If you only have one car seat, where do you put it? Side or middle? Any reasoning behind your decision?
Also, while we are talking about car seats, at what age did you switch your child from RF to FF?
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We put it in the middle because I think statistically it is slightly safer, and we could get a good install in the middle. We switched to FF at 26 months.
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Middle in my car bc it's safest, passenger in DHs car because it was the only spot it fit. DD is still RF at 3y3m. She has another few inches before she outgrows by height, which is good since baby 2 will be here in April and 2 RF carseats would be a tight fit.
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It's behind the drivers seat in my car and in the middle in DHs because that's where they fit best. LO will be 2 in 3 weeks and we are still RFing. We might turn her around when we add the second car seat in Jan, but haven't decided yet.
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Hubs put his in the middle because that's where he got the best install. I put mine behind the driver's seat because it was just easier and I could use LATCH there.
We're still RFing at 2.5 though.
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Middle!
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Behind the passenger seat. Our middle seat has a weird hump to it and I think it would just sit odd, so I never gave that a thought. We did the passenger because if you use one of those mirrors to see the baby it's easier to see it from the rearview mirror if the car seat is on the passenger side. Plus, if absolutely needed, it's easier to reach into the carseat from the passenger than driver side if driving.
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Originally did middle but when it was checked at the fire station they said we couldn't because the middle seat has the part that folds down to be a drink holder if no one is sitting there. Who knew? So now it's behind the passenger side. DH does most of the driving and he needs more legroom.
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Behind the passenger as it is the only place the car seat will fit. When I installed it in my moms car though I put it in the centre.
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I wanted to put it in the middle because that is safest but I couldn't get a safe install there. I even took to a firehouse (they do free car seat checks/installation help) to see if they could show me and they couldn't do it either because the back seat has a bit of a hump in the middle of it. So it is behind the driver's side. I did that side because our garage is small and you can't walk on the passenger side when the car is pulled in. However if I did a lot of street parking I would've done passenger side. It does annoy me whenever I park on the street that I have to sit there with my ass sticking out in traffic trying to get LO strapped in.
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We followed the directions in the car and carseat manuals. Both agreed that middle was safest if we could get a good install (not even close!), passenger side was next preferable (where we have it), driver side as a last choice.
Edited to add: Baby is still in the infant bucket, so, we're a ways off from FF switching decisions! However, it is our current intention to leave him RF as long a possible. That said, we have tiny cars that won't accomodate the seats that have the best reps for extended rear-facing and we don't plan to get larger cars just for that purpose.
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Passenger side - our middle has a little hump and DH sits too far back to get a good install behind him. We are still rear facing at 24 months - I had planned to turn her right on her 2nd birthday, but she's been dealing a bit better with the seat lately so we are leaving well enough alone for now.
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We have had LO’s car seat in the middle and behind the front passenger’s seat. Prefer middle, but I couldn’t get a good install on my previous SUV there. I can with my new SUV, so it’s currently in the middle and will stay there.
LO is almost 3.5 and still RF.
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Infant carseat was in the middle. RF convertible carseat is behind the driver seat. The convertible wouldn't fit in the middle. I tried putting it behind the passenger seat but had a hard time seeing out that window when driving, so I moved it behind the driver. LO is about 1.5 and still RF.
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Currently behind the passenger seat- we don't have latch in the middle and I'm actually a little unclear if a middle seat install is allowed per the car manufacturer, but I find it easier on the side anyway. She is RF now and it fits better behind the passenger since DH sits far back.
We will turn her FF when baby sister is born in December, so she will be 2y5m. She has plenty of room left height and weight but the driver has to be able to drive comfortably.
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Side because we can't latch in the middle. It's behind the passenger seat in my car and the middle of DH back seat in his truck. We turned him around two months before his second birthday.
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Side because we only have LATCH on the sides and can't seem to get a good install in the middle.
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We wanted middle but there wasn't a LATCH there. It's behind the passenger seat.
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Middle in both cars. Latch install in one and seatbelt install in the older car that has latch, but not for the middle seat. We had the one not using latch inspected.
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We chose the middle. From a safety standpoint, I believe that the seats are tested and approved to sit in any seat (in the back, using the proper restraints).
If I had to choose a side, I'd put the seat on the driver's side ... Statistically, in the event of a crash, the driver will react to "save themselves", and if the car seat is on your side, it's probably a little safer.
For rear facing ... we will rear face until she outgrows the RFing limits of her seat. I'm guessing this is sometime between 3 and 4.
Like a few people have mentioned, it's important to read the manual to be sure to can use the seatbelt or LATCH install on all seats. Our car doesn't allow for LATCH in the middle, so we do a belt install, with a locking plate.
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Passenger side. When I had it installed by a fireman, he suggested the middle but said he understands it is difficult to get a child out of the middle seat in a standard car. So, he suggested putting it on the passenger side.
He told me to NEVER put it on the drivers side. He has seen too many incidents where the driver parked on the side of the road and went to get the child out of that side....and he didn't really follow up with what happened next.
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@mediagirl: GAH! That's HORRIBLE!!! I get LO out on the driver's side (she's in the middle), but I don't ever open the doors until I double check that there aren't cars coming.
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We kept it in the middle when we only had 1 as that's the "safest." We have 2 kids now and a van, so there is no "middle seat" they're both on the sides. We have both refacing ( the oldest is 26 months) with no intentions of going forward facing anytime soon. I'd like to keep rear facin until 4 as our car seats have extended rear facing abilities. Although we are planning on trying to have another so next summer we have a newborn, I might switch the oldest forward facing ( she will be 3) then, if it's difficult to get her in rear facing while she sits in the back.
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We have used all positions, with and without Latch.
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Behind the passenger side. It is easy to get to and there's a latch system to install it there.
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In the middle. We plan to RF as long as possible, given how much safer it is.
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Passenger side as it had the best install (had it checked too). It is easy to get him out and I can see him well in my mirror and can reach back there if I have to. Same position in DH's truck.
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We have a mid size SUV and have her in the middle seat bc i thought it was the safest. Now that she climbs into her own seat, the only negative is that she steps on the side seats to get into the car seat and it gets dirty (like when it's raining
)Switched around 25 months.
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Middle always!! This was a big savior when my hubby and lo were hit by another vehicle and the suv that hit them impacted the passenger side right rear door. It would have been horrible if lo was there. Thank God he was in the middle and perfectly safe.
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Yikes! So some level of safety goes out the window once you have two kids (unless you have a mini-van), I guess.
For two kids, is it better to put the infant behind the passenger seat or the toddler??
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Middle in all cars. We turned him around at 27 months. We turned him at 2, but he hated it so we put him back RF until recently.
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DS is 2 and still rear facing - his seat is behind the passenger seat because we can't get a good install in the middle. But we are switching him to behind the drivers seat (still RFing) so we can put baby #2 behind the passenger seat.
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31 comments