car seat - middle?

lincoln64

Did you install the car seat in the middle of the backseat?  DH would like to do so b/c he read that's the proper place to install it.  BUT we have an SUV and I'm not sure how I'm going to reach it.  What did you ladies do?

rbidi

The middle is the safest place to install it. It protects it from crashes at all angles. Your just going to have to figure out a way to reach it.

pkate98

I had my car seats installed yesterday by some car seat inspectors and yes, the best place for them is the middle.  I have a Highlander and DH has a Tundra.

MidwestTexan

I have a Toyota Camry so I will probably try the middle, and if it works, sweet! Otherwise I want it behind the passenger's seat.

funmaker

It's a pain, but the middle is the safest because it's protected from impact on both sides.  Our Chicco wouldn't actually fit behind the passenger seat unless it was pulled uncomfortably forward anyway.  We have a pathfinder.

mrsg052904

We also have an SUV, but will be having the car seat in the middle.  It's not going to be the easiest place for me to get to, but it's the safest, so that's why we are doing it.  If you don't have running boards on the SUV, maybe look into getting those, that will help getting in and out with the car seat.

DDK513

The middle really is the safest place for the seat - if you have a really hard time with it you can always try the Combi Zeus carseat - it has a locking swivel mechanism on the base so it's easier to get the child in and out. It's not a clip-in/clip-out carrier type of carseat, but it might be more helpful if you have a hard time getting the child in and out of the SUV.

MommaP12

Yep, middle is best.  Ours is in the middle and we couldn't put it anywhere else if we wanted b/c our Car Seat is not all that compatable with our Mercedes ML350 SUV.  It works though and is safest.

sailors__sweetheart

I have a question about this...I might have to give it its own post...

If you have two carseats, one for a toddler and one for a newborn, which side would you say is safer for the newborn to go? Behind the passenger or behind the driver?

SoTouchy

In GENERAL, middle is safest.  But we had to move DD out of the middle in our Santa Fe because it wouldn't stay stable.  There's a plastic part in there that makes the seat more dangerous in the middle.

LWright

We're putting ours behind the passenger seat bc our car manual says not to put it in the middle (something with the way the back seat is made - we have a 2007 Maxima) and the seats on the end have the car seat attachments already made into the car.  I can see why the middle is safer though

marleysmom

LWright:

We're putting ours behind the passenger seat bc our car manual says not to put it in the middle (something with the way the back seat is made - we have a 2007 Maxima) and the seats on the end have the car seat attachments already made into the car.  I can see why the middle is safer though

My husband drives an Acura SUV and the manual also says that the carseat must go behind the passenger or driver's seat, not in the middle. I had always heard that middle was safest too, but there are only carseat latch mechanisms on the sides so we are following the recommendation of the manual. We plan to ask the hospital about it when we get it checked.

DM1908

We have a trailblazer and have installed it in the middle. It's supposedly the safest spot.

momquixote

My VW Golf has no LATCH system in the middle, so although the middle was our intention, it ended up going behind the front passenger seat.

dejavu

we had a police officer install ours and he said the middle was the safest.  especially if you have side airbags.  we didn't even think of this, but makes sense if you were in an accident and had the seat on the side it would not be good.