What is the best configuration for three carseats in a Minivan? We have captain seats in the second row, but I could put the middle seat back in. My daughter will be 5 when baby comes, so I could move her into a booster. Would all three fit in the second row? Is it better to put someone in the back, and who? 3 or 5 year old?
I didn't think about throwing the two older ones in teh back row. We may just have to play around with the carseats and see what I like best. With my co-op, I've been keeping my back row down so I have tons of trunk space for supplies. I've gotten use to only having the two rows.
Can you remove one of the captain's seats from the middle and have two in the back and one in the middle row? It removes a seat, but allows you to be able to climb in and buckle up the back row more easily. And a big empty space for the groceries.
I have my 21month old and four year old in the middle row. And my five year old in the back. He is in a booster that he can buckle and unbuckle himself and other two are in carseats that they need help with.
I have my oldest (6) and youngest (22 mos) in the 2nd row, and my 3 yr old in the back. Reason being, my oldest has curbside drop-off at school, and I want him to be able to hop out quickly.
But, since you homeschool you probably don't run into that type of situation. So, I'd do the oldest in the back, since she's probably able to buckle herself. It is a pain to have to climb through the tailgate to help my 3 yr old buckle his 5 pt harness.
We have town and country with 2 captain seat in middle and bench in 3rd row. The 6 yr old boy rides in 3rd rode with a backless booster and can buckle and unbuckle himself. He is a big boy and has always been taller than his peers. The girls sit in captain seats in 2nd row. 3.5yr old is in a britex 5 point harness booster bc she is little only weights 36lbs. Our 1yr old is in britax marathon carseat. We are adding child #4 late aug so our older daughter will have to move to back seat with her brother. I'm not looking forward to that bc they fight but I need the most mobile kids in the back. She can usually buckle herself but needs help unbuckling. I'm hoping her brother will be able to help her.
The thing I like about three kids in the mini van is that you can put two in the captains seats in the middle row and one kid alone in the back and they can't touch each other. I would put the five year old in the back because the five year old should be able to operate her own seat belt so you won't have to climb in and out.
We have our almost 4 year old and 2 year old in the back, and our one year old in the middle. She is rear facing so she can watch her big sisters while we drive and she seems to enjoy that.
When we added baby #3 we put BOTH big kids (two boys aged a few months from 4 and turning 2) in the back, and new baby in the middle by herself. That way the seat next to her was empty so when we drove longer distances as a family, I could sit by her. Both boys were still in Britax 5 point seats at that point.
They still sit configured that way now at aged almost 8, 6 and 4. Boys in the back, girl in the middle.
J.:
What minivan do you have?
In my Odyssey - it's a 7 passenger and my middle row does NOT have an expander on it.
what would **I** do? I would put the oldest in the back - booster might work depending upon size and weight and the other two in the middle row. Your 5 year old should be ale to buckle herself up when she gets into the booster seat.
I would NOT put 3 kids in the same row unless I HAD to. And in a minivan, in my opinion, you do NOT HAVE TO.
We have five carseats in ours. We have 3 across the middle and 2 in back, side by side. We keep them rear-facing to age 4. I always like to use the middle seat since it's safest. I also like the middle row best since it's the actual middle of the van, hence away from point of impact in front or back.
You can do a booster for a 5 year-old but that's quite young. Is she 40 lbs? Mature enough to sit properly in one?
I also like having infant seats outboard since they are easy to click into the base that way. Right now our 3.5-year-old is in the back rear-facing, and we switch spots as needed based on our needs. Soon he'll go forward-facing and the current toddler will get his seat.
Good luck with your setup!! You just have to find what works for you. :)
My just turned 6 year old is in a Britax 5 point car seat in middle of back seat. My 3 year old and 6 month old are in Britax car seats (baby seat for baby) in center row with middle seat removed to allow 6 yr old to climb into back. We can still fit a couple of other kids in on either side of 6 year old if they are old enough to ride without car seats or we can still fit small booster seats back there. I would love to have the new Odyssey...you can fit all 3 car seats in the center seat and still have back for hauling stuff!
What we did was remove one of the 2nd row captain seats. Then the two big kids (who were 4 and 2.5 when baby was born) in the 3rd row and the baby in the remaining 2nd row captain seat. This way, I could climb right in and have easy access to all 3 kids - very helpful during cold and rainy weather. Plus, we can use the extra floor space for groceries or the dog :)
