Location of 2Nd Car Seat

I have an almost 2.5 y/o and a 4 m/o. I was going to put the infant in the center and figure out the toddler, but was told (by the carseat installers at the hospital) that since backwards is the safest, and the middle spot is the safest position, to leave my toddler in the middle, so that he is safer, and put the infant behind the passenger, since that is already safe. You may also need to see what you have room for. I have to move the passenger seat all the way forward to accommodate either seat there, so I am crossing my fingers that a convertible seat will also fit there. Whenever my husband is with us he HAS to drive because he can barely fit in the passenger seat.

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I liked having the infant behind the drivers seat so that I could turn and see my toddler who was facing forward. Now that they are both facing forward I have the younger one on the passenger side so I can turn to check on her. As my older child is more independent and can reach his own sippy cup etc.

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Depends a bit on your kids ages and personalities. We have a 20 month old who is still rear facing (I carry her in the street or parking lot still) and a 4.5 year old. As a baby I preferred the baby behind the driver so my older one can get in and out from the curb. If you want to be able to see and reach the baby easier do it the opposite way. We have one car each way (rear facing seat only fit on the passenger side in the smaller car). My 4 year old has just learned how to buckle and unbuckle the car seat on his own in the last 6 months. I just added that in case it helps for planning ahead.

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We put the baby behind the driver, and the toddler behind the passenger seat. I did this because that way if baby needed something, I could hand it to my older daughter, who could give it to her baby sister. (Baby sister was a total binkie addict, so if she dropped her binkie while I was driving, it was a disaster... so my older one would tell me, "Uh-oh, Izzy dropped her binkie! Quick Mommy, give me another one!" and I'd toss another one back there and she would shove the binkie in Izzy's mouth.

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i think its easier to have the baby go in the passenger side, so you can pop the seat in very quickly(assuming its one that just pops in the base), then toddler on your side. the reason is so you can buckle in the toddler without needing somewhere to put the baby and make sure to get the baby in right away with the bad weather. then you have 2 hands to unbuckle the older one behind you before walking over and quickly getting the carrier out.
so i walk to the car, put baby in passenger side snapping in the seat, then walk around with toddler buckling them with both hands, and i get in. i found the 2 seconds letting go of my older ones hands while unsnapping(snapping in takes on hand) the car seat from the base was better than having to set the carrier down to buckle the toddler, or walk back and forth.

also, its nice to be able to see the baby.

now when the oldest can buckle themselves, and it does happen, you can switch so you just open the door and they get in to do it themselves. then you go to your side to buckle the youngest. it cuts the time in half.

I drove with my right arm extended to the infant so many times holding a bottle or patting a tummy that there is no way I would ever put the baby where I can't touch them at any time. Baby behind passenger, toddler behind driver where you can see them all the time in the rear view mirror.

I would say put the toddler seat on the curb side (passenger side). It is safer for them to get out on the curb side if they ever escape your grip momentarily, and there is less traffic. You generally have more control over an infant seat.

ALTHOUGH... I do have my older toddler (3) behind the drivers seat and the younger (1.5) on passenger side. I make them both climb up on the passenger side and then my son climbs across to his seat. :) I keep thinking about switching it, but haven't done it yet and it still works for us!

For my youngest, I always placed them on the passenger side of the backseat. It is easier to see them in your rear view mirror.

I have a 3 month old and 3-1/2 year old and I find it easier to have the infant behind the passenger seat because I can see him better. Also, I usually unbuckle my toddler and then walk around to get my infant while he's getting himself out of his car seat, seems like a time saver for me.

3) Infant seat in the middle and the toddler seat on the passenger side.

I talked with the carseat safety specialist at our local county sheriff's dept. He said unless you have a tiny car, the baby should always go in the middle. It's the safest spot in case of any type of collision. He even said we'd be able to fit another safety seat in the backseat of our car (if we needed to). We have a Saturn Ion, and while it's a tight squeeze, we've got that arrangement.

That being said, out little guy is 10 months and pushing 25 lbs. I am seriously thinking of putting him behind the driver's side. He and the carseat are getting too heavy to bend and lift from the middle position.

you should put infant carseat in the center of the back and you can put toddler seat on the driver side

Infant seat in the middle unless you don't have room-- if you don't have room the passenger side is easier for infant with toddler behind driver.

After our 2nd I had her behind the passenger seat for a while but getting them in/out of the car was a pain with a lot of back and forth. So I put her behind the drivers seat and our older son behind the passenger seat. We've had it that way for about 1 1/2 years. I get out and get her, then go around and get our son out.

What Vicki E said :-) (that's how we do it). I agree the safest location is in the middle. However, by that reasoning I think the toddler, who is probably less well protected (not being rear-facing and having less seat to shield his/her body), should go in the center.

Baby behind the driver and toddler behind the passenger seat. Those infant car seats get heavy as they get older and I wanted to lift the baby as little as possible.

We put the older on the driver's side. Makes it safer in my opinion because then when we get out, we first unbuckle the older child, but he crawls over to his sister's side and waits for her to be let out and then climbs out on her side (the reverse for getting in). We preferred that because then we didn't have one kid out of the car with our backs turned to buckle or unbuckle the other.

Also- a note about the middle position - If you use the LATCH system, most vehicles do NOT support the middle position and you have to use the seatbelt - a lot of people don't know this and owner's manuals don't come out and say it directly but will hint at using the outer positions. This is because the LATCH system itself is generally a U-shaped bar, one on the passenger side and one on the driver side, that the system latches to. Please check this before putting any child in the middle with the LATCH system!

Helena is right, the LEAST protected child should go in the SAFEST position, which is the center if it can accomidate a car seat. Your toddler is the least protected in your car because I'm assuming he's forward facing. rear facing child ,even if its a newborn, is the most protected person in the car, and is the safest for every single type of collision.

Otherwise it really doesn't matter who goes where, as long as you properly install the car seats and properly use them 100% of the time. Please visit a CPST through www.safekids.org and find a CPST in your are to help you install the seats properly and educate on how ot use htem properly.

Honestly I would put the toddler behind the drivers seat. It makes it easier to be able to hold the toddlers hand then go to the other side for the baby.
Otherwise you will have your hands full with the baby when you go to get the toodler out of the car.

We are expecting soon and our almost 3yr old can unbuckle and buckle himself in so we have him behind the passenger side. If your older one still needs help it probable wont matter much.

I have mine with the infant behind the passenger side and older one behind me on the drivers side for two reasons. When the seat is rear facing and you have the baby mirror you can see them. Second is I unbuckle my older one but leave him in the car while I go around the car to get the little one and then they both come out the same side and then my son isn't in the parking lot or on the street while I get his little sister out. I make the older one get back in from that side as well for the same reason plus if the weather isn't good the older one isn't standing outside in it, then I come to his side to buckle him up.

Actually the center is not always the safest location. If you go to the governments website on car seat safety you can put in the make/model of your car and it will tell you were, in THAT car, the safest place is for a carseat.

That said, we have a 3 y/o and a 4 m/o. I wanted to be able to see the baby with my childsafe mirror (since she's rear facing) and the only way to do that is to put her behind the passenger seat. I also wanted to be able to stop and give her a paci/blankie/lovie (whatever) if needed. Our 3 y/o is self sufficient and doesnt drop things the way the baby will. :)

I drive a ton with my kids. They've clocked more miles on the road than most adults. That being said I found it easier with the toddler behind the passenger and the baby behind the driver. The things the baby wanted I wouldn't be able to easily hand out in the car. Where the toddler I could and did. Now that my kids are older and both forward facing I kept it the same. I can hand a snack to my older child and ask her to share with her brother.

We have our inant seat behind the passenger seat. Like someone else mentioned, a lot of times I will unbuckle my older child and then have him crawl out the passenger door. This is helpful if you are parking on the street or in bad weather so the child can stay in the car as long as possible. I agree the middle position is the safest, but our car is small and the toddler seat is big so we couldn't fit the infant seat in the middle.

Consider your parking situation, buckling situation, etc. Infants are easy to just drop in the carseat base. Which side do you want to climb in to buckle the toddler?

Whichever way you do it, you can always switch if it doesn't work for you. ;)