Position of Car Seat - is the pain necessary?

[BigweeBigwee]

When Kidsafe fitted my son's capsule, they said it had to be put into the middle seat because we have side air bags.

Well what happens when you have 2 kids!

I'm about to return the capsule and have them fit the normal baby seat and I really don't want it in the middle as it's so hard to get him out - I nearly break my back (and his skull!) climbing into a 4wd to get him out. I thought it was going to be one of the advantages of having a 4wd!!

I've been told if the side airbags are curtain airbags then it shouldn't make much difference for baby because they just inflate flat along the window. Is this true? I will need to check my car's features.

Does anyone know anything about this issue and can give me some peace of mind if I put the new car seat on the side? Which side is preferable?

And yes, of course I will climb in and break my back every time if it means my baby will be the safest he can possibly be!

[Missus S]

I'd check to see what the manual to your car recommends.

Mine did recommend to install a baby seat in the middle if possible. I think not only to avoid the airbags...........but also it's the safest spot for your baby if your vehicle is involved in a side collision.

[the_queen]

What happens when you have 2 kids?
Sadly, you have to make a decision about which one needs more protecting in case of a side impact collision. I decided that the baby capsule is better protection than the little booster seat DD has. So DD was in the middle and the baby was on the outside. And that's how it still is, now he's in a front-facing seat.

[mim1]

I'd also heard that the middle was the safest place for the carseat and that seemed ridiculous to manage. So, when I got my car seat installed by a car seat installer I asked and he said that it's ok in whichever seat works best for me and usually that's the left hand side (so you get the baby out on the side of the road, rather than on the traffic side). I don't have side airbags, so maybe it makes a difference, but surely the designers of cars with side airbags don't want them to be limited to only carrying one car seat!!

Have you thought about getting someone else to install your car seat? Maybe kidsafe are just being too paranoid? There is no point in having a bad back and being at risk of dropping the baby each time you put them in and out of the car seat ... just cause it might make a 1% difference in the case of an accident.

[Lirael]

middle is safest. saying that, my two are on either side now they are older, as no way could I fit them next to each other.

is your son going in rear facing still? if he is under 12 kilos(and you have a suitable restraint) he can stay rear facing to 12 kilos. also if he is not too tall. rear facing, no matter what spot in the car is safer

maybe go to your local ambulance or RACQ/ whatever your local place is. they should be able to tell you.

[little mermaid]

The middle is the safest, but i can totally understand why you want to move it as I have one of my seats in the middle and it is a royal pain in the beehind!!

But you can very easily get one (or both) of the air bags disabled no problem at all if you do need to move the seat to the side as I know with 4x4's it can really mess with your back putting them in and out of the middle.
Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

[jessgray]

we dont have air bags in the back ds2 is in the middle and ds1 is behind dp (driver side)

[Nanay]

We only have a small car (2 door Astra) and we found that if we put the car seat in the middle, DH would have a hard time changing gears in the car as he's about 6 feet tall. So for driver and passenger safety we put DS behind the passenger seat and I always sit behind the driver. The only problem is that I have to go out on the driver side with DS...if we are with DH he stands by the door and grabs DS from me, but if we're by ourselves I just basically open the door wide open, hoping they will see the open door and maybe stop or slow down.