Britax Marathon Car Seat or Others for Tall 2 year old?

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I have a dilemma. My son is a very, very tall 23 month old. He is
approx. 37 inches tall, and it's mostly his torso which is long which
makes it very difficult for him to fit into a carseat safely. He is
only 32 lbs, so he is not yet heavy enough for a belt positioning
booster (nor is he mature enough to understand the nature of a shoulder
strap!).

He currently rides in a Graco Comfortsport. I love this seat, but his
shoulders are already level with the highest harness slots (and the
manual states that when the slots for the harness are lower than the
shoulders, the seat is no longer safe - my understanding this is the
case with all car seats).

I measured the space from bum to highest harness slots on the Graco and
it is 14 inches long. I did the same for most carseats at the stores
and they are the same or less. The only carseat I am aware of in
Canada which allows for longer torsos is the Britax Marathon (which is
finally available here, thank God!). But, $350.00 CAD here! OUCH!
But, alas, I have no choice I think....

Does anyone know if there is any other carseat in Canada with a 5 pt.
harness that allows for extremely long torsos?

Also, on the Marathon, at the highest harness guide, it appears very
close to the top of the carseat. Is there adequate head protection
when adjusted at the top harness slots?

Thanks!
Paula

[Ericka Kammerer]

wrote:

> I have a dilemma. My son is a very, very tall 23 month old. He is
> approx. 37 inches tall, and it's mostly his torso which is long which
> makes it very difficult for him to fit into a carseat safely. He is
> only 32 lbs, so he is not yet heavy enough for a belt positioning
> booster (nor is he mature enough to understand the nature of a shoulder
> strap!).
<snip>
> I measured the space from bum to highest harness slots on the Graco and
> it is 14 inches long. I did the same for most carseats at the stores
> and they are the same or less. The only carseat I am aware of in
> Canada which allows for longer torsos is the Britax Marathon (which is
> finally available here, thank God!). But, $350.00 CAD here! OUCH!
> But, alas, I have no choice I think....

Here's what carseat.org says about seats for large
toddlers (though they're fixing more on weight):

"My child is over 40 pounds but not ready for a belt-positioning
booster. What are my options?

There are several safety seats available that provide a 5-point harness
for children over 40 pounds, with and without a top tether. These
include the Nania Airway by Car Seat Specialty and the Marathon, Wizard,
and Husky from Britax. The Britax Laptop, an energy absorbing shield, is
no longer in production but, if one can be found, can be used with a lap
or lap-shoulder belt for children from 30 to 65 lbs."

That might give you a few more ideas to check out.

> Also, on the Marathon, at the highest harness guide, it appears very
> close to the top of the carseat. Is there adequate head protection
> when adjusted at the top harness slots?

Hmm...we have a Marathon. My almost 2yo is about 34
inches tall (so certainly not nearly as tall as yours), but
I think she's got two slots left, and her head is nowhere
near the top. If I were you, I'd take him into the store
and pop him in the seat to try it out. I sympathize with
you on the price :-/ We were fortunate to have some gift
cards and such that covered most of it.

Best wishes,
Ericka

[Ilse Witch]

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:07:25 -0700, pokee wrote:

> I have a dilemma. My son is a very, very tall 23 month old. He is
> approx. 37 inches tall, and it's mostly his torso which is long which
> makes it very difficult for him to fit into a carseat safely.

Our DS is also very tall, and we used the Britax Roundabout for him
without any problems. He used it until he was well over 2.5 y/o and then
we switched him to a booster seat which fastens with the car seat belt. At
that time he weighed 36lb and measured 39".

The Marathon is slightly bigger than the Roundabout, but also more
expensive. We had no problems at all fitting DS in the Roundabout though.
So to support Ericka: go to the store and give the seats a try. I'd
recommend a Britax any day. Even though they are expensive, their ease in
use and comfort are worth every penny (and we sold ours for a good price
when we moved back to Europe!).

One thing though: make sure it fits well in your car, that's not always a
given with the Britax seats and older or smaller cars.

HTH!

--
--I
mommy to DS (July '02)
mommy to four tiny angels (Oct '03 - Oct '04)
guardian of DH (age classified)
expecting twins (boy/girl) in August

[Melania]

wrote:
> I have a dilemma. My son is a very, very tall 23 month old. He is
> approx. 37 inches tall, and it's mostly his torso which is long which
> makes it very difficult for him to fit into a carseat safely. He is
> only 32 lbs, so he is not yet heavy enough for a belt positioning
> booster (nor is he mature enough to understand the nature of a shoulder
> strap!).
>
> He currently rides in a Graco Comfortsport. I love this seat, but his
> shoulders are already level with the highest harness slots (and the
> manual states that when the slots for the harness are lower than the
> shoulders, the seat is no longer safe - my understanding this is the
> case with all car seats).
>
> I measured the space from bum to highest harness slots on the Graco and
> it is 14 inches long. I did the same for most carseats at the stores
> and they are the same or less. The only carseat I am aware of in
> Canada which allows for longer torsos is the Britax Marathon (which is
> finally available here, thank God!). But, $350.00 CAD here! OUCH!
> But, alas, I have no choice I think....
>
> Does anyone know if there is any other carseat in Canada with a 5 pt.
> harness that allows for extremely long torsos?

We just bought a Graco Platinum CarGo for our 30 mo, who weighs 40 lbs
and is 39" tall. We're using the top harness straps, which are between
16 and 17" from the bum. The 5 pt. harness is good up to 48 lbs instead
of the usual 40, which is why we bought this seat, and it converts to a
belt-positioning booster. It was $181 after taxes at Sears in
Vancouver.

>
> Also, on the Marathon, at the highest harness guide, it appears very
> close to the top of the carseat. Is there adequate head protection
> when adjusted at the top harness slots?

What I've been told is that if the child's ears clear the top of the
carseat, it's no longer safe.

HTH,
Melania

[sharalyns]

We've had the Roundabout and currently have the Marathon. Yes, the
price is steep, but the ease of installing it repeatedly and without
having to have a locking clip (they're built into the seats) have been
well worth the price.

In testing all the seats, the Marathon (there was no Wizard at the
time) was the tallest one. Since my son was all torso at the time, we
felt we had to go with the one that would last the longest for his
heighth since he's a skinny boy (not even 30 pounds yet, so we have a
long way to go before he'll even be eligible for a belt positioning
booster).

There is plenty of adequate head protection. It's ok if their head is
over the top while forward facing as long as their ears are not over
the top.

Oh, also, you may find that as your son gets older, he'll start growing
in his legs instead of torso. My son was about 3 when he shot up a
couple of inches, but it was all legs. :-)

HTH!

Sharalyn
mom to Alexander James (9/21/01)

[Caledonia]

I'm a big Marathon fan, after getting over the sticker shock. I have
two Britax Marathons -- the eldest at 5 years old is 47" and 51 lbs.,
and still fits comfortably in the seat with the 'tips of her ears'
below the top of the seat (it's rated to 65 lbs.). I prefer the 5-point
restraint for as long as possible given that's what people who race
cars use:)

The other bonus of the Marathon is that we didn't need to flip the seat
forward until our youngest was 21 months (and she's at the 95th
percentile for height), mainly because it's just so darned *big*, and I
wanted her to continue rear-facing for as long as was comfortable for
her. The downside of this was that I could be the only driver of my
car, since her seat was directly behind the driver's seat (and my legs
are shorter than those of my husbands).

I recommend them, highly.

Caledonia