Car Seat - which side of car?

thenewmrsrussell · March 2009

Okay, so I feel like this is a wicked dumb-dumb question but I am wondering what side of the car are you putting the car seat on? I couldn't find anything via google that suggests which side you are supposed to use...so it could be either? Which one are you going to use? Passenger or driver side?

Cin8-14 · March 2009

Neither. You put the carseat in the middle.

rouge411 · March 2009

Middle.

sept14 · March 2009

I am planning on middle-- that way baby is as far away from side impact accidents as possible.

Scout1218 · March 2009

You can't always put the seat in the middle. Does your car owner's manual recommend one side over the other?

jess1984 · March 2009

If you have a car with a middle seat without a pull down arm rest you should* put it in the middle... that said once you have 2 babies, neither will go in the middle and either side works apporpirately. I had Carter's infant seat behind my seat at 2 months, and his convertable seat behind my passenger seat since it is too big to go behind the drivers seat.

JWinCT · March 2009

If you can't put the carseat in the middle, then I have heard the passenger side is safer than the driver side.

I am going to be putting the infant seat on the passenger side and moving DD's seat to the driver side because I know when it's time to switch the baby to a convertible seat, the front seat is going to need to be moved forward a few inches (I drive a Ford Escape) and I am tall, so I can't move the driver's seat up that much and still be able to drive comfortably.

TennisWife815 · March 2009

In the middle with side airbags its the safest place. Plus if you were to get hit in the side baby isn't next to the door. That said, some complain that it sits better on the side, than the middle, in which case disable your side airbags, and I'd put baby behind the driver so you can see them.?

wellfleet04 · March 2009

It depends on your car. The middle is NOT always the safest for every model of car. Check your car manual to see what it recommends.

We had DD's infant seat on the passenger side. Now we have 2, so DD rides behind me, since her seat takes up less room and I can drive more comfortably and the infant seat will be behind the passenger again.

thenewmrsrussell · March 2009

hmmm

I guess I thought middle was a no-no?

lwilkinson · March 2009

this is a great question - however, if you put it in the middle doesnt that make it really hard to get baby in and out of the car seat? I'd have to crawl across the first seat to get to the middle. I'm seeing tons of neck and back pain. Thoughts???

DDK513 · March 2009

Either in the middle or on the passenger side. If you parallel park you don't want to take the child out on the street-side (ie; driver's side)

Yes

thenewmrsrussell · March 2009

DDK513:
Either in the middle or on the passenger side. If you parallel park you don't want to take the child out on the street-side (ie; driver's side)

good point.

lwilkinson:
this is a great question - however, if you put it in the middle doesnt that make it really hard to get baby in and out of the car seat? I'd have to crawl across the first seat to get to the middle. I'm seeing tons of neck and back pain. Thoughts???

I was thinking this too

grinsandgiggles · March 2009

I thought you weren't suppose to put the car seat in the middle? Maybe more convenient for you, but gives the baby a huge gap to go through the window if there was an accident.

We are putting ours on the opposite side of the driver...that way if it's just the driver with the baby, you can see the baby and reach to him/her if you have to. Remember, baby will be facing the back window, not toward you, so you can't see the baby by looking in the mirror.

thenewmrsrussell · March 2009

grinsandgiggles:
I thought you weren't suppose to put the car seat in the middle? Maybe more convenient for you, but gives the baby a huge gap to go through the window if there was an accident.
We are putting ours on the opposite side of the driver...that way if it's just the driver with the baby, you can see the baby and reach to him/her if you have to. Remember, baby will be facing the back window, not toward you, so you can't see the baby by looking in the mirror.

This is exactly everything I was thinking.

lwilkinson · March 2009

thenewmrsrussell:
grinsandgiggles:

I thought you weren't suppose to put the car seat in the middle? Maybe more convenient for you, but gives the baby a huge gap to go through the window if there was an accident.

We are putting ours on the opposite side of the driver...that way if it's just the driver with the baby, you can see the baby and reach to him/her if you have to. Remember, baby will be facing the back window, not toward you, so you can't see the baby by looking in the mirror.

This is exactly everything I was thinking.

Me too. (just wanted to agree. ha!)

jeannarheinberger · March 2009

I will put it on the passenger side, otherwise it will hog out DD if its in the middle. If you are going for a side rather then the middle, passenger side is better easier to get something for baby at red lights and such.

grinsandgiggles · March 2009

Hmm...after googling (it helps to put quotes around text like "Where to put car seat" that way it finds stuff in that exact phrase...didn't know if you knew that) I did find that middle is best. Thanks for asking, I was going to do the passenger seat...

Here's one quote I found:

"Kids in Back

The back seat is generally the safest place in a crash. Place car seats in the middle of the back seat to protect against side-impact crashes, but only if the seat belt there can be effectively tightened to prevent slipping. If your vehicle has a passenger air bag, it is essential for children 12 and under to ride in back. Active air bags hit children with too much force and can cause serious injury. If you must put a child in front, deactivate the airbag on the passenger side."

mollymurphy · March 2009

We're putting ours on the passenger side: the IsoFix system in our car will only accomodate car seats on one side or the other...not the middle, so it does depend partly on your car. That, and as someone mentioned previously, I don't want to be lifting the carrier out on the traffic side if we park on the street.

ZetaGirl22 · March 2009

I was just going to strap the carseat to the roof. It will be springtime, baby needs fresh air. Wink

TimsMayBride · March 2009

ZetaGirl22:
I was just going to strap the carseat to the roof. It will be springtime, baby needs fresh air.

Probably the best idea yet.

The middle seems like the safest place to me, if it works for your car.

There was a discussion here a few days ago about how the back of the infant seat is designed to cocoon against the back of the vehice seat in the event of a crash, so it's important to make sure the back of a rear-facing seat isn't wedged in between the front seats, if it's placed in the middle, or against the back of the front seat if place on one side. Just something else to think about.

kel-bel78 · March 2009

The middle is typically the safest place because of the chance of side impact in crashes. Check with your local police and fire departments...they often have programs where you can take your car to them and they will install the car seat (or base) for you and advise you on the best place to put it...not to mention make sure that it is installed properly. We had to call the fire department ahead of time to make an appointment, but they told us to come that same day.

APrice4UT · March 2009

We installed ours this morning and were wondering the same thing. We ended up with the passenger seat in both because of the car seat clips already built in (and having no seat belt that would work in the middle). Here is a good website I found that had answers for it all:

https://www.carseat.org/

*Look under FAQs*

sloanzookpr · March 2009

If you have one child and if it works with your car middle is best. If you can't do middle then passenger side works. If you have two kiddos then passenger side. But remember if oldest is school age: they need to be on passenger side if for carline if you drive them to school (personal experiance!). Having FD or EMS check out installment of seat is the best thing to do anytime your switching to a new seat. That way it put in properly. Remember: you can get tickets and fined if not in right (Texas).Some will also do endangerment to a child if in wreck. (BIL a cop)

Now that we're going to have three oldest is gonna be put in back, middle kid in the middle on driver side and baby in the middle on passenger so I get to if needed (drive a tahoe). So did I confuse everyone! lol

ilovescottd · March 2009

I know you already have your answer but I put mine in the middle for now.

F&G777 · March 2009

middle.

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