Where will baby be in the car?

MissMheMhe · October 2015

Behind the driver, passenger, or middle of the back seat? DH and I have been discussing car seat placement in both of our vehicles. We haven't decided yet which side baby will be on. I'm thinking either the middle or passenger side of my car, since DH rarely goes anywhere in my car. We primarily use his van for our 'fun' outings. I'm thinking drivers side in the van since I always am a passenger.

I know this answer will be different for moms of multiples as well as multiple children. Just looking for your thoughts! Thanks!

edit: clarification

Lljbean · October 2015

Roof, obviously. Trunk, if it rains.

SBH041815 · October 2015

Baby will definitely be in the middle of the back seat for us; our car is getting really crowded!

failuretofly · October 2015

Middle of the back seat is the safest place for baby.

MissMheMhe · October 2015

Lljbean said:

Roof, obviously. Trunk, if it rains.

Come on now, it's a legitimate question. As a FTM, I'm curious what others are planning on doing.

l4rk · October 2015

Either the middle or the right side (in the back, obvs). SS is 12 so it will depend how much space he has leftover if we put baby in the middle. We do quite a bit of driving as a family, often for over an hour at a time.

ChrissyD1203 · October 2015

Middle! I'm going to one of these events where they check your car seat to make sure it is installed correctly - it's free - https://www.tallpinesafety.org/safekidsmaine/events.html

I'm sure other States have them too. At our hospital tour where they promoted this, they said 80% of car seats are either improperly installed or the kids are buckled in incorrectly! I figure if I'm spending money on the seat, I might as well make sure I'm using it correctly.

Krisdee123 · October 2015

Lljbean said:
Roof, obviously. Trunk, if it rains.

I don't think trunk is safe.

Lljbean · October 2015

Bike rack?

Krisdee123 · October 2015

On my lap

ntyravgsp · October 2015

People don't just lay them on the floorboards anymore? #-o

Lljbean · October 2015

Well, shoot.

sarahbeara25 · October 2015

Middle makes sense to me

though how much fun would it be for a toddler to have a roof seat. I would have LOVED that lol

saraellenM · October 2015

I wondered about that with our first. I heard that middle was safest, but I did some research. My car only has the latch system on the driver and passenger sides of the car and NOT the middle. The articles said that putting her carsest on the passenger or drivers side with the latch system was safer than using the middle seat with no latch system. Now that we are having our second, DD will move to the drivers side and baby will be on passenger side so I can reach him as needed.

Ju111310 · October 2015

Middle is safest. However, I put mine behind the passenger side because I have captain chairs in my 2nd row. Plus I'm tall and car seats take up a lot of room! We were commuting to work/babysitter an hour each way so it was easier for me reach back and replace a bink with DS1 behind the passenger seat. Easier to see into the little backseat mirror too. Now with #2 on the way, DS1 will still be rear facing so I'm planning to move him behind my seat since he can replace his own bink lol and DS2 will go behind the passenger seat.

Snoopylovesbelle · October 2015

Baby side car duh...

DD has been in every spot in the back seat it just depends. The middle when she was a newborn, then the passenger side because it was easier to throw toys at her and now behind the drivers side because it's a pain in the ass to walk around the car to get the baby in and out.

l4rk · October 2015

This post inspired me to finally check my car manual and it looks like middle isn't really an option with latch system or rear-facing. They say to put babe on passenger side, back seat. So, that decision just became easy. I recommend other mamas do the same because your manual might trump.

Is anyone else planning to get a certified installation tech to help? I think I will be giving our local one a call, just to be safe.

jeanbug12 · October 2015

I went to a car seat check when i had DS and they recommended NOT using the latch system. They said it was safe when they are little but the weight rating on the latch system is not even close to what your seat belt has. I think the lady told me the latch system is rated for 60 pounds where the seat belt is 3,000 or something. And that 60 pounds is the seat plus child. This was 5 years ago though when DS was a baby so maybe they are better now? I don't know.

I will be putting the baby behind the drivers seat so I don't have to walk around the car to get him out

apinkpelican · October 2015

DD is behind me (drivers seat) which makes it easier to get her in and out.

Achae · October 2015

Lo1 will probably be moved to the driver side rear and baby will go to passenger side rear. And yes latch system is useful but only up to a certain weight limit and that includes the car seat. My police department has a car seat tech you can make an appt with and they'll check and install it, make sure there are no recalls, etc. and it's free!

Unknown · October 2015

This content has been removed.

MrsB915 · October 2015

DS is behind the driver's seat but he will move over to the passengers side and LO will be behind the driver. Both will still be rear facing for a while as we intend to have them rear face until they approach the limit on their carseats. I read somewhere that the drivers side is safer than passenger because the instinct of the driver is to protect their side of the car if possible in a crash. Also, it's easier not to have to walk around the car

62406 · October 2015

l4rk said:
This post inspired me to finally check my car manual and it looks like middle isn't really an option with latch system or rear-facing. They say to put babe on passenger side, back seat. So, that decision just became easy. I recommend other mamas do the same because your manual might trump.

Is anyone else planning to get a certified installation tech to help? I think I will be giving our local one a call, just to be safe.

We also referred to our owners manual when DD was born and it said the safest place in our cars was the behind the passenger seat. We'll be moving DD1 behind the driver when DD2 arrives.

kmo8986 · October 2015

DS is in the captains chair behind the passenger seat in the van now, I will probably just leave him there and put DD behind me. They will both be rear facing for some time, once DS forward faces I may switch them.

PedsIsHardcore · October 2015

Middle of the back seat. DD will move to the passengers side of the back seat. We are also going to go to one of the car seat clinics so we can have the car seats installed right. Just want to make sure we both know all the info since the state I live in requires children to be in a booster until age 8.

holocene · October 2015

Middle is safest, for obvious reasons. But otherwise behind the driver has an ever so slight advantage than behind the passenger. The driver will always instinctually protect its side.

For those of you with older children, the least protected child should get the "safest" position. Infant seat/rear facing children are the most protrcted, then forward facing children in 5 point harnesses, and lastly boostered children.

7/10 car seats are improperly used. That could mean improperly installed or improperly buckled children. I urge everyone to learn the proper way to fasten a child to best prevent injury and to READ your car seat manuals.

As for us, car seats are currently the biggest stress in my life. (As ridiculous as that sounds...) We have two children and our car (2015 Subaru Outback) seats 5. Our harnessed 4.5 year old will be FF in the middle seat, our RF 2 year old will be behind the passenger, and the baby will be behind me.

JDBtwinmama · October 2015

We're having twins! One behind the driver, one behind passenger, not a lot of other options!

Eastoncjr · October 2015

DS will move behind the drivers seat and turn around to be forward facing. The baby will go on the passengers side and any front seat passenger I have will not have much space lol

mamaksweez · October 2015

I'd suggest putting baby behind the passenger. It's easier to calm them while driving if they aren't directly behind you. (Like give them a pacifier at a stop light, etc.)
This is baby 2 for us so dd will move behind the driver and baby 2 will be behind the passenger. (Both rear facing)
Also, I'm not sure I agree with "drivers side is safer because it's your instinct to protect yourself in a crash." When dd was 7mo we got in a bad accident (car was totaled) and my first instinct was to protect her. (Which I think is kind of an ingrained mom instinct.) I swerved to hit driver side, then hit a second car head on. I couldn't even open my door because it was so smashed in, and there was no damage anywhere near dd.

ainverso · October 2015

Before first baby was born, I took my car seat to the fire station car seat fitting with intentions of having it put in the center of my SUV. Based on manufacturer testing and recommendations it was safest to put the seat on either side, but not the middle due to latch system is only on the outside seats, not middle. So we put him on the passenger side so I could reach him if I was driving be easier.

carlyhammond · October 2015

This post encouraged me to check my owners manual.
I was planning to put him in the middle.
Latch system is only on the outer doors, so I'll probably put him on the passanger side so I can still reach him If necessary.
When I get the car seat I'll take it to one of the places to make sure it's installed properly and ask them the best placement.
I'd feel better with him in the middle - just in case of accident(being t-boned) I feel him being in the middle would prevent less damage --- god willing that will not happen---

mommiesandbabies · October 2015

Middle and outboard. Big girls will go to the rear of the van.

When they were infants, we had them both outboard, but I really prefer middle/outboard for adult comfort.

kfreeman2008 · October 2015

My son has been in several places in different vehicles.

We planned on having him in the middle of my HHR since we are both tall. But, manual says sides unless they are forward facing. So he went on passengers for my access.

When he was born, we were in Houston (a 2 hour drive) at the NICU. The truck said behind either side seat, but really on passenger side. So we did that and I rode in the back (it was a big 4 door truck).

Then I got a suburban. That says forward facing okay in any seat as well as rear facing.
So we put him on passengers side. Then moved to the middle thinking when the twins arrive, we will put them on the sides. Well, it was hard for me to get him in and out. So he is back on passengers. Since he is off the chart in height, he is in a highback booster with the harness (at two....he is giant y'all). He is below the latch weight limit, but will get there soon. So it is installed with belt only and on passenger side.

When the twins arrive, he will be moved to the drivers side so we can use the latch on the infant seats. They will be middle and passenger and we will keep the 3 kiddos in the second row until we have to move my son. Baby girl has a smaller weight limit seat and they recommend the middle for her seat. Baby boy will go outside. I just have giant kiddos and so they will max out on height before they get anywhere close to weight limits. So the twins will rear face in convertible seats until they max those out (my guess is around two like my son). Then we can evaluate location.

Thank God for a suburban with our giant family. I checked recommendations for seats and looked at comparability with my cars. We have more of a height issue than anything else, but I didn't want super wide seats so there would be room for cup holders on all 3 seats. I really did lots of research on what seats worked best with our latch/belt positions in our car. The back tethers for convertible and boosters also played into it.

That was a super long answer. Sorry. Twins and a giant toddler make these decisions complicated.

jtk4life · October 2015

This may be a really silly question but where do you ladies sit when you're the passenger? The reason I'm asking is my SIL has always sat in the backseat with their child, who is now 4 years old, when travelling together - I guess to keep her entertained or soothed or whatever she needs throughout her stages of growth. So DH thinks that because that's the way they've done it, it's completely normal and will be the way we do it. But I don't really want to sit in the back all the time, it seems kinda strange to me. Although there may very well be times when I will want to sit on the roof. I've never really thought to ask this question before. Sorry to side-track the OP's original question!

62406 · October 2015

jtk4life said:
This may be a really silly question but where do you ladies sit when you're the passenger? The reason I'm asking is my SIL has always sat in the backseat with their child, who is now 4 years old, when travelling together - I guess to keep her entertained or soothed or whatever she needs throughout her stages of growth. So DH thinks that because that's the way they've done it, it's completely normal and will be the way we do it. But I don't really want to sit in the back all the time, it seems kinda strange to me. Although there may very well be times when I will want to sit on the roof. I've never really thought to ask this question before. Sorry to side-track the OP's original question!

I almost always sit in the front with DH. A few times when DD was a baby, I had to sit in the back but that was only when she wouldn't calm down. I didn't want to start any habits that would be hard to break later.

ShannyFann · October 2015

I put my son on the passenger side because I didn't want to be putting him in and taking him out in traffic when I have to park on the street, which is often. I never found anything to suggest one side is safer than the other for seat placement. We recently moved him to driver side since he is perfectly capable of climbing out the passenger side when we need to park on the street leaving the passenger side available for baby number 2.
As for where I sit when I'm a passenger, I get car sick fairly easily anymore so I avoid the back seat whenever possible Hahaha! Plus he doesn't really need someone back there, I can reach him just fine from the front.

awakemysoul37 · October 2015

Since I'll be driving a Honda Accord that doesn't have a middle seat latch system, my lo will be on the passenger side.

Twindling · October 2015

Just FYI, the safest place for baby is 1st-wherever in the backseat you can get a correct install & 2nd-the middle.

Also, just because your car doesn't have middle latch doesn't (which most don't) doesn't mean you can't use seatbelt. Both are equally safe given it's installed properly.

mg137 · October 2015

jeanbug12 said:
I went to a car seat check when i had DS and they recommended NOT using the latch system. They said it was safe when they are little but the weight rating on the latch system is not even close to what your seat belt has. I think the lady told me the latch system is rated for 60 pounds where the seat belt is 3,000 or something. And that 60 pounds is the seat plus child. This was 5 years ago though when DS was a baby so maybe they are better now? I don't know.

I will be putting the baby behind the drivers seat so I don't have to walk around the car to get him out

If you're starting with an infant seat and switching to a convertible when baby is a toddler you can switch from latch to seat belt then. That's what we did. Even now, in their super heavy toddler seats, our girls plus their seats aren't 60 lbs, so we had a nice cushion.

jezygal · October 2015

Our daughter has always been in the middle, but with 2 carseats they will probably both be beside the doors.

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