Info on height and Starriser Comfy? Help for an almost 4-year-old

[maryh]

My daughter is almost 4 and has just outgrown her Roundabout. She's about 40 1/2 " tall (and her shoulders ARE above the straps so it's time for a new seat) and she weighs about 35 lbs.

I researched and found there were basically two booster seats that would work for us - Britax's Starriser Comfy and the Britax Turbobooster. I ended up choosing the Starriser Comfy and it arrived yesterday.

The user's manual says the seat is for children 43" and up (that info isn't anywhere else I could find.) I don't think my daughter will be 43" for another 8 months to a year. I called Britax and was told that the seat is actually for children who are 33" and above. I tested her out in it and the seatbelt seems to fit her OK but I'm very nervous about this.

Does anyone have any info on this or experience with the Starriser Comfy for kids under 43" tall? This seems like a huge typo if that's what it was.

If it really is a 43" minimum, then it's terrible that Britax and the online stores that sell this don't advertise that fact, and there's a big hole in Britax's line, because children who aren't 43" tall yet but are too big for a Roundabout have to buy something else.

I'm half tempted to just buy the Graco (which is good from 38") and return the Britax. I want to call Britax again and see if another person confirms that it really does fit her. In the meantime, I'm just keeping everything together so I can return it if I need to, and she's riding in the Roundabout.

Thanks.

[brubeck]

I just got the Britax Bodyguard for my DD who is 40 lbs and 42". The manual says the same thing about 43". However wne she sat in the demo model in the store it was immediatly obvious that she was so tall that the default height setting for the headrest was too low and we had to raise it. I am working on the assumption that if we have to raise the headrest from the lowest position she is NOT too short.

I am thinking that the 43" is a typo, especially if Britax CS told you something different over the phone.

[Joolsplus2]

Yeah, I don't get that 43 inch minimum limit on the SRC at all...are they thinking every parent is going to run out and buy Marathons or Huskies now? sigh...

But anyway, could I at all convince you to keep her in a seat with higher harnessed slots till she reaches a full forty pounds and is a little older? A seat like the Graco Ultra or Platinum Cargo or Evenflo Chase or Traditions has 17 inch tall top slots and will probably allow her to be harnessed up to another year (35 pound 4 yos can take a long time to reach 40 pounds!)

Harnessing is just so much safer, that if it's at all an option, it gives kids the best chance at walking away from severe crashes, particularly side impact crashes.

Anyway, just mentioning it...I can dig up crash tests if you're interested ;)

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