3 Across Car Seat Help

Hi C.! Not to correct you, but the law in IL is 4yrs old AND 40 lbs. in a booster. I agree with whoever said to put your 6 y/o in the third row - that's what we did and our daughter loves it. If you can't fit three in one row, eek, you may need to consider a larger vehicle or minivan. We had a Dodge Durango and are pregnant with our third due this August (daughter is 6, son will be 3 in a week) - we ended up getting a Toyota Sequoia. It may not be ideal but it's about our children's safety so that made swallowing the price tag a little easier. Good luck!

Only thing I can say is measure the row & the seats you are keeping and then try to find another seat that fits in want space you have left. We have 5 kids in seats... 7 mo old in a carrier car seat, 22 mo old in a 5-point harness and 3 in boosters 5 yrs, 7 yrs & 8 yrs. Make sure you follow your states laws... our laws in Ohio is rear facing till 1 or 20#, 5 point harness seat till 4 or 40# and booster till 8 or 80# & 4ft 9 in. My daughter is 8, but she is only about 70# - so she is still not able to be out of the booster. Also, I did call out local hospital just before I had the baby... booster seats are not made for the middle lap belt only - they are made for the shoulder belt & actually if you are using only a lap belt it is safer not to have a booster, but it is agaist the law not to use the booster.

We have one booster in the middle row & the youngest in the rear facing sear, the we have the boys in the 3rd row... booster on each side w/ the harness seat in the middle because it is only a lap belt. But we have a 7 seater mini van... also I though air bags were a no no for kids - are the side air bags different from the front air bags?

Good luck figuring it out, but honestly I think your 3rd row is a waist if you can't even put your kids in it - I know not to buy an Explorer when we get a new can.

You may want to check out car-seat.org. There's lots of good information on their forums about three across arrangements or you can find a CPST close to you who could help you.

In Oklahoma kids that are 6 can be in a regular seat. We got rid of them when they turned 6. But we did put them in a booster around 3 years old. If they couldn't handle the freedom we put them back in a 5 point harness for a while.

I truthfully would put the older child in the back full time. They don't like siting in the middle and it is uncomfortable for them. There is no real reason they can't be by themselves in the back.

Baby behind the passenger so I could reach them at all times, pre-schooler behind me.

Why not put your older one in the 3rd row? My 4yr old loves riding on the 3rd row seat. i have two children but will be trying for number 3 soon

The newer Radians (no longer sunshinekids brand it's Diono or something like that). Go from infant to booster and I can put 3 across in our Honda civic. I'm not really sure how one would work with your other seats, but the base of the seat is the smallest I'm aware of and they sit lower which allows for some engineered squeezing to happen :). Good luck hope you find something that works love my Radians.

We kept all ours in 5-point harness carseats when we had 3 across (the kids were 2, 4, and 6)...it was always hard to buckle the seatbelt when they were squished up against another seat...regardless of how narrow the carseats were. Is there a particular reason you'd rather not put any of them in the 3rd row?

I don't know about the Explorer. We have two kids and a Toyota Corolla. We also carpool to my daughter's preschool with another child. My son is rear facing in the Britax Roundabout (a bit smaller than the Marathon) and the girls are in Graco boosters with backs. But we used to fit two convertible car seats, forward-facing (Britax Roundabout and either Britax Marathon, Cosco Scenera, or a Graco) and a Graco infant car seat. I think the base from the infant car seat is wider than the convertible car seats. It is challenging to buckle everyone in, but you can fit everyone. I would go for something smaller than the Marathon for your next seat. I'm not sure if this is helpful, but best of luck!

We have 3 across right now - the youngest is still in an infant seat. Our 3 year old is in a Sunshine Radian and our 5 year old is in a Graco Nautalis (it's a 3-in-1 seat - turns from car seat into high back booster into regular booster) - they are all pretty comfy.