Car Seat Placement

BrideBuddies · July 2011

Ladies.. how is your car seat placed in the back seat? Middle or on one of the sides?

I FINALLY convinced DH that C is getting super cramped and we need to turn it around to front facing. Yes, I know the current recommendations are 2 years. But he's so tall, his knees are literally in his chin and that can't be good for his back at all. Even our pedi said he's tall enough.. and that was 4 months ago!

Now the argument is WHERE it should be... I'm adamant about it being in the middle. He thinks behind the drivers' side is better. I've read him dozens of articles that say "Middle Back" is best. But he keeps insisting I give him hard statistics to back that up.

ARGH.. I hate being married to a systems engineer sometimes.

Peppernut · July 2011

Margaux is middle back! We wish we had two middle backs, but the new baby is behind the driver. I've heard that EMTs call rear-facing, middle back the "orphan seat" because in really horrific crashes, babies in there are the only survivors...

superaunt · July 2011

middle back- she'll stay middle back when we turn her forward too

stever · July 2011

M is RF in the middle. I don't know where we'll put him when we turn him. The sides freak me out but the idea of there not being anything between him and the windshield freaks me out even more.

bridgeybride · July 2011

I just had my carseats re-installed by a county dept of public works guy who has been trained by the carseat companies to install them... He put my infant seat behind the passenger seat and my toddler convertible seat behind the driver.. would both be RF but our car is so tiny (its a RAV4 before they were redesigned bigger) that she has to be FF now at 19 months. He said that they always put the older baby behind the driver b/c that side seems to get more impacts/crashes..and the older baby would be better off than an infant. ??????

robynlesley · July 2011

Aaron is FF (also very tall, switched him at 19 months) and in the back passenger side. His infant seat was there too. Since I often travel with my dog (in a doggie seatbelt) it was easier for me to have the dog on one side and the baby on the other.

Piranha54 · July 2011

In my car, an old jetta, DD is RF middle back. In DH's convertible, she is FF passenger side back - and that's where the fireman who inspected our install recommended.

Strunella · July 2011

DS is RF in the back passenger side. I would have preferred middle back, but that didn't seem to work well with my vehicle. DH had his installation checked by a car seat expert who conferred that back passenger was best for my car. You should check your manual as I think the "best" position varies by vehicle.

Totally an aside, but DS is big, and I just manage getting him into his seat as it is. I really don't think I could reach halfway into my back seat with him for a middle position, get him into the seat, and then strap him in without killing myself in the process.

Puckchick07 · July 2011

Fiona's still RF middle back. I'm with Stever, FF middle freaks me out because of nothing between windscreen and seat. Although, sides are scary too. we'll probably do FF passenger side.

SugarChick10 · July 2011

Back passenger side. I'd rather have it in the middle, but it seems the passenger side works best for us.

benoitfan · July 2011

Our DS is FF middle. Our little guy has been out of the infant seat since 9 months old as he was too tall for the infant seat by that age. The toddler convertible seat we got for him is HUGE, so as soon as we could turn him FF we did (at 13 months, before the guidelines and seats in Canada were adjusted to 2 yr RF). If/when #2 arrives (hopefully next spring/summer) we will move DS to drivers side and put the newborn on the passenger side. DH does all the driving and is too tall for the drivers seat to be far enough forward for the infant seat to fit behind him, so it will have to go behind me. I'd rather put the infant in the middle, but we drive a Matrix and it's too small to put two seats side by side. Might have to break down and get a larger vehicle when #2 arrives!

vanverth · July 2011

M is RF driver's side. I have a Grand Caravan with captain's seats in the second row so he has to be on one side or the other. I chose the driver's side because of pure laziness. (bad mommy). I did not want to run around the car constantly.

heatherglen814 · July 2011

Check your Owner's Manual. All of my cars have specifically stated where the best and safest place for a car seat should be. It should be near the section with anything about seatbelts or latches.

SFAug07 · July 2011

Sarah is RF behind the passenger seat. We don't plan to turn her until she is outgrowing the height recommendation for rear facing. She is also very tall but kids are flexible and it doesn't bother her to have her knees bent. We'll put the baby on the other side with an infant seat.