Car Seat

What is the best car seat for fitting 3 across a back seat?

I drive a Ford Escape and have 2 toddlers that are not ready for booster seats yet. Baby #3 will be here by the end of this year. I absolutely love my Britax Roundabouts, but am finding it impossible to squeeze an infant seat between them. Any recommendations?

Are both the Roundabouts forward facing? If not, you may try putting them next to each other and the new baby outboard to see if it will fit. (As far as safety is concerned, you always want to attempt to put the least protected child, usually the oldest, in the most protected position, which is the middle)

What I would actually do is buy a new seat for one of the toddlers and give the baby a roundabout. Infant carriers are outgrown so quickly anyways, and your toddlers are likely close to outgrowing the roundabouts since they only go to 40lbs. A marathon is good choice, goes to 65lbs. A Regent would be an awesome choice since it goes to 80lbs., but its a big seat, about 2 inches wider than the Marathon. However, I can fit 3 across with it in the middle of my mom’s Honda CRV, and I’m quite sure an Escape is bigger than a CRV, so you might try it.

Your best option is going to be to hit Babies R Us (or a high-end baby boutiqe) and try the seats out. The Sunshine Kids Radian65 or Radian80 are about the narrowest seats out there, easy to get 3 across, but it can be a very difficult seat to get a good install with, espcially if you don’t have LATCH, so definitely try before you buy. The Radian65 and Radian80 are the exact SAME seat – the 80 just comes with the infant padding and has been tested to 80lbs. It is highly unlikely a child will ever make it to 80lbs in the seat, it is too narrow and the slots too short for that, but 65lbs is possible.
As a rear facing seat it can be a pain b/c it doesn’t have any different recline positions, it is a very reclined, very tall seat shell that sticks way out, so again, I’d consider giving the Roundabout to the new baby and using the Radian for one of the toddlers.

A convertible is probably going to be the way to go, no matter which one, b/c infant carriers end up being pretty wide with those handles on the sides. There’s a link to a new Recaro seat below, its base is supposed to be narrower than the Marathon, you might try that. It sits pretty high up, though.

As always remembeR:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you’re more likely to use it correctly.
2)Children should stay rear facing AS LNOG AS POSSIBLE!!!! The 20lbs/1 year rule is outdated and provides a bare minimum for turning kids forward facing. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both recommend keeping kids rear facing as long as possible, up to the limits of their seat, preferably until at least 2 years of age. For good reason: A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child’s vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone. In other countries, rear facing 2 – 3 – 4 year olds is standard, they understand that its safer. Here, we turn them as soon as we get to, seeing it as a right of passage thing or something. Ridiculous. Most convertible seats have a 30lbs rear facing limit, Cosco/Dorel/Safety1st/Eddie Bauer seats rear face to 35lbs, Britax rear faces to 33lbs.
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can’t sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight – 40″ tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I’d have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.

Importance of a 5-Point Harness Carseat

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