Car Seat Placement - Waterford,MI

The baby is behind the passenger seat so I can access him wherever I may be sitting and my oldest is behind me. By having the baby across from me, I can see him all the time and he can see me (if I tilt the mirror just right) and everyone is happy.

It's a personal preference, but here are a few things to think about...

*You shouldn't be thinking about how you can "see" your baby while you are driving. It's more important that you watch the road and pull over to tend to the baby if she's crying. With the baby seat facing backwards, you can't get a good look at her in the mirror anyway., and no matter where she is placed you shouldn't be trying to reach for her while you're driving.

*In your head, walk yourself through getting both kids out of the car in a parking lot... if you have the baby behind you and get her out first, then you walk around to his side to get him out and do what with the baby? You either have the car seat that you popped out which you then have to set down on the ground (not very safe in a parking lot) or you have her in one arm or a sling while you struggle to get your son out. If he can get out of his seatbelt himself, this isn't as big of an issue.... If you have your son behind you and get him out first, you can walk with him to the other side of the car and teach him to put both hands (or at least one if he's holding something) on the car while you get the baby out. If he is too hyper or doesn;t listen then that's a problem, but that's what I did with my kids.

We have my 3 year old on the passenger side (has always been there) and the 6 month old on the driver side. We bought a mirror and haven't had any issues with her being there.

This might sound silly to a lot of moms out there....but.....I travel a lot, so my carseat placement had a lot to do with how often I might have to stop on the side of the road!!! I put the infant car seat behind the passenger because as often as I have to stop to feed, console, ect.....I did not want to have the car door open and be trying to take baby out and around the car with traffic passing by at 80 mph. Plus, with baby behind the passenger seat, I can see him better while driving while still being able to see my older son in the rear view, and when I am in the passenger seat, I can just twist around and lean over to take care of baby instead of trying to lean across the car while my husband is driving.

I have my oldest behind the driver and baby behind the passenger. My husband is only 5' 9" and the driver's seat would interfere with the baby's car seat if he were driving.

As far as convenience when getting in and out of the car, it's no big deal because most times I'm getting the stroller out of the trunk anyway.

Bigger kids go behind the driver and babies go where the mom can reach them in an emergency. I don't know who invented the van that was out a few years ago where the middle seat of the van had a section that could be moved up to the drivers side but they should get a medal. I don't know how many moms attention is in the back seat instead of in front of the car. I always was having to check on the baby while driving, it's just what mom's do. I would say also get one of theose mirrors where you can see the entire backseat, we got one at walmart, it stuck to the windsheild and you could move it around. Then we also got one that hooked over the seat head rest and it hung over the baby's carseat and we could see the baby's face better.

i have van and the baby is behind the passenger seat easier access for me in either seat.my oldest sits behind the driver we have a mirror on the backseat headrest to be able to see the baby better but its more convienent with her behind passanger because you can reach her no matter what seat you in..hope this helps

We found it best to put the baby behind the driver as our 2 1/2 year old loved to kick the seat. If you have a mirror you should be fine no matter what seat you use.

Congratulations on your new Baby. Just do what makes you feel good and safe... your baby will be happy no matter what you decide. Most
important, make sure the seats are installed properly... most local police can help or refer you to an expert.

P. H.
founder BabyMeTV.com

I always had the youngest behind the passenger seat so that when we were stopped at a traffic light I could reach back there if I needed to.

I have our youngest behind the driver seat and our older child behind the passenger seat. Depending on the size of your car will depend on where your children end up. Before we bought our MDX we had a Matrix and the infant carrier was to big to put behind the driver seat so she had to go behind the passenger seat. It made for a lot of circling the car.

I always get our youngest out first and then the oldest. I can barely reach the kids feet while in the driver seat so being able to reach back and help my little one in an emergency had no bearing on where she is. We did use the mirror so I could glance and see if she was ok or if I needed to pull over. Rarely did I need to pull over. Hope that helps.

I have my baby behind the driver and the older one behind the passenger. If you do that you have to make sure the baby seat can fit without having to move the driver seat.

I have a 2 year old and will have another baby in two months. I'm going to put the baby behind the passenger seat so I can reach him if I need to and it will be easier to see him without having to turn all the way around.

The downside, I don't like my daughter kicking the back of my seat. But she'll be behind me and he'll be behind the passenger seat.