We are expecting #3 this summer and have a 3.5 year old and a 2 year old. We need to replace one of our vehicles for something bigger and are looking at the Traverse, Tahoe, Sequoia and Sienna. My oldest will be in a Graco Nautilus seat, my 2 year old in a forward facing Evenflo Triumph and the new baby in a Graco Snugride. My question is - can I fit the infant seat and the Evenflo side by side in the middle row of any of these vehicles or will they both have to be in outside seats? I'm trying to make access to the 3rd row easier since my oldest can't quite buckle himself yet. We would prefer a bench seat in the 2nd row for more seating options rather than captains chairs.
Also, all of these vehicles only have LATCH in certain seats. Do you use the seatbelts or put kids only where LATCH is?
Thank you!!
I know in the Honda Odyssey that you can move the second row seats over to make a path to get to the last seat. It makes plenty of room to climb right to the back easily. Love my Odyssey
Good Luck!
Get the biggest van you can. Children tend to grow. My van once held multiple booster seats and now the kids sit on their own and each brings a friend.
Remember as a parent every day is long but the years go quickly.
I do use the latch for every seat and use the locking "clip" for the seat belt and the carseat does not move. You may also want to think about different carseats I have a sunshine kids carseat they go 5-35lbs rear facing and up to 80lbs forward it is the narrowest seat but pricey the way I look at it is the only seat I will buy for that kid. You can put three of them in a row and they will be in 5 point harness for a long time.
We have an older toyota 4runner that 3 car seats would fit very tightly in the back seat, so we researched our options and decided to buy an after market 3rd row seat from www.littlepassengers.com rather than buy a new vehicle. It works great, the baby sits in the middle seat and the big kids sit in the back, facing the rear. They LOVE having their own kid sized seats, no car seats required, since the seatbelts and seat is made for kids. Even with our LATCH system, I still use the seatbelt on the baby's seat.
I would check out the Honda Odyssey. I had twins in 2006 with a teenage son, so I need space as well. I did not want to do the minivan route but my husband really insisted on it. And I have to say he was right. But I know have a suburban. hahaha. Our Honda had captains chairs with a center console for the second row. We were able to take out the center console and easily slide the to chairs together so my oldest to easily make into the back row. It had the latch system, but we also used it in conjunction with the regular seat belt. I tell ya, the minivan had more room than my 2008 suburban for hauling things too. Good Luck!!
We only have 2 car seats: graco snug rider and Britax Decathalon but I tried putting them side by side and it wouldn't work. The base for the snug rider is to wide. I'd like for them to be side by side so my infant is in the middle though. I've never been able to use the LATCH with the graco snug rider (it was my daughter's first)...it comes loose each time so it's seat belt for it. I do use the LATCH with the Britax since it gives me the tightest fit. However, our SUV's LATCH's are in weird postion: immediately behind the front passenger seat and then between the driver seat and middle seat. I'm really excited to get rid of the Graco seat and put my son in a convertible in the hopes it will fit better in our second row.
I'm curious to see how others respond!
All I can say is that I watched my friends two kids for a few days and along with my one, and all I could think the whole time is if I had three, then I would definitely have a minivan of some sort. Someway to access the back seat easier. it is a pain with a solid second row. The only way I found it works is if you have a child in the second row who is in a booster and the side where you can move the seat.
Check your car rating and car seat ratings. Honda Odyssey say that latch is only rated through 40 lbs. Depending on your 3.5 yr olds weight you may be close to the point of needing seatbelt rather than latch anyhow.
Latch is safer only because supposedly it is easier to install correctly. Often it is easier to install secure in quick amount of time. Just take your time whatever you choose to do it safely.
we only have 2 seats but when I was researching everyone said Sunshine Kids was the way to go.. EXTREMELY safe (5 point harness up to 80 lbs) AND their profile is much smaller so you can put 3 across. We love them... Check them out. A bit of an investment.... but worth it, esp. b/c they go up to such a high weight...
I kind of had a similar situation. I have twins in the Graco Nautilus and my infant in the rearfacing Graco Snugride. We bought a 2006 Honda Odyssey van and I went to a certified car seat technician who showed me I could properly install them 3 across in the middle row. The 2 outer seats had latch and the middle "jump" seat didn't but it does have a top tethererd seat belt so I could install the infant seat just fine. I did learn that Latch is not necessarily better than mounting them with the seat belts. Anyhow, today I have 3 Graco Nautilus and really wanted to keep everyone in the middle row so I could reach them with snacks, etc but I ended up putting one in the 3rd row which splits so I can still take my double jogging stroller and 95lb dog (our first child and now the 4th:0) who goes with us everywhere in the van. I researched alot of cars and it came down to either the Honda or Toyota minivan. I like SUV's but really love the van now.
Best of luck
Hi!
We bought a Toyota Highlander for our family of 4 and found out just a few months later that we were expecting #3. Not wanting to replace the car we did a lot of research and this is what worked for us. We bought 2 Sunshine Radian car seats for our older two (then, 4 and 2) and an infant car seat, Peg Perego Primo Viaggio. We had them professionally installed and the only way it worked was to have the radians on either side and the infant seat in the middle. Then, we switched to the Britax Marathon which now fits in between both. We plan to get a third Sunshine Radian seat soon. It is working well!
(We did buy a car with a third row but found we couldn't give up all our trunk space but we also added a Thule box so that helps).
Good luck!
properly done LATCH and seat belt installations are equally safe, and if you need to install two car seats next to each other it is often easier to do if you use the seat belts because many vehicles only have LATCH anchors for the rear-driver's side and rear-passenger side seats (not the rear-center) and those anchors are often located a bit further from the doors than the seat belts, so a LATCH-installed car seat ends up being closer to the middle of the back seat than a seat-belt installed car seat, leaving less room in the rear-center location for installing another car seat.
check out the forums at http://www.car-seat.org for more details - many regulars there are certified child-passenger safety techs who are very helpful and knowledgeable
No matter which you are interested in, when it comes down to test-drive, install all of your carseats. My sister taught me that trick (I didn't have a child at the time, but it was in the plan). I bought my car knowing it could comfortably accomodate a big carseat and a two year old would have to really stretch to kick the back of my seat. Unfortunately, I forgot that when we bought my husband's new car. The carseats fit, BUT we have to drive with the Graco Snugride behind the passenger seat. No problem except that the passenger seat had very little footroom anyway and to accomodate the car seat, the passenger seat has to be waaaay forward. Whenever we drive anywhere, I have my knees in my chin. :(
You need to check out the new Honda Oddyesy....only one that fits 3 big car seats in the middle row. And themiddle seat actually slides up so you can be near the baby. My friend got one and loves it!
My sil has a durango. She had the older two (3.5 & 2.5) in the third row and the baby in the middle row with part of the middle row folded down so she could reach the back to help the older two kids.
I can fit three across my back seat but my oldest (9) is in a booster seat so that might make the difference. I would take your seats with you and try them in the cars you are interested in.
I nanny triplets and they are all in chicco keyfits in the center row of a tahoe. Two are on latch and one is seatbelted.
I don't know about the car choices, but the seatbelt is just as safe as the latch if you install it correctly. Also their is a weight limit on latch. Use the rear tethers though even if you are using the seatbelt.
I am in the same boat (different ages, but working on the three seats). My preference is to have the captains - it is really hard to get to the back if you have no space to walk through the middle row. I can't say whether or not any of them fit two seats side by side, but I don't think that any car has latch in the back. Not sure about vans, but most cars that have the optional fold down third row don't have latch for them.
I've read research that says the LATCH system is no safer than properly installed carseats w/o LATCH. You can find that stat on the NHTSA website, I believe.
We are adding #3 this summer too and just got a Toyota Sienna. It is great. I am actually planning on removing one of the second row captain chairs to make it easier to access the two older kids in the back. I will have to crawl in a bit to help them buckle if needed but my oldest is 5 so she often buckles herself in. I know it will be worth it to have the room and it has great safety features. The baby will stay in the second row so I can reach him easier.
