Where to Place Kids in the Car

A rear-facing infant (and the latest recommendations are for them to remain rear-facing till at least age 2) is safest in the middle. Foreword-facing kiddos are safest behind a seat as it offers a level of protection in the event of an accident. Think about it-foreward-facing kiddie in the middle something comes thru the windshield where is it going?

I would put the preschooler behind the passenger seat so you can hand her anything she might need. She will be able to help out with the paci situation as well!

The safest place is in the middle of the back seat so that is where your baby should be (rear-facing of course). The next safest is behind the driver's seat. My daughter is 3.5 now and before she was born a traffic safety specialist spoke at the hospital and said the behind the driver was safer than behind the passenger. Also, when in a car that has the third row...avoid the very back seat if at all possible. Unless your car is small, there should be room for them to be beside each other...ever car is different.

Here in DE if you go to the Dept of Motor Vehicles, they had a car seat checking station. They will help you put your car seats in properly, advise you on legal and safety standards.

Baby behind you so your voice is closer to his ear if you need to soothe him while driving and toddler behind the passenger seat so you can hand her things if she needs them. You can also train her to give the baby the pacifier if she can reach across the intervening seat.

Also, this way the baby is right behind you so all you have to do to get baby out is open the door right behind you. You don't have to traipse around the car to get to baby. By 3 1/2 my older son was able to unbuckle himself when I asked him to and cross the car to the driver door to get out if need be.

i go with youngest behind me, oldest in the middle

Baby in the center or behind the passenger. People who don't have kids have no idea that moms have to occasionally drive while leaning and holding a bottle in a very unhappy baby's mouth or while patting a tummy to show the baby Mommy is still there. The little girl is old enough to help out in a crunch so I'd put her right next to the baby.

I had baby behind the driver side and my older child behind the passenger side. I am due with baby # 3 in a few weeks and baby will go in the middle between my other two.

Good luck and Congratulations

I put the baby behind me, and my toddler (he was not yet 2) on the passenger side so I could hand him things if I needed too.

I agree with putting older daughter behind passenger seat so you can hand her things, I feel like I'm constantly handing something back to mine. In our car, the baby is behind the passengers however only because the seat has to be all the way forward and my husband can't drive like that.

We have an suv & put the baby behind the passenger seat & my 3 year old behind the driver. Reason is I could see her face easier in the mirror if she was behind the passenger seat, I could hand her things easier, or console her by rubbing her head if she was crying in the car.

Oh, I just read the most recent response & can't believe I didn't know behind the driver is the 2nd safest. I know middle is 1st. I would do the safest.

Little one behind the driver seat for sure. We tried it the other way and you do a lot of extra back and forth to get them in and out. We switched and put our little one behind the driver seat pretty quickly.

As for them next to each other so the little one is in the middle isn't always a good idea. Our son loved giving his little sister things and who knows what she would have ended up with if they were right next to each other without the gap. =)