Having an irrational freak out moment - Car seat placement

lsally214 · June 2013

I don't know why this is freaking me out so much, but for second time moms, how are you configuring the car seats? I have a small SUV and DH has a sedan. DS is in a Britax that takes up a lot of room so I'm not sure we can move him to one side and have the baby in the middle. Are there suggestions on how to place the car seats - either for safety or convenience purposes?

Thanks!

thegoodpotato · June 2013

I would put the older child behind the driver's seat. With only one kid, the car seat was on the passenger side because it's the safer side to be on while you're loading the kid in (away from traffic). I figure with two little ones, we're more likely to put the baby in first, so baby will be on the passenger side so that the older kid can wait on the safe side of the car to be put in.

Also, usually my husband drives when we're together, so he can handle the big girl while I put the baby in.

thegoodpotato · June 2013

Also, I never heard about this middle seat being safest thing... We always had our daughter on the passenger side. I guess there aren't any strong recommendations about it here.

KERJF · June 2013

Check your car manual. And there are fire departments and locations across the country that do free car seat installation - and they can be very helpful in educating you about how to install and best ways to install in your vehicle

queenbone · June 2013

My understanding is that if they can't fit next to each other with one in the middle, then the infant should be curbside (behind the passenger seat.)

Aurora317 · June 2013

Middle is safest, and so I can see why most people are assuming putting infant there is the best bet, but actually leaving your older child in the middle and putting baby on one of the sides is better.

It has to do with crash dynamics, a rear facing child is always more protected than a forward facing child, so a toddler that is forward facing should be in the middle and an infant that is rear facing should be on one of the sides.

Even CPSTs debate which of the sides is better as the 2nd choice (after middle), it's all a game of statistics and probability. If x % of crashes happen to the driver side then it makes putting LO on the passenger side "safer" but if in reality you're t-boned on the passenger side, it's not actually safer for that specific crash. Make sense?

TLDR: forward facing toddler in the middle, rear facing infant on the side.

Edit to add: If your Britax is too big to allow for them to stay in the center and infant on the side, then it really makes no matter which child is on which side. If you typically load the kids from the driver's side then I'd put the toddler behind the passenger seat. That way your toddler can climb into the car & into their seat, then you put the infant seat into the base, shut the door and walk to the other side to fasten toddler's buckles and you're done. Another option is to get a slimmer seat for your toddler so they can stay in the middle, like the Diono radian. You can put 3 radians across a bench seat, they're one of the thinnest seats on the market, and VERY highly rated. They also are approved for up to 85lb forward facing as a booster, so buying one now for a toddler to use as a 5-point harness now will likely last until they are done needing a booster.

sophie206 · June 2013

I think we're doing baby behind driver's side and DD (3) on passenger side. The seats don't find nicely with one in the middle.

My thought is that I will get baby out first and get her into the ergo while DD is still strapped in. Then I will come around to the passenger side and let DD out. And then I'll put DD into the car first. This way I won't have to worry about DD's safety while I get baby in/out of the carrier. Of course, if the baby likes being in the infant car seat (DD hated it) I will probably change things around so I don't have to set baby down in the car seat while I get DD in and out...As a SAHM I will be taking the kids in and out of the car a lot for all of our activities and errands so I'm trying to figure out the safest and most convenient configuration.

solsburyhill · June 2013

Our set up is 100% based on where we park in the garage. I park on the right and DH parks on the left. To get the infant carrier out easily, I need her to be on the driver side. For DH, he'll have to have her on the passenger side. He's bummed about DS being moved to behind him because he likes being able to reach him. But based on how we park it's what we need to do.

PrimRoseMama · June 2013

We are putting one on each side. Our cars are not big enough to put them both in the middle. You do what you can.

shara3333 · June 2013

Curbside, etc... doesn't really apply for me because I live in a city with one way streets and parking on both sides.

I think I'm going with the passenger side though and using the LATCH system in my car. For most LATCH systems I've read about, it can NOT be used in the middle seat, but check your manual. Middle seat positioning would likely have to use the seat belt, which from what I read may be hard to get the proper installation.

Since nothing I've read has shown me that middle seat with seat belt install is the SAFEST, I personally am choosing to do LATCH instead of seat belt install.

danigirl7181 · June 2013

shara3333:
Curbside, etc... doesn't really apply for me because I live in a city with one way streets and parking on both sides.
I think I'm going with the passenger side though and using the LATCH system in my car. For most LATCH systems I've read about, it can NOT be used in the middle seat, but check your manual. Middle seat positioning would likely have to use the seat belt, which from what I read may be hard to get the proper installation.
Since nothing I've read has shown me that middle seat with seat belt install is the SAFEST, I personally am choosing to do LATCH instead of seat belt install.

My car has the latch system for the middle seat. DD was RF until about 2 in the middle using the latch system. When I switched her to FF, I moved her to the passenger side. I felt that the middle wasn't as safe FF, what if something comes through the front windshield in a crash? There is nothing to protect them.

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Having an irrational freak out moment - Car seat placement

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