Hello-
For any of you that have had the Britax Marathon carseat, when did your child grow out of it? We have a 3 1/2 year old that weighs 35 pounds and we are struggling to get her belted in with her winter coat on. The belt is as long as it'll go and I thought this seat was rated until 65 pounds. What's anyone else's experience with this car seat?
I have one too . And also having the same problem. What i have been doing is unzipping her jacket every time i put her in it.
First off it's NOT SAFE to wear a winter coat with any carseat. I know what your thinking but it's winter. Yes I live in Minnesota too. I thought the same thing with my oldest and too wondered how to squeeze her into a carseat with her coat on. Then with my current baby I was educated and informed that it is actually very dangerous. Why? Because the carseat straps are pulled out alot to go over the big bulky winter coats. When your in a crash the coat will compress and those straps will then be so loose your child will and can fly right out of that carseat. Seriously it's not safe.
This is what is recommended. Wearing a fleece type coat or snowsuit that is thin. That's what my baby wears and she's just fine and really stays warm to be honest. Otherwise a hooded sweatshirt or something along those lines. Still put their hat/mittens on. You can cover them with a blanket once inside the car. My daughter does just fine this way and is actually happier because it's easier to move around in a fleece jacket. You can also purchase the new trendy thing a fleece winter poncho which makes buckeling easy and keeps the baby warm. If you google carseat poncho you'll see what I'm talking about.
Now my daughter is on the average/small side more average though and she fit in her Britax Marathon til age7! It's now being used by her 1yr.old baby sister.
You should beable to get atleast 2-3 more years out of your seat.
FYI they usually outgrow the seat in height before they outgrow the seat in weight. They are to tall for the seat when their shoulders are ABOVE the top harness slot or when the top of their ears is at the top of the carseat shell. My daughter is 8yrs.60lbs and she is way to tall for the Marathon so she would technically fit weight wise but she's to tall.
Make sure your seatbelt is not getting stuck on something in the back. Out daughter is a alittle bigger that your and we have no problem getting her buckled in. Also, we did move our son into his high-back booster at about 31/2 so I think you should be safe.
I have a couple suggestions:
1. As another poster stated. make sure the straps are not caught on something in the back.
2. Are the straps fully extended. Check the straps in the back of the seat. You can move the metal "hook" to allow more of the strap to be used. Check you instruction manual as it gives very good directions on how to do this.
3. It is true that it is safer to not have your child wear their coat while in their seat. It does not allow the straps to be tight enough and she could come out or be injured in an accident. That said, when we are going on very short trips we do not remove our son's coat, however we do remove it at other times.
Our son is 34 pounds and 42 inches tall and he fits in his seat with lots of extra room. If you have anymore trouble then take the seat to Babies 'r us or another store that sells the seat and they should be able to help you.
One other thing. Please take the time to try some things with your seat before you move her to a high back booster. Try to keep her in the harness for as long as possible as it is much safer.
I have the same problem, but they are not supposed to be wearing their jacket in their carseat anyway, so with the weight and size limits they don't take jackets into account (I still have my son wearing his cause it is just too cold out lately to not have him wearing it). But when it is not below zero I take it off when I put him in it and he fits much more comfortably. I do make sure the straps a re really tight when he is earing his jacket, he hates it, but it gives him a little more protection then if I made them looser to fit.
My oldest fit into the Britax Marathon until he was almost 7yrs old, 45lbs and 51" tall. My youngest still fits in his at 4.5yrs old, 40ls, and 42" tall. He is on the 2nd to the top harenss slot and has about 2" above his head, meaning he will be able to use th Marathon for at least another 2yrs.
A car seat is outgrown forward facing when one of these happens; the shoulders go over the top harness slot, the ears become level with the seat back, or the child goes over the forward facing weight limit. Until one of these happens, your child has not outgrown the seat and its still safe to use.
You should NOT be using a winter jacket in the car seat. Its not safe. Puffy winter jackets work by trapping warm air between the layers, and in a crash, 3000+lbs of crash force forces that air out causing the jacket to compress to nothing, and that in turn leaves the harness super loose, causing your child to being ejected from hte vehicle or violently thrown around.
If you doubt this, try this. Put your childs jacket on and buckle her in so you think its safe and tight. Then, unbuckle her (without loosening the harness) and remove her jacket, then rebuckle her. all that slack in the harness is how loose it would be in a crash when that jacket compresses. If you doubt the jacket will compress, sit on it. See it flatten form your weight alone? In a crash there are thousands of pounds of crash force put upon it, it will flatten totally from the force.
A few more things - make sure the harness is at or above her shoulders. If its below for forward facing, it will cause spinal compression, very dangerous.So choose the harness slot at or above her shoulders for forward facing.
Make sure the chest clip is level with her armpits, not down by her belly. It is a pre crash retainer and needs to be at her armpit level to do its job in a crash, which is hold the harness on her shoulders.
the harness should be 'snug as a hug', no slack at all. If you can pinch any slack in the harness up by her shoulders, its too loose, tighten it up.
And no bulky clothing or winter jackets in the car seats! My boys are 7 and 4, and we live in Minnesota, and neither have ever worn a jacket in the car seat, and neither have suffered at all from it. They have fleece jackets they wear in the car seat, and they also have fleece blaknets in the car they cover up with if they are cold, or if we are out and don't have a chance to warm the car up. They get in, take their jackets off, get buckled, and then cover up with their blankets.
www.safekids.org to find a CPST in your area to check your car seat installation and use.
Target and Sears have nice jackets for kids that are pretty warm, but not puffy and good for the carseat.
I have a Britax roundabout which is only to 40 pounds and my daughter grew out of it before then, especially when she had her winter coat on. I think that Britax run small.
Winter coats that are so thick and puffy that you need to change the harness strap length to have your child belted in are unsafe. In an accident, the coat will compress and there is the potential for fatal injury. Polar fleece coats are just as warm, if not warmer than most puffy jackets AND you don't need to change the harness length to get your child in while wearing them.
My son fit in his til he was 5. BUT it all depends on how tall your child is. If their head is above the back of the seat, it's too small...even if he/she doesn't meet the weight limit of the chair. Also, you should never let your child wear a winter coat in a car seat...it doesn't get close enough to their body to protect them when they have thick clothing on. I'd ditch the coat and have your child wear a fleece in the car and put your winter coat on at your destination. My son is 6 and in the Regent and I still never let him wear his winter coat in the car...and it's cooooooolllllldddd! Hat, gloves and fleece (and the heater)work just fine.