Parents of two kids, how are the car seats set up?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at
3:20 pm
My husband and I are trying to figure this out. Right now it’s no problem, Noah stays in the middle, but when we have our second what do we do? I know the middle is the safest spot but I don’t see how that’s possible with two children. So if you have a newborn and a toddler(or older infant) how do you have the car seats set up in your vehicle?
Sorry, I meant to add other than the middle is one side of the car safer than the other to have a seat located on?
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We have Alexis Facing Forward behind the drivers seat and Elijah backward behind the passenger seat.
We really need a van! lol
I’m like most everybody else – I have one on each side. I drive a Nissan Altima.
I have thought about this and I am not even pregnant with a 2nd baby yet lol. Ryan is currently in the middle. When I have a second baby, Ryan will move to the side and the newborn will stay in the middle. The youngest gets the middle, thats what we have decided.
EDIT- After reading some of the answers, I can see the point about the older child trying to "play" with the younger baby and waking disturbing them. I still plan to try and put the newborn in the middle and older on the side. The middle seems safest to me and the newborn is so small.
I have one on either side, the middle is a basket of toys. I tried putting the baby in the middle, but the car seat fit awkwardly with Ethan’s seat next to it. I felt it was safer to put them on either side then to have th infant car seat tilting to one side no matter how tight I tried to make it. Plus, Ethan kept trying to take her pacifier out or touch her. He would try to put her pacifier on the floor, or in his mouth (even though he hadn’t had one in a year). He’d try to poke her eyes-not to be mean, but to touch her. It was just easier to separate them.
My husband and I were also trying to figure this one out. I’m due with my second baby next month and my son will be 19 months old. I think we are going to put him either behind the passenger side or driver’s side and the new baby in the middle. I’m not sure if all cars have this, but in each of the back doors in my car there is a button that would be unreachable to my son to make that door permanatley lock so that it can only be opened from the outside. I’ll also have to keep the windows locked. My son is in a front facing carseat and the newborn will be in a read facing one obviously. Now that I’m thinking more about it though, I might keep my oldest in the middle and the newborn on the outside so that I can have easy access to her carseat and take it in and out of the house if she’s asleep iinstad of reaching over my son’s carseat to get her’s out from the middle. Confusing! I guess we’ll have to work on it and see what’s best.
We have a van, so Jaden (who will be 7 Sunday) sits on the side and Rylee (7 months) sits on the other side. Sometimes Jaden sits in the very back, but even then he sits on the side behind the driver. But in all of the other vehicles, we have them on opposite sides. The middle seat belt doesn’t have a shoulder belt, just a lap belt. And the shoulder belt is much safer.
It is definitely worth looking into what the previous poster said about that not being the safest place in the middle. The makes sense. Do you have anyone you can ask where you are at that would know about car seat laws (fireman, police department) I know my PD wouldn’t have a clue as to whether my car seat was installed correctly LOL!!
I have them on the sides. At first I had my oldest behind the driver rear facing because that seat (Evenflo Triumph Advance) created a really big blind spot for me on the passenger side. I had my youngest in the infant bucket seat. Now I have my oldest riding in a Radian rear facing, on the passenger side (the seat is smaller and doesn’t make a huge blind spot, plus it rf longer) and my youngest rear facing in the Evenflo.
It is safest to have a vehicle with a third row, if you do not have that your only option is to put one on either side.
I have a 4 month old son and go out with my SIL at least a few times a week, who has a 9 month old. and I just permanently have both their car seat bases on opposite sides. My son behind the driver side seat and my niece behind the passenger seat.
And this may come as a surprise, because it sure did for me, but when I had a car seat check done to make sure it was installed correctly the firefighters actually informed me that the middle is not truly the safest place for a car seat. They said that the majority of accidents are either in the front or the rear of the car. In which case the side is safer because the front seat offers some protection. Side impact accidents are much rarer. And having a child in the middle benefits most only in a side impact collision.
It’s definitely at least looking into =]. And for your situation it would be best to have both kids on opposite sides so then as your toddler gets bigger he won’t try to ‘play’ with the infant =]