Compact Car for 3 baby seats in rear?

On May 18, 2:16 pm, Larry Mcmahan wrote:
Just a response to the other responders. Alarm bells go off when I
read the suggestions of putting a kid in the front seat. Just don't
do it! There is no guarantee the airbag will turn off, rear facing
seats are specifically discouraged by safety experts, and off hand I
could think a a hundred other reasons. No, no, no.

That said, I liked the response of buying an older minivan. Even if
you have to go back from your target of 2002-2004 to something older.
You will also need to figure out what you are going to do when the
baby is two and you are carrying a 2, 4, and 6 year old.

Good luck,
Larry

You also need to check your state laws. As of June 1st, here in
Washington State, no one under the age of 13 may ride in the front
seat of a vehicle. Kids are also required to remain in a booster seat
until age 8 unless they have reached the height of 4'9" before then.

Personally, I'd go with a minivan.

Sharalyn
mom to Alexander James

"Larry Mcmahan" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
says...
I am looking to buy another vehicle for our family - and we can only
afford a used one - probably 2002 - 2004. The car needs to fit a baby
seat and two full-back booster seats in the rear. My current compact
SUV doesn't quite do the job (my DD's Britax takes up half the back
seat!).

I'll be transporting my nephew to school starting in the fall (along
with my 4 year old and 2 year old), so I need something that can fit
all three of the kids in back. I need something small to moderate-
sized so it can fit into my garage. Minivans are sooooo long - and
quite frankly too much car for what I need. I'd like to find a
compact sedan that is affordable, reliable and safe. I like the new
Mazda5 (car-like minivan....or is it minivan-like car?), but I cannot
afford a brand new car.

Any recommendations on a compact, multi-toddler transporter?

Thanks!
Paula


Just a response to the other responders. Alarm bells go off when I
read the suggestions of putting a kid in the front seat. Just don't
do it! There is no guarantee the airbag will turn off, rear facing
seats are specifically discouraged by safety experts, and off hand I
could think a a hundred other reasons. No, no, no.

In my Jetta, DS would sit in the front seat on occasion. It was a rare
occasion, and there were a few times when it was necessary. I also had a
friend's then 8 year old daughter in the front seat of my Jetta. Neither my
son or friend's daughter would have been there if I had air bags. The car
had no airbags - passenger or driver. I have also had to put DS in the
front seat of the truck and had to turn the passenger airbags off. There is
a key (the ignition key) that goes into a special airbag disengage lock
thing.
Sometimes it is necessary to put a child in the front seat of a vehicle, or
if you have a truck that isn't an extended/club/super cab and only has a
front seat. Where else would you put a child in a truck? In the box? I
would never put a child in the front seat with airbags. It would have to be
some sort of dire, major emergency for me to even consider it (and by some
major emergency, that would mean something extreme and fairly unlikely, like
I don't know... Maybe the parent(s) were in an accident or something and I
was babysitting their child and we had to go NOW or there's an emergency of
some sort that it's just faster to go in the car than wait for an ambulance
or something - again, such an extreme case that I really can't think of a
good example)

That said, I liked the response of buying an older minivan. Even if
you have to go back from your target of 2002-2004 to something older.
You will also need to figure out what you are going to do when the
baby is two and you are carrying a 2, 4, and 6 year old.

Well, I did buy an older mini van. It's a 95 and it can seat 7 with plenty
of room. It's also not really any harder on gas than our station wagon was,
but the fact that it suits our needs in the best possible way is what makes
it work and be alright that the gas is just a bit more, but not really by
much.

Good luck,
Larry

"Nikki" wrote in message
...

"Pokee" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am looking to buy another vehicle for our family - and we can only
afford a used one - probably 2002 - 2004. The car needs to fit a baby
seat and two full-back booster seats in the rear. My current compact
SUV doesn't quite do the job (my DD's Britax takes up half the back
seat!).

I'll be transporting my nephew to school starting in the fall (along
with my 4 year old and 2 year old), so I need something that can fit
all three of the kids in back. I need something small to moderate-
sized so it can fit into my garage. Minivans are sooooo long - and
quite frankly too much car for what I need. I'd like to find a
compact sedan that is affordable, reliable and safe. I like the new
Mazda5 (car-like minivan....or is it minivan-like car?), but I cannot
afford a brand new car.

Any recommendations on a compact, multi-toddler transporter?

I have three car seats in the back of my car. It is a Mercury Sable.
Utterly miserable and the only criteria I can look at when buying seats is
their width. It is an extremely tight fit. It is very hard to get the
child in the booster (no back) buckled up. I have two convertible seats
and a booster. The child in the middle has a heck of a time crawling over
the two convertible seats and usually crawls in through the front door.
In the winter he sits by the door because it is to tight a fit in the
middle with his coat, and I don't want snow all over my seat. Then I have
to heave a 25lb kid into the middle seat and half climb in the car over
another seat to buckle him in. MISERY - I vote a minivan

Here, by law, a booster seat MUST be used in a seat with a shoulder strap.
That's a high back OR no back booster seat.
In our last car, DS would get in on his side and he'd be the only one who
had the easiest time (although still a challenge) getting his own seatbelt
on. He had the smallest hands and had the best shot of squeezing those
little hands between his sister's seat haha
He'd get in on one side. I'd go to the other side, put DD2's infant seat
down on the ground between me and the car, toss DD1 into her seat in the
middle, buckle her straps up then toss DD2's infant seat into the base. I
always had to watch to make sure DD1's little fingers weren't in the way
between DD2's car seat base and car seat, or we'd have a major issue of
crunched and pinched fingers It was such a PITA.
Now, with the mini van, DS jumps in and goes to the very back where his
booster seat is, and he does himself up. I loft DD2 up into the van and she
often helps herself to the seat beside DS, and I hop in with DD2 and snap
her seat into the base. I then grab DD1 and put her in her seat and buckle
her up. Often, I don't even bother getting out of the van to go to my
door - I'll just slide the side door shut and jump into the driver's seat
through the aisle lol Sooo much easier for me, now, to go out with all the
kids hahaha

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

You also need to check your state laws. As of June 1st, here in
Washington State, no one under the age of 13 may ride in the front
seat of a vehicle. Kids are also required to remain in a booster seat
until age 8 unless they have reached the height of 4'9" before then.

they haven't advertised that well, I knew the height had been changed, but
had not seen/heard the age change/introduction for the front seat. I know
rear facing baby seats in the front are not great, but we live in the real
world, I reckon a lot of the time, having baby in the front is going to make
you drive safer and be less distracted, it might be worse in an accident,
but you're probably less likely to get in an accident! It's a bit like
petrol consumption, which is measured on how you are supposed to drive, car
seat laws assume everyone behaves exactly like a crash test dummy and the
driver is not distractable by any of the people sitting in them. Imagine a
12 and a 10 yr old, fighting in the back, both are capable of undoing their
own seat belts and the other childs, wouldn't it be better to have the 12yr
old in the front?

Anne

Here, by law, a booster seat MUST be used in a seat with a shoulder strap.
That's a high back OR no back booster seat.

a lot of newer cars have a shoulder strap in the middle seat

you know a lot of these laws make me really uncomfortable, they can make
life very difficult at times, it's particularly difficult if you have a
child at the extreme end of the range, a big child that still has to be in a
certain type of seat by age, or a small child who's still stuck in a 5 point
harness at age 6, it strikes me as very nanny stateish, I mean we don't pass
a law saying pregnant women cannot be sold alcohol, or drink it, here, at
least there are just a lot of warning notices. Smoking must kill an awful
lot more people than children in less than perfect car seats, that's still
around.

I know that in Europe, I could buy a high backed booster suitable for a
child from 30lb that had been crash tested and met European safety
standards, I also know that my child that turned 3lb last week is tall
enough for the belt positioner to be in the correct place, so I would over
the next few months switch him over and would feel that whilst it might not
be the absolute safest option, it's a reasonable compromise, along the lines
of not keeping him rear facing past 20lb - when there are people that
advocate rear facing beyond that. Now I have the struggle of a child who
next week will be old enough by this states law to have booster, big enough
by manufacturers guidelines, but not by this state law, so far he's only
asked a few times, and we've been quite clear that he wasn't big enough and
needed to be a lot bigger, as big as x etc. but even though we've tried to
help him understand it's a size thing, he has minimal awareness of size and
equates bigger with age, so doesn't really get it. I'm not raising the
issue, but I'd put money on it becoming an increasing issue over the next
few years and it will be a few years, it took him 2.5yrs to put on the last
10pounds, weight gain doesn't usually get faster between 4 and 7, so we're
looking at a long time before he get's a booster, we may even end up having
to keep his sister in a regular car seat, as at current rate, she's liable
to reach 40lb before he does!

Anne

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. ..
You also need to check your state laws. As of June 1st, here in
Washington State, no one under the age of 13 may ride in the front
seat of a vehicle. Kids are also required to remain in a booster seat
until age 8 unless they have reached the height of 4'9" before then.

they haven't advertised that well, I knew the height had been changed, but
had not seen/heard the age change/introduction for the front seat. I know
rear facing baby seats in the front are not great, but we live in the real
world, I reckon a lot of the time, having baby in the front is going to
make you drive safer and be less distracted, it might be worse in an
accident, but you're probably less likely to get in an accident! It's a
bit like petrol consumption, which is measured on how you are supposed to
drive, car seat laws assume everyone behaves exactly like a crash test
dummy and the driver is not distractable by any of the people sitting in
them. Imagine a 12 and a 10 yr old, fighting in the back, both are capable
of undoing their own seat belts and the other childs, wouldn't it be
better to have the 12yr old in the front?

Anne


I just looked it up - it seems a little vague to me. I know a lot of parents
who are going to have a hard time with this one, half of the kids in DDs
preschool aren't in boosters at all - I still have my 10 year old in one!

Washington's Child Restraint Law (show me) will change on June 1, 2007 to
requi


a.. Children under 13 years old be transported in the back seat where it
is practical to do so.
b.. Children up to their 8th birthday, unless they are 4'9" tall (57
inches), be transported in an appropriate child restraint system. (For
example a child car seat, booster seat, vest, or other restraint that is
federally approved for use in the car.)
c.. The restraint system must be used correctly according to the car seat
AND vehicle manufacturer's instructions.
d.. Vehicles equipped with lap-only seat belts are exempt from the
requirement to use a booster seat.
e.. Children 8-years of age or at least 4'9" who wear a seat belt MUST use
it correctly (never under the arm or behind the back) or continue to use a
booster.
Jessica

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
. ..

Here, by law, a booster seat MUST be used in a seat with a shoulder
strap.
That's a high back OR no back booster seat.

a lot of newer cars have a shoulder strap in the middle seat

Yes, they sure do, or even the belts that have the possibility of being just
a lap or a lap and shoulder belt. This wasn't an option for me, although it
might have possibly been a bit easier on me if I had DS scale into the
middle (would be easier to do up belts for the younger ones that cannot do
their own belts up

you know a lot of these laws make me really uncomfortable, they can make
life very difficult at times, it's particularly difficult if you have a
child at the extreme end of the range, a big child that still has to be in
a certain type of seat by age, or a small child who's still stuck in a 5
point harness at age 6, it strikes me as very nanny stateish, I mean we
don't pass a law saying pregnant women cannot be sold alcohol, or drink
it, here, at least there are just a lot of warning notices. Smoking must
kill an awful lot more people than children in less than perfect car
seats, that's still around.

I know that, for the most part, seats go by a lot of different things. A
lot say they have to be used until either this age OR this weight OR this
height. I remember very clearly that DS grew out of his 20-40lb seat with a
5-pt harness by the time he was about 3. The seat said up to 40lbs to be
used with the harness, yet he's now 6 and only weighs just over 40lbs. He
was way too long to fit in that seat when he was about 3. He looked so sad
and pathetic when I'd try and force him to fit into the 20-40lb seat that I
couldn't do it anymore and he just fit into a booster seat a lot better and
easier.
There was, actually, a long while back, a big issue about a pregnant lady at
a bar. The bar refused to sell her booze because she was very clearly
pregnant. I, personally, am a bit tied on that one. Part of me says do NOT
tell me what I can and cannot do, the other part says thankfully someone had
the brains to let her know that drinking while pregnant isn't exactly the
smartest thing to be doing. Anyways, that's not the point here lol
As far as statistics go, I wouldn't have a clue!!

I know that in Europe, I could buy a high backed booster suitable for a
child from 30lb that had been crash tested and met European safety
standards, I also know that my child that turned 3lb last week is tall
enough for the belt positioner to be in the correct place, so I would over
the next few months switch him over and would feel that whilst it might
not be the absolute safest option, it's a reasonable compromise, along the
lines of not keeping him rear facing past 20lb - when there are people
that advocate rear facing beyond that. Now I have the struggle of a child
who next week will be old enough by this states law to have booster, big
enough by manufacturers guidelines, but not by this state law, so far he's
only asked a few times, and we've been quite clear that he wasn't big
enough and needed to be a lot bigger, as big as x etc. but even though
we've tried to help him understand it's a size thing, he has minimal
awareness of size and equates bigger with age, so doesn't really get it.
I'm not raising the issue, but I'd put money on it becoming an increasing
issue over the next few years and it will be a few years, it took him
2.5yrs to put on the last 10pounds, weight gain doesn't usually get faster
between 4 and 7, so we're looking at a long time before he get's a
booster, we may even end up having to keep his sister in a regular car
seat, as at current rate, she's liable to reach 40lb before he does!

Anne

I know that, for the most part, seats go by a lot of different things. A
lot say they have to be used until either this age OR this weight OR this
height. I remember very clearly that DS grew out of his 20-40lb seat with
a 5-pt harness by the time he was about 3. The seat said up to 40lbs to
be used with the harness, yet he's now 6 and only weighs just over 40lbs.
He was way too long to fit in that seat when he was about 3. He looked so
sad and pathetic when I'd try and force him to fit into the 20-40lb seat
that I couldn't do it anymore and he just fit into a booster seat a lot
better and easier.

In WA and some other US states it's very tightly prescribed what kind of
seat you must yous, which means we don't have the option of deciding a
booster is more appropriate due to height, we've got to buy a more expensive
seat that allows a greater height and still a 5 point harness! So it's
certainly possible to get seats for a child and meet all requirements of the
manufacturer and the car, yet still not be within state law!

Anne