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Old 10-30-2007, 08:30 PM
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Papooses Papooses is offline
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Kids should not ride in the front until 13 years old -- unless it is absolutely impossible to safely fit in the back.... It is very possible to fit 3 seats in the back of your vehicle

I would choose 2 Sunshine Kids Radian65s for older kiddos to use outboard with a Graco SafeSeat Step1 or another Radian RF in the center: these are the narrowest convertibles & also keep kids harnessed longer than most convertibles & fits newborns well. Average kids fit the Radian till about 6 years old. SafeSeat Step1 fits most toddlers through 12 months & some until almost 2 years old. By then your oldest should be mature enough for a booster & you could hand down the Radian.

I have also fit other seats in a Camry with 3 across configuration. Example: Chicco Keyfit behind driver, Graco Ultra/Platinum CarGo center, Cosco Scenera passenger side. However, these seats don't fit kids as long as the others above so you'd be in the market for more seats soon enough again anyway. Although 2 Radians + SafeSeat1 might cost more immediately, you would likely save $ long term.

It's actually more difficult usually to buckle boosters in tight squeezes since you have to dig down between carseats to get to the buckle verses merely buckling in front Plus, 4 year olds are rarely mature enough to use a booster correctly for the entire length of every ride (they're just not as compliant as crash test dummies ) so the driver is generally less distracted when kiddo is in a harness because kiddo can't so easily move out of safe positioning.

If you do choose a booster, I suggest the Britax Parkway because it lacks armrests to make buckling easier. Also, the boostered child would be the least protected child. The least protected child should sit in the center when able to do so. Meaning, since your vehicle has center shoulder belt then that's where the boostered child should sit. Because boostered kids experience more forward movement than harnessed kids (assuming correct use for all seats).

The most important thing is that the harness carseats move less than 1" at the belt path as per both carseat + vehicle manuals.
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