I have a 6 year old and she sits on the outside. I have never even entertained the idea of putting her in the middle. We have a second child on the way so then both outers will be used and the middle not an option. My opinion is that that is being too paranoid. Also when they are really young it is a pain to reach all the way in to buckle and unbuckle etc. . My overprotective inlaws put theirs in the middle for awhile but only because they watch their child in the mirror. Now that will cause an accident. Oh well, each to their own but you gotta sever the cord sometime.

 

Do you guys find it hard to click the seat belt in when using a booster seat? It seems that the space where the seat would go and the part that the belt clicks into is not wide enough to fit the booster.

 

I've got a large seat in the middle of my '07x. It's a britax marathon. The top of the seat sits as high as the headrests so it reduces rear visibility a bit. I have it strapped in with the seatbelt. There are no latch anchors for the middle. If you use the latch anchors intended for the outside seat for a middle installation, your installation will be too wide and therefor unsafe. The seat anchored with the belt is in very tight, it doesn't move much at all. None at all front/back or up down, and certainly less than the 1" people try to keep to laterally.

The one issue because of the size of the seat, the hump, and the low roofline is that it's difficult to get my 18 month old into the seat without bumping her head on the ceiling. I may swap out with my wive's car for a car seat with a smaller base to make life easier. I'll do that before I move her to one side or the other. I'll keep her in the middle as long as possible (ie; second kid). It's just safer. Every time I think about the side, I think about which side is more likely to get hit and I decide to keep her in the middle.

 

thank you 95se, that's good info!!

 

Luckily, I'm past the car-seat period with my kids, but there was a time that I had 3 in car seats at once. I was able to put 3 seats across the back of the 5-series BMW I was driving then. I had lots of scuffing on the leather where the bottom of the car seats rubbed on the bolsters though. It was worst in the raised middle of the rear bench.

 

yeah I agree that it's probably not good at all for the leather. But you can buy the little rubber-like "mats" that you put down over your seat under the carseat to protect it. I think that would be the ideal thing to do, rather then get your leather all scuffed up.

 

By the way, I just found this article. Might be worth reading for those of you with kids.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0627173902.htm

 

That link doesn't work for me. Just get the top frame, then some orhpaned html with no article.

 

weird, works just fine for me. Try to reload it. If not, google "kids in middle backseat" and it's the first one.

 

You're right about the google search, it was right there at the top, but I get the same messed up frame when I click there too. Must be my browser settings somehow.

 

maybe so, weird. Try closing and reopening your browser? I'm using firefox and it works with no problems

 

So can anyone else provide any input?? Thanks!!

 

It is far more important that you use a carseat that you can attach securly to the vehicle. LATCH is nice, but in my opinion, it was created to provide an easier attachment method, not a safer one. I have two Britax carseats: a Marathon with LATCH and and older Roundabout without LATCH. I find I get a more secure attachment by using the seatbelts over the LATCH system. With either method I will always use the top tether when available as that gives another anchor point should the LATCH or seatbelt fail.

The center location is the safest, but not the most convenient. If you only have one kid, put them in the center using the seatbelts and top tether. Another tip that I am sure you know; when installing the carseat, climb right up into it with your knees to tension the carseat into the vehicle. This will leave indents in your leather, but the carseat will be so secure that it will not move at all. As suggested above, get a rubber seat protector to mitigate any scuffing to the leather, but face it, you have kids now, things are going to be messy.

 

Well I went and tried my six year old and her booster in the middle just to see. It isn't very stable. You could build up the sides to level it , but then are you really any safer than on the side attached properly and stable. I think we are getting to carried away with stats and tests. Pretty soon we won't go outside because there is 95% more chance of getting hurt than if we stayed home. Drive safe and keep your eyes on the road the rest is just luck.

 

thanks for the input guys! Especially for going out and testing the seat in the car for me. That's a good idea to attach the top tether too. Don't they make baby seats now that have an arched bottom just for instances such as this hump in the middle?? Maybe it might be worth it to buy a new carseat if they do make such a thing. caveman666, the outboard seats are easier to put a kid in, yes, but what would happen if you were to get T-boned and the curtain airbag which is like 4 inches above the kid's head deploys right on top of them? I don't imagine that that would be very good for the kid! (although if it were BAD, then they would probably have warnings all about such an instance). Paranoid, maybe...just want the kid to be as safe as possible, that's all.

Thanks again for your help!

Any more input is greatly appreciated!!!