Where to Put the 3Rd Car Seat?

I have three kids in the back too. I have always had my baby on the right-hand side. My oldest child, a nine year old, sits in the middle and my 5 year old sits on the left side. It is much easier to put the baby in and get him out of the car than it would be if he were in the middle. I also like having my oldest in the middle so she can help me if the baby loses his nuk or needs something.

Interestingly enough - we are living in Germany right now, and see a lot of car seats in the front seat of cars. At first I kept thinking to myself what bad parents. However, I learned that if you can disable the airbag. The front seat is actually the safest seat in the car for a rear-facing car seat because most of the crash protection is built into the front of cars. I never would have believed that without reading a bunch of test studies from both Germany and Sweden about child placement in cars.

However, this is only true if you disable the airbag, and use a rear-facing car seat. Forward facing car seats are always safer in the back seat.

Baby goes in the middle. It IS PROVEN to be the safest spot. Infants get dibs--no neck muscles--duh.
Go get your vehicle & seats inspected for installation & positioning too. Call your local police dept. Free. 30 mins. Could save a life.

Just the range of answers you've gotten shows HOW MANY PEOPLE do NOT know what they are doing--those poor kids!

The safest place for the baby is in the middle. The safest place for the middle child is behind the driver, and for the oldest is behind the passenger seat. I read this once on a website, but I can't remember where. This is the order I have my three girls in our cars.

I think I'd put the baby on one side, the middle child on the other side, with the oldest in the middle. The oldest can help entertain the baby and be your "hands" if the baby needs something. It seems like it would be easier to remove the baby carrier if its on one side. My kids are spaced the same years apart and I would have been worried about my 2 y/o messing with the baby if he was next to him. Once the baby is a little older, you can rearrange the seating again.

Congratulations!!!!
I would put the newborn's seat behind the passenger seat. That way you can see the baby easier (love the mirrors they have for rear facing babies), also it will be easier getting the baby in or out there than if he/she was in the middle.
I'd put the 4 yr. old in the middle. I think booster seats fit better there than your 2 year old's seat. Plus, the 4 yo can climb in and buckle herself up and can help with the baby with little things like a paci or if the baby's hat slips down and covers his/her eyes and starts fussing. That leaves the 2yo behind you which, since she is next to the door will still be easy to reach to buckle up.

Middle is considered the safest. Depends on how hard it will be to lift to car seat over the other car seat, though. If you can get baby in first, then have your 4yo get in after, it might work (I'm assuming you're using a carrier style seat with a base).

Congrats on baby #3 :-) I'm due with #3 May 9th. Can't wait! My daughters are 4 1/2 and 3 1/2. (We have a Honda Odyssey with the 2 captains chairs in the 2nd row and the third row can fit 3.) My daughters sit in the 2nd row now usually but since they're in booster seats, they easily move them where they want, and sometimes go in the third row. I have told them when the baby comes they can either both go into the third row or one can go back there, bc I will have to put the baby in the 2nd row, I am not going to climb into the third row every time to get him in and out. The girls buckle themselves in so it's easier for them to be wherever they want.

I would tend to think that the middle would be the safest place for the smallest child but I also would think that it would be almost impossible to get the carseat in and out of the car with the other two seats in the way. And even if you are using a carseat that stays in the car for the youngest it would still be diffucult to reach over to put the baby in the carseat. I have a 300 as well and I find it difficult just to get my one child in the middle seat and there are no other carseats to climb over to get her in.
Good Luck

We are just getting 3 across and well, a few thoughts: Put the booster seat in a place where when you or your daughter unbuckles the seatbelt, it isn't right next to another seat belt buckle. My son accidentally unbuckled the wrong seatbelt the other day, the seatbelt that was holding in my daughter's carseat! I'm glad I noticed, not to mention it can be a pain to get those things back in tightly. It made me realize that I wanted him in a different spot so that his buckle was "alone" and there could be no mistake of which one he should unbuckle!
My only other thought is that if you are using an infant carseat for the newborn and will be removing the whole thing with baby, it may be pretty hard to lift up into the middle, depending on what your other seats are (I'm thinking of myself who is likely have a c-section next week and that's just not going to be possible for my to lift over!).

Just read a few more posts. . . . there certainly is a range of answers. Car-seat.org has lot of great, up-to-date info about safety and carseat issues. I am pretty sure they would say that a 4 y/o in the booster seat is the least protected. Upgrading to a booster seat isn't really an "upgrade" but a downgrade in protection. If you are interested, there are many seat available that keep kids in a 5 pt. harnass until 65 lbs. That's what we have in our other car for our 5 year old and he loves his "racecar driver seat". These particular seat are really coming down in price. Plus, I don't have to worry about him fidgeting with the regular seatbest or not sitting properly, which certainly puts him at risk of greater injury in a crash. There's tons of great stuff on the web . . . another great forum is diaperswappers.com which has an "all things carseat" thread. Good luck!

Put the one that can climb in to her own seat in the middle. Why make life h*** o* yourself.

I can't quite understand the comment about the middle being safer for the newborn. Even if the middle was safest, which it is not they are all safe, that would imply that the youngest has more value. Silly, ya know? Now seat wise the full car seats are safer than the booster seat so if the middle was safest, which it is not, wouldn't you want to put the booster seat in the middle.

Still I would go with what is easiest on your back, make the four year old climb into the middle and reach back to make sure she buckled herself.

I was just wondering about this myself. :) I think it would be easiest to have the booster in the middle but part of me is sqeamish about having my oldest facing the windshield... Inevitable in the long run, but that is probably what I'll do.

Your 4yr old in a booster is the least protected ,so you want her in the middle as long as there is a shoulder belt in that position, yo ucannot use a booster with a lap belt only. Please make sure that she fits the seat and that she is mentally and physically mature enough to BE in a booster seat as well.

The baby of course will be rear facing, so she is the most protected in any crash even though she's a newborn, rear facing is always safest no matter age.

So 4yr old in the middle, 2yr old and newborn outboard. :)

I had a very large Chevrolet Caprice with only a driver airbag when my kids were babies, and I would put the rear facing infant seat in the passenger front seat. It was great to be able to see the baby and know if she was sleeping or fussing. The older child later on had the backseat to herself. Now they are 11 and 14 and the 14 year old get the front passenger seat and the 11 year old has the backseat to herself.
But I agree with the others posts - put the one who can climb into their own carseat in the middle.
Hang in there these last few weeks of your pregnancy and congratulations on the new baby.

The middle is the safest, so you want your least protected child to be in the middle. That would be your boostered child, as long as your middle seat has a lap and shoulder belt. If your center seat only has a lap belt then you should put the forward facing child there. Your new baby is the most protected in a rear facing car seat.

For starters, your 4 yr old is in a booster and HAS to be in a position with a shoulder belt...which most likely means on one of the sides.

I know the middle position is the safest position and while it may not be "easy" its probably easier to lift the carrier (assuming that's the kind of seat you're using for the newborn) into the middle and to have the 2 yr old on the end so you can help her get buckled.

Its not always possible to get a new vehicle, so you make your vehicle work as best as you can :)

As for the comments regarding the front seat:
In MOST situations there should never be a car seat - forward or rear facing in the front, however, some vehicles don't leave any choice - like a pick-up truck. Those vehicles had an airbag shut-off making it ok to put the car seat in the front passenger seat.