3 Carseats in Toyota Corolla

[srere12]

Ok, so we are going to have our 3rd baby. We have a new 2007 Corolla and I do not want to trade it in. When the baby is born our children will be just turned 4 - he is a thin boy, average height, a 2 1/2 year old girl, average height / weight and a new born. I am not sure if it would be easier with two forward facing and an infant carrier or forward facing, infant carrier and booster. It seems like a booster would be thinner. I have squeezed in 3 carseats in the past when I have a friends child with me, but it doesn't seem to fit very well. We are on a very light buget, but I am willing to spend a little more if it will make it easier to fit. Do you think it is even possible. And if it isn't, is it ok to put the 4 year old in the front seat since the airbag turns off?

Thank You

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Infant Car Seats Infant-only rear-facing seats are for babies up to about 22 to 30 pounds, depending on the specific car seat. You will need a new seat when your child gets bigger. Infant-only seats have handles that allow you to move the seat from the car to the house or other locations. Some have a base that you can leave installed in the car, so you can just click the car seat into place each time you use it.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

[Papooses]

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.

	Britax - Click for more info Britax International has been producing reliable child safety products for over 30 years. Not only does Britax have decades of experience creating car seats and other children's safety equipment, Britax has a long standing reputation as an industry leader and innovator. Britax International is headquartered in the United Kingdom, but Britax car seats are designed and manufactured at facilities in Germany, Austria, and the United States. In the summer of 2002, Britax strengthened their commitment to creating the safest car seats with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art crash testing facility in North Carolina. Britax car seats have a reputation around the world for being some of the safest, most reliable, and best designed child safety seats ever made.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	Britax Parkway - Click for more info The new Parkway Booster from Britax builds on their company's reputation as the maker of some of the safest seats on the market today. It's one of the only boosters to offer True Side Impact Protection - the EPS foam-padded headrest and side "wings" aren't just great for naps, they're engineered to provide vital protection to your child in the event of a side-impact crash. (Side-impact crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 6-14, making this an issue of major importance for booster seats.)

	Chicco - Click for more info Chicco makes car seats that are tested for safety and comfort. Italian-made Chicco is sold the world over to discerning parents everywhere, mainly because they are thorough with their design but each children’s product they sell is simple to use and stylish. All of Chicco’s car seats have certain universal elements: they’re lightweight, they are easy to install or use, each have the extra perks like canopies or liquid levelers for added convenience. Take a look and you’ll find an up-and-coming competitor for some of the best car seats on the market.

	Chicco Key Fit - Click for more info The new and improved Chicco KeyFit infant car seat (dubbed the Chicco KeyFit 30 thanks to its enhanced-to-30 lbs harness) has the same great features of the original KeyFit, but with a higher harness weight capacity. It is recommended that a child stay in a rear facing car seat for at least the first year of his or her life, and this infant seat from Chicco assures that your child will.

	Graco - Click for more info Graco is one of the world's best known and most trusted juvenile products companies. They started the entire juvenile products industry with an invention called the Graco Swyngomatic. Since then they have invented products that have changed the way that parents travel with their children such as the travel system, which has made it so parents can lock an infant car seat into a stroller easily, without waking their sleeping baby. Their Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat is pretty much synonymous with the term “infant car seat” because of its safety and design features coupled with its affordability. Today Graco continues designing and developing top-quality products that inspire parents and keeps children safe. Check out the new Infant Safe Seat Step 1 and Toddler Safe Seat Step 2 for proof of Graco’s continued commitment to child safety.

	Graco Safe Seat Step 1 - Click for more info The Graco Safe Seat (Step 1)—if you couldn't gather from the name— is intended to be the first of a three-seat process. The Step 1 is for infants in a rear-facing position; the Step 2 is for bigger, older kids in the forward-position; the Step 3 is a belt-positioning booster seat without the safety harness of the previous two.

	Sunshine Kids - Click for more info Makers of a number of accessories geared towards making parents lives easier, Sunshine Kids has recently embarked in a new direction. In 2005 they unveiled their first car seat, the Radian. Their years of experience working in children's products focusued on child comfort and parent convenience shine through in this unique convertible car seat. The Radian is packed with safety features and is the first ever folding convertible car seat appealing to parents who car pool or travel often.

	Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65 - Click for more info If "the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 convertible car seat is (probably) the only car seat you will ever need," the "probably" part of this statement comes into play when you directly compare the Radian 80 with the Britax Regent. While the Radian 80 has a very high weight capacity, the seat width is only 10" vs. the Regent's 14" seat. The Britax Regent may be a bit wider, but it is very bulky, is only forward facing, and does not fold like the Radian 80. Because the Radian 80 is so narrow, you can potentially put three of them side by side in the back seat. Three Regents side by side? Impossible.

	Graco CarGo booster seat - Click for more info The Graco CarGo is a dependable and easy to use booster seat. When your child is on the lower end of the height/weight limits for the seat, the 5-point harness is used to keep them safely in place. It features a convenient one-pull snugging mechanism in the front of the seat - making it easy to tighten the straps down after your child has been buckled in. When your child is around 35-40" tall, the CarGo's harness can be removed, so that the seat can be used as a belt-positioning booster, using the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt. In this mode, the Graco CarGo will work for kids up to 54" or 100 lbs. Both the Platinum and the Ultra CarGo feature an Energy Absorbing Foam (EPS) liner, a removable, washable seat pad, and a cup holder. The Platinum CarGo is a softer and more comfortable seat than the Ultra CarGo (although still not as comfy as the well-padded Britax booster seats).