if you have 3 kids in car seats and a 7 seater please tell me your seat configuration!

[lighteningmcmama]

dc3 due next month, and we've just got a 7 seater.

ds1 4yo is in a high back booster
dd1 2yo is in a Group 1 car seat with isofix
dc3 will obviously be in a Group 0 car seat

i wanted them all in the back (middle row) with ds1 in the high back booster in the middle. he can do his own car seat belt himself.

but ds1 wants to have his own window!

dh thinks ds1 could go in front seat with airbag obviously off.

i'm warming to dh's idea now as i think each child next to a window will mean its easier to get to them if they need anything. also means if we stop off for an emergency breastfeed i could sit in the middle. ds will need to be told no kicking the dashboard or he goes in the middle. (we have scuff protectors for the backs of the front seats).

i don't know what is best and i wanted to hear from your experiences.

thanks!

Ours go on rotation. With new baby I went in middle and other 2 swapped from middle and front. With a 7 seater we often found the bigger 2 were desperate to sit in "the boot" not sure if that's possible depending on the type of car you have.
Now with all 7 of our seats filled we still have rotation as they all want to sit in the same seat which varies each flipping journey

When I had DD1 (4) in a high backed booster, DN (15 months) in a group 1 and DD2 in a group 0 seat I put DD1 in the very rear, accessed via the door and the two little ones in the left and right seats of the middle row. Occasionally I'd put the newborn in the middle of the middle row if I knew I wanted DD1 to be able to climb in through the door and not the hatchback.

I didn't let any of the children travel in the front seat of the car until they were tall enough not to need any sort of carseat.

That's interesting, did you have buggy as well and if so where did you put that?I have a single stroller that needs to go in the car too.

I did have a buggy - not a particularly big one (for DN, DD2 was still in sling as very little) . Our rear seat is a split bench so I put the other half down and it created enough boot space for the buggy (which was strapped down so it couldn't fly around)

I didn't have DN on every trip of course, so maybe I would have done things differently if I did (I had her a couple of times a week)

We have a 7 seater and occasionally when carrying others DS age 4 will sit in the front on a booster. He loves it, but in wouldn't do it regularly if there was another option. In your situation I'd put him in the front. I'm not convinced the back is any safer in a 7-seater, they're just so close to the impact zone.

You should only deactivate the airbags for a rear facing seat though, <a class="break-all" href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121015000000/www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Yourchildshealthandsafety/Roadandtravelsafety/DG_10037077" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">see here for official stuff, and just put the front chair as far from the airbag as possible.

I wouldn't be happy driving with a child that young in the front I am afraid and it is an offence to deactivate the air bag so that i would definitely not do!

what sort of car do you have? could one child not got in the rear most seats?

Eldest used to go next to window when youngest was in one of those carry car seats. (His seat used to just sit on top of the car seat and was only held in place by the closed seat belt. Later he went in the middle (when dd went into the next stage which needed strapping in properly). Now she's on a hbb he could go wherever but has stuck with the middle. For him, though, we found it helps with car sickness on a long journey to have that view out the front windscreen. When only one adult is in the car he sits up front.

Hardly ever use last row of seats as they're too far away.

I move ours around!

So we've had 5yo, 2yo, baby in the middle row or 2yo,5yo, baby (preferred, easy to get to everyone, boot space no kids in front)

If we're having trouble with the kids winding each other up we'll switch to either 5yo in front baby and 2yo by middle windows (w 1 adult driving). Or baby by middle window, 5yo next to them and 2yo in back (2 adults in car)

It's not illegal to turn off the airbag in the UK

I have DD1 in the middle, DD2 on one side and DS on the other (passenger side).

Would you/your DH really be happy travelling in the back when you were all in the car?

I preferred having oldest in the front when ds2 was new because otherwise the children do stuff to the baby. For example dd decided the best way of stopping him from crying was top shove the strawberry she was eating into his mouth. and ds1 tried to suffocate him "mummy I put my hand over his mouth and he stopped crying and went to sleep"ate not words you want to hear while driving. nope I kept them separate for a while after that . Now they are 7, 5 and 2 they all go in the back with eldest in the middle.

I think it depends on the car itself and whether the seats are 'real' seats or pull-up seats. We have just invested in a seven seater and the two eldest sit in the back (ours have a 3 seat back bench and two seats in the middle) because they are less likely to require attention. The middle seats are for our youngest and our new addition when he arrives in December. This arrangement was based purely on which ones may require attention during a long journey and would therefore be reachable from the passenger seat.

Thanks for all your ideas, it's great to hear the different ways that work for everyone as I had never really thought of any other way than all 3 in the middle row

We have a Citroen c4 grand Picasso. 3 real seats in middle and back row is fold down.

I will look up the guidelines on airbag for dc1 in front given that he's front facing, I'm wondering if the rule to switch off is for rear facing seats

Thanks all

Normal advice for child above group 0 travelling in the front is to leave the airbag on, but move the car seat back as far as you can.

I'm sure it isn't illegal to turn the airbag off, though.

We're got an Alhambra so 5 isofix seats in the back so have just done this jiggling about. Everyone's in the middle row at the moment.

We've got the 1 year in a an ERF seat on the driver side, the 4 year old in the middle in a BeSafe iZi Up (Forward facing), the (as yet unborn - I'm 38/40) baby is at the passenger side. We'll find out in a few weeks if that works!

The advice from ROSPA is that you can use a FF car seat in the passenger side but shouldn't if you can avoid it.

www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing-using/airbags-and-child-seats/

"Do not put a forward-facing child seat in the front, unless there is no other choice. If you must do so, make sure the car seat is as far back as possible, the child seat is securely fitted and the child is securely held by the seat belt or child seat harness, keeping the child as far as possible from the dashboard. Ask the vehicle manufacturer how far the airbag comes out as it deploys and whether it is safe to use a child seat."

I sit all three in the middle row, it is a Volvo XC90 so the middle seat has a built in booster. I put the 7yo in that (no choice as the others are too small) and the twins go in the seats by the doors. The 7 yo has a good view out through the front. I feel more secure with them all in the centre of the car, they are easier to get to and in and out of the car. We still have the large boot space. I'd be wary of swapping them around a lot, my twins argued so much about which of the two car seats they were going in never mind about front or back. For a period it was a real pain getting them into the car.

Thanks everyone. We experimented with ds in the middle seat middle row because he asked to go there when we had FIL with us so it was his suggestion! He really liked it, loved seeing out the front, so hopefully (hopefully!) We've found a set up. I can foresee lots of arguments here too if we switch about too much, so I definitely want a set up where each dc had their main seat

That is great! We once did a trip where, for various reasons, we had the baby in the middle. It is a pain reaching around the other car seats to do straps. Definitely best having someone in the middle who can do their own.