my 15 month has almost outgrown his convertible seat

[emmaandgeorge]

I have 2 children, 15 months apart, both of whom are tall, have long torsos and are thin. My 15 month old son is now at shoulder height with the highest slot on his convertible century. My 2 and half year old daughter is about a half an inch below the highest slot on her RA. Should I move my son to the RA (where he will have about 2 inches of shoulder room to grow) and buy a combo/booster for my daughter? Or should I buy a marathon or husky for my son, keep my daughter in her RA for another 6 months and then move her to a regular booster. At the rate they are growing, my son will be 40 inches by the time he is 2, and my daughter will reach 40 inches at or soon after her 3rd birthday. Any advice is appreciated.

[Joolsplus2]

I'd buy a combo booster for your dd. The two with the highest top slots are the Graco Ultra/Platinum Cargo or the Evenflo Chase/Vision. You will be able to keep her harnessed much longer...hopefully till 40 pounds and age 5 or so (4 is really the minimum for booster use, longer is safer).
OR, get her a Marathon...it's really up to you how much money you want to spend. The Marathon and the other seats I mentioned both have 17" top slots, your century has 14.5 or so, and the RA has 15.5 or so.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[emmaandgeorge]

Can you answer a technical question? If the child is under the weight limit but shoulders are above the top harness slot, can they remained harnessed or do they need to go into the booster mode? I know with the marathon that Britax allows them to stay in the seat as long as the tip of ears are not above the top of the shell, but I am not clear on the combo seats. Thanks. Betsy

[Joolsplus2]

You can use the harness until the shoulders are *just* above the top slots (I just looked at the manual for the Cargo...not sure about the Chase, but I would assume they have the same recommendendation for that seat)...then it needs to go into booster mode.

I have read that going much above the slots can put added downward pressure on the spine....I'm not sure if that's a huge concern for older kids, but it's something to think about. Plus, if they are too far above the slots, head excursion will be increased...if you've ever put a child in a seat with slots too far below their shoulders, you know they can lean forward even if you are in the living room...magnify that in a crash, and you have a big problem...

:)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

You know, if you want to look at the Husky, I wouldn't discourage that. I have a Husky for my 6.5 yo, and he loves it and has tons of growing room (even long torsoed kids can make it to age 10-11 in this seat!)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[emmaandgeorge]

Thanks for you advice. I thought about the husky a lot, but with number 3 on the way and having an occassional visit from my large 8 year old step son, I think it will be hard to work with the size, especially since I may need 2 of them. Plus, we travel enough by plane that we would also have the issue of no car seat on the plane without investing in yet another set of car seats. I think I am getting a Marathon which I will put my DD in until my DS outgrows the RA. We'll see how far that brings us and then decide what to do next. Maybe their growth will slow significantly and that will be all we will need until booster time for my DD. Thanks again. Betsy