2 car seats installation

[teewells]

I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old. Where is the best place in the back seat for each carseat? Should the 2 year old be in the middle back or off to one side and the infant in the middle?

[Pixels]

Welcome to c-s.o!

The first thing to consider is where you can get an acceptable install of both seats. It's not unusual for there not to be enough room to install two seats with one in the middle and one on the side. An acceptable install moves less than one inch in any direction at the belt path. When you have two seats side by side, it's okay for them to touch or even press on each other, as long as they are independently tight. To check that they are independent, install one seat, and get it tight enough (less than one inch of movement at the belt path). Install the other seat as tightly as you can. Take out the first seat, and check the second seat for movement. If it's tight enough, then you need to get the first seat back in, at least as tightly as it was before. If you can't get an acceptable install with one seat in the middle, then the best thing is to get an acceptable install with both seats on the sides.

Is your 2yo forward facing (FFing) or rear facing (RFing)? If both children are RFing, they are both very safe, and you can arrange them however is most convenient for you. If your 2yo is FFing but will still fit RFing (under 35 pounds for many seats), I encourage you to strongly consider turning her RFing. RFing is 300% safer than FFing at that age. Having the carseat in the middle seat instead of the side seat is around 35% safer, IIRC.

If your 2yo will be FFing, and the carseats fit this way, then it would be preferable to put the 2yo in the middle. The least protected child goes in the most protected position. Your infant is already very safe just by being RFing, so give the safer seating position to the toddler.

I know this was a lot of information, and carseats can be overwhelming. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. :)

[teewells]

That was very helpful. Thank you very much.