Need info on why carseat is unsafe once the head is above the shell...

[tiikeri2]

My friend's 3-yr-old DD is nearly grown out of her Alpha Omega ff (we're talking within the month). She wants to put her in a Marathon or Boulevard (we tried the BV out at BRU and she fell in luv!), but her husband is upset that this carseat they bought is already being outgrown (they didn't research the seat at the time, just believed the box when it said it would get them to 80 lbs. and now know better) and does not think they need to get another harnessed seat.

He wants to go to a booster, but my friend will NOT do that. She wants her child harnessed as long as possible (yeah, I've been working on her :) ). She needs good info, crash test video, etc. to convince him that the new carseat is a necessity, not just a want. Specifically she needs info on why you can't just decide that a child is fine in a carseat because you think she is, despite the owner's manual specifying that the seat is not to be used once a child reaches a certain point. Her DD is 38 inches, 33 or 34 lbs. and basically cannot grow any more or she will be height-wise out of the Alpha Omega at this time (not based on inches, based on where her head is in the seat).

I've done some searching, but have not found anything specifically about what happens to a child in a crash when they have outgrown a seat. I really appreciate any help you can offer!!!

TIA!

Kay

[Joolsplus2]

The main thing is to be below the weight limit of the harness, of course (and not a problem), and to have the shoulders be not above the top slots (and the top slots on the AO are VERY low...the uppermost slots are NOT for harness use, they are just for the booster). The middle of the head should not go above the top of the seat, because that increases whiplash. But, when the shoulders go above the top slots, what happens is, the head can fly to far forward, because the shoulderstraps aren't holding the body BACK any more (you can kind of imagine this, I'm sure, the shoulderstraps being below the shoulders so a kid can lean forward). The farther forward the head flies, the greater the risk of injury.

You can look at these...it's Austrian, but if you look at the tests from 2001 and 2002, and seats that were in the US at those points were the Maxi Cosi Priori and the Britax Zoom Comfy, you can see a tremendous difference in safety http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.oeamtc.at/netautor/pages/channel/pages/1100118.php&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doeamtc%2Bkindersitze%26hl%3Den%26lr%3 D%26newwindow%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2 005-05,GGLD:en

Plus, as we all know, 3 yo's aren't capable of sitting still or not falling over when they sleep and right OUT of their shoulderbelts, so that makes a booster unsafe (if 3 yo's sat stalk straight all the time, yeah, boosters would be great! but they don't, so why endanger their lives by "graduating" them to a booster too young? (not for you, argument for the dh ;) )
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[tiikeri2]

Thanks Julie!

The whiplash factor was what I understood the concern to be, but friend's DH won't just take her and my word for it. I think he's mostly just experiencing sticker shock (though their AO was about as expensive as the MA is right now). They need to get two carseats in the near future (#2 is rapidly outgrowing the infant seat) and I think he's thinking more with his wallet than his head at the moment.

Their DD has about 1/2 inch left in the seat before she hits the top of the highest harness slot (not the booster slot, I checked!), so they have a little time, but my friend is also just fed up with the AO and ready to get rid of it (twisty straps, installation issues, etc.). Her DH just shakes his head when he hears she and I were on the phone together again! LOL!

Thanks again for the info, I'll pass it on.

Kay

[Joolsplus2]

Oh phew, I'm glad she's not in the top top slots :)
Maybe they could also look at the Ultra Cargo (or Platinum or Cherished)...they have taller top slots and though they only harness to 40 pounds, it could take like 2 years for her to reach that, then of course it becomes a booster seat...or the dad can have that one, and the mom can have a Marathon ;)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx