat (5pt harness that can be used till 40lbs then converts to a belt positioning booster seat). These seats accomodate taller children longer than convertible carseats.

Hope that helps
Laurie (liasmommy2000@ivillage.com)

My 3 1/3 year old son is just now 40 pounds, and about 40 inches (talk about average!). His shoulders are just about even with the top slots on his Roundabout. Another 1/2 inch of torso growth and he'll clearly be above them.

So your 2 year old, at 36.5" may be at the height limit because he has a longer torso than my son, but he probably has some time left in the seat.

Another key thing to notice, especially with the Britax seats, is when your son's shoulders reach the top *slots*, not where the harness comes through the cover. I found that as my son got heavier, he pushed down the cover, and it looked like he had reached the top slots almost a year ago. I tried several things, including sticking a pencil in the slot, to be sure that I was measuring to the actual slot.

All seats do list a height limit listed in the directions as well. However, from talking to a number of experts, the measures shown in the other post (shoulders above the top slots or top of ears above the back of the seat) are better indicators. Two children who are the same height might have very different proportions and fit very differently.

Toby, CPS tech

Big help. Thanks.

Thank you for your question. I have a 2 year old that is 36" but is only 27 pounds. I was wondering when to move up.
I think that Britax also makes an "in between" booster seat. Does anyone know if this is a safe choice?
Thanks