Child safety seat locations?

[jesus_man]

My wife is due in a few weeks so we installed our car seat last night. MUCH to our dismay, with the car seat installed behind the drivers seat, the driver seat had to be so far forward that is was uncomfortable for even my 5'-6" tall wife and I've got another 6" on her. This was quite frustrating to say the least! And it's not like we have a huge car seat. There is no latch system in the center seat, but my wife found online somewhere where an owner had a dealer install a set. Anyone else done this? What did everyone else do with their child seats??

Yes, we could just use the normal seatbelt option in the center seat, but that will be hard for my wife to hoist the kid all the way to the center of the vehicle.

Yes, we could put the baby on the passenger side, but where my wife parks in the garage the passenger side is inaccessible. And leaving the baby alone while she pulls the car out of the garage is not a good idea. And we have no way to arrange the vehicles in the garage another way. They only fit this one way.

It appears we're in the running to make some sacrifices. I just want to make sure I am not missing something. Thanks!

J.D.

 

[Mr.BigsLR3]

You need to place the base of an infant seat in the middle (safest location) of the rear seats. I have a 5 mo old and can send you a photo this afternoon. Use the "Latch system" points that are just above the seatbelt latches.

Works great as I am 6'6" and my wife is 6'1".

 

[duckdive]

J-Man, I would FIND a way to anchor that child seat in the middle of the back seat
somehow. There should be no "sacrificing" when it comes to your childs safety.
It would be a very bad thing if you got T-***** with the seat mounted behind the
driver or passenger seats. Unless you have two child seats at once this should not
be an option. That said, I raise the question of your rear seat configuration. Does it
have 3 individual seats? Or is it 2 split 60/40?

 

[goinsurfin]

View attachment 1615

I have 2 large Britax Boulavarde seats in center and passenger side. as he mentioned, use the latches on each side for the center position. The other seat faces forward so i use the seat belt here. Btw, these seats are great especially with the additional head support so when they sleep ( 4 mo old especially) his head does not bob forward or drop to the side.

 

[beantmt]

You need to place the base of an infant seat in the middle (safest location) of the rear seats. I have a 5 mo old and can send you a photo this afternoon. Use the "Latch system" points that are just above the seatbelt latches.

Works great as I am 6'6" and my wife is 6'1".

We have two car seats in the vehicle. Infant seats are a pain because they are rear facing, so they take up a lot of space. Our rear-facing infant is in the middle and it fits just fine. It's also the safest position as Mr.Bigs pointed out. We also have a front-facing toddler in the right side. The front-facing seats don't take up any more space so the passenger seat goes back as far as we need it to. The trouble would be if you had two (or more) rear-facers!

Just FYI, I was a bit disappointed that the middle position does not have its own latches (at least it doesn't in my 06). There is a set of latches for the left and a set for the right. It sounds like Mr.Bigs is using a latch from each side (which is probably fine !SEE EDIT!), but since I am using the latches on the ride side and since you're not supposed to share latches, I use the seatbelt to secure the infant seat base in the middle, and it's not a big deal at all.

EDIT: as RvDUB has pointed out, the manual says not to do this

 

[beantmt]

Also, I highly recommend these:

Amazon.com: Sunshine Kids Ultra Mat, Gray: Baby

 

[beantmt]

and these later on (when they are front-facing):

Amazon.com: SafeFit Kick Mats 2-Pack in Black: Baby

 

[RvDUB]

First, let me say Congrats to you and your wife on your "soon to be" newborn! We have a 22mo Son and cannot imagine a day without him !

Child safety seats only work correclty IF installed correctly. The Hospital should also check your seat in the Landy and certify that you have it insalled correctly before you leave. If not correctly installed then you cannot leave the hostital. That's how our experience went at Rose Medical Center in Denver

I am glad to see you atleast asked the question before your newborn arrives!
This is the MOST important item for the safety of your child that you can take! With all due respect STOP and please review the manual word for word. Page 57 in my '07 Manual explains everthing. You will see there are ONLY two positions that the child seat can be placed in the second row that have LATCH. Behind the driver or passenger ONLY. NEVER in the middle of the second row and there is no LATCH in the third row. You can use the third row but would have to use the seatbelt to secure your child seat. I would not trust anyone who said they can 'install' LATCH after the fact. Your child's safety is worth more then your convenience. But I know you already know that.

We have our child seat on the passenger side and it works well for us. With that said I will say we do have a three car garage and I park the S4 in the smaller bay and the Landy get's the larger bay so it does make it easier.

You may want to think about backing in the Landy if you want the child seat on the passenger side? Or a few of my buddies cleared out the front corners of their garage and angled both cars in tightly to the wall's. They also built a shelf form the ceiling of the garage to store all their garage junk!

Hope this helps!

 

[jesus_man]

Great info, and quick responses! Thanks very much! I guess the rule of thumb is to not have another kid until the oldest is facing forward??? LOL!

I do have a very similar seat protector installed. Yours is a little taller, but I think what we have will work. And we will get the others when the time comes as well.

Duck-dive, there are three individual seats.

Thanks again for the help! I guess I will just have to get my wife on a workout regimen so she can lift the baby all the way in.

J.D.

 

[RvDUB]

You need to place the base of an infant seat in the middle (safest location) of the rear seats. I have a 5 mo old and can send you a photo this afternoon. Use the "Latch system" points that are just above the seatbelt latches.

Works great as I am 6'6" and my wife is 6'1".

Really!?? This is completely wrong and you are endangering your child's safety. The LATCH system was NEVER designed for the center seat. Jsut read your manual on page 57.

Not trying to be a PITA but just stating the fact's.