DC's Car Seat Safety Tip # 4............

Stephanie,

Have you forward faced your daughter's seat yet? The reason I ask is because the RF child has the most protection and if there are three children, then yes if she is still RF, then she'd be fine in the rear passenger. If you have turned her around, then she should be in the middle rear seat and your 10 year old in an outboard position. Without getting into too many details, your 1 year old's body makeup is not as mature as her 10 year old sibling. As a result, a FF child is always safest in the middle rear. (I know, clear as mud right?). I should be in bed too....the baby is kicking me up a storm and I can't sleep.

In review:

1 year old DD should be in the rear middle seat if the seat is positioned forward facing. If you still have her RF, then either outboard postition is fine.
4 year old can be in either outboard rear position. If 1 year old is RF in an outboard, then move this little one to the middle rear seat.
The 10 year old should go to an outboard position (body makeup is more mature due to the age).

HTH and just holler with any more ?'s.

**Remember our kids should remain rearfacing for AT LEAST 1 YEAR AND 20 POUNDS! It is recommended we leave our kids rearfacing for as long as the weight limits allow on your particular seat (usually in the range of 30-35 pounds).

DC

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Eilonwy,

If I understand you correctly, both of your little ones are in the front seat next to you? Or do you have two or three rows of seats total and they are positioned in one of the back rows behind you?

DC

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Shershine,

To determine your 5 year old's readiness for a belt postioning booster, have her sit with her butt and back right up against the back of the seat (sitting up STRAIGHT). If her knees bend at the end of the seat and her feet touch the floor, she is ready for a booster. A booster is not the same as a convertible/combination seat (it doesn't have a plastic shell). A booster only serves to "boost" the child up so that the vehicle's belt falls in the appropriate spots on her chest and hips, to distribute crash forces evenly along the strongest bones of the body (hip bone and sternum or breastbone). There is a backless booster and a high back booster. Make sure to use a high back booster if the seat where your 5 yr old sits, does not have a head rest and/or high back. This is to help to prevent whiplash type injuries and give the neck and head proper support.
Safety is relative...meaning I am giving everyone the "safest" positions but there are many variables. For example, since your vehicle does not have a lap and shoulder belt in the middle, it makes perfect sense (safety wise) that your infant seat which only requires a lap only, be in the rear middle. If your 5 yr. old is in a booster, then yes...she definately needs to be in a seat postion that has a lap and shoulder....there is no other way.
Also, keep in mind no one can foresee the future...you just can't tell if god forbid you are in a wreck, where your vehicle will be struck. Yes, CSS position is an important consideration, however there are individual variables that are within your control and variables that are not. KWIM?

As for your 5 yr olds size...let's say you do the "test" with her and her feet do not touch the floor of the car. Then I would strongly recommend a convertible seat whose weight limits exceed 40 pounds. Honestly there are not many on the market. Your 5 yr. old is not quite ready for a booster and it is not an optimum situation to keep her in a booster. Look at these:
http://www.britaxusa.com/products.cf...DC419B3D5B8213

http://www.britaxusa.com/products.cf...E87A144FAFBCB5

As you can see they are expensive...however your baby can use it too. Ultimately, it is recommended that you keep your child in a 5 point restraint for as long as possible. These seats go to 65 POUNDS! Another option is the Briatx Husky. http://www.britaxusa.com/products.cf...635E99E566A234

I have my 10 month old in a Marathon rearfacing, and I have my 4 year old who is 47 pounds and 4' tall in a Husky. We were in a wreck a couple of months ago. We were T boned by a semi who ran a stop sign. If you would like another link to other seats let me know. I may have posted it in one of my PSA's here.
Hope I have helped you.

CPS tech and mom to 2 sons in seats
"Making a difference one car seat at a time"

Okay. I know that the middle is safest for ff facing. However, our middle seat doesn't have headreasts, but the outboard positions do. I currently have my ds2, who is 25months old and 36inches tall, ff in the drivers side outboard position, because there is a headrest there. He is in a Britax RA, and his head is at the very top of it, slightly over but not tall enough to be grown out of it, kwim? I thought he needs the head rest since the Britax isn't tall enough in back to fully support it. Or would he be okay in the middle position? We have a Suburban and he is in the second row of seating. My ds1 who is 11 sits in the passenger outboard position (I don't want him in the middle because of the lack of headrest; I have two foster children in the third row, a 6yo in a high back booster and a 7yo in a backless booster.

If we had the money I'd by a Marathon and have him RF still......we have an older model, the style that when they reached a certain height you are supposed to turn it around.

Thanks,
Kristi

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There are three total rows of seats, and the kids are in the middle row. Sorry about that!

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Bearsmama,

You're welcome. As for your individual situation...yes, that is fine. In your situation if you know your two little ones are apt to mess with each other hence possibly distracting you, then it should be fine. When I give suggested seat placement, it is not the end all be all. You have to make a determination according to your individual situation (type of seats, age/temperment of child, position of LATCH, etc.). Yes, seat placement is important however the most important thing is to make sure you have your child in the CORRECT seat, that the seat is correctly installed, and that you are adept at using the seat.
BTW...my 10 month old is in the rear passenger outboard seat, and my 4 year old is behind me in the rear driver's side seat. So we have a space in the middle too. I have done this for two reasons...one, our SUV does not have LATCH inthe middle and the tethering locations are screwy, and my 4 year old loves to "play" (more like antagonize ) with his brother.



DC

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Thank you for mentioning this. Car seat safety findings change rapidly as new tests are performed....I did not mention this...thank you for the reminder.
Recent data and tests done by NHTSA, do not show a considerable difference (in attributable injuries/death) in placing a RF infant seat in front of a pull down armrest and placing them in a seat without one. However, as I have mentioned before, you MUST refer to your vehicle owner's manual and your CSS manual for clarification on what your individual recommendations are and adhere to those.

DC

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Kristi,

Ok, let's talk about your DS 2 first. Verify the height and weight requirements on the seat and make sure he is still within that range. A good rule of thumb when it comes to height, is if the top of their ears are even with the top of the shell (car seat itself...exclude the padding/cover) then it's time for a new seat. Since he is in a convertible car seat, the fact that your suburban does not have head rests, is irrelevant. So if you want to put him in the 2nd row middle seat, then that is a great seating position for him. The only time you would need to worry about having head rests or not, is in the case where booster seats are being used. If no head rest, then a high back booster is a must to prevent head/neck injuries (whiplash). If there is a head rest, then a backless booster is fine. You might want to doublecheck your foster children to verify they have correct booster types.

How much does your DS 2 weigh?

DC

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Hi Eilonwy....got your clarification, but thought I'd quote this post as it has your question in it. Before I can answer, I need you to answer two more ?'s. So...they are in the second row of a three row minivan. There is an open space on the passenger side of the second row that allows room for someone to enter there and be able to scoot to the back third row, right? So this would mean that your second row technically only has 2 seats, right?

DC