I may need to do a 3 across and...

kidnurse · Jun 17, 2010

a 4th. Very short term, if at all. I may go help a friend move in a couple of weeks, and she has 3 foster children in her home. Of course, I have DS 1 1/2. There may be a time when I need to transport all 4 in my Dodge Caliber. I know this is far from ideal but it would literally be a one time thing. I have 2 Radians (an 80SL + a XTSL), a TF (older) and a scenera. The kids are 3, 2 - 1 1/2 yr olds, and a 6 months. This is what I am thinking, 3 yr old in a FF Radian outboard passenger side, her foster 1 1/2 yr old FF front seat Scenera with the seat as far back as possible. DS RF Radian middle, and 6 m.o. RF behind me in the TF with the top peice removed. Any comments? Would this work? I have advanced airbags and am thinking that the lightest child I can get in the front is the best of a less than ideal situation. Also these kids are used to FF, except the 6 m.o. of course, so I am not going to worry about it too much for one ride. Anything better I am not thinking of?

Louisa · Jun 17, 2010

Personally i would put the three year old ff in the radian in the front, pulled all the way back and the rest RFing if possible.

Just a thought tho, I believe my foster agency has a policy against children being in the front seat ever.

jourdysmom · Jun 17, 2010

foster care here does not allow foster children to be in the care of anyone uncertified...only the foster parents and anyone specifically certified to their specific case can have, watch or transport the children...

just my :twocents:

Carrie_R · Jun 17, 2010

Definitely the three year old in the front. FF in the Radian is a good plan, since there's no tether and it'll have lower excursion numbers.

If the 18mo can RF in the Scenera (and I do believe it puzzles with the RN,) then I would RF him/her. Regardless if he/she normally FFs, this is your vehicle, so your rules. (I RF other peoples' kids all the time, I just say something to the effect of, "I'd prefer if ____ rode RFing in my car," or, "How much does _____ weigh? I need to make sure I have a car seat for him/her, kids ____'s age ride RF in my car." No one has ever given me a problem about it, even if they do think I'm a little crazy lol.

Do you think TF/RN/Scenera will fit across your vehicle width-wise? I would definitely give it a trial run. You might have to do FF RN (behind you,) RF RN, RF Scenera with the 18mo FF if you can't get the width of the other three seats. Then 3yo FF in the TF. I would try the other plan first, though.

KaysKidz · Jun 17, 2010

Laws for foster care vary by state....and country. I'm a foster parent in OK...and I can have anyone babysit (and transport) that is over 18. It only comes into play if they will be keeping the children over night or on a regular basis.

kidnurse · Jun 17, 2010

As long as it is less than a 24 hour period, I can take care of these children legally in the state they are in. The only reason I am not trying to RF all 3 in the back seat is that I don't believe they will all fit RF side by side like that. I could be wrong, but I will try it out. It would be my first choice, but the Dodge Caliber is a tiny car, not meant for kids really. When doing a 3 across, if I use seatbelts outboard, obviously as well as center, does the seat have to be exactly centered at the beltpath or can I try to secure the outboard seats a tad off center towards the doors, as long as there is less than 1 inch movement?

Judi · Jun 17, 2010

They don't need to be centered.

kidnurse · Jun 17, 2010

The other reason I am okay with leaving my friend's 1 1/2 year old FF is that I want to be able to pull the 3y.o. as far back from the airbag as possible.

Carrie_R · Jun 18, 2010

That's a valid point, and is probably worth the trade-off. I would see, though, depending on how far the passenger seat track goes, you may still have room for a RF Scenera back there. It goes up pretty upright, front-to-back.

I think you may actually have better luck puzzling the RN and Scenera both RF than you would have with the RN RF and the Scenera FF, but that's just my guess based on the shape of the seats. Again, I would do a dry run. Never good to try to hash out a 3-across in a pinch. (Been there, done that, not fun! LOL!)

agurlsride · Jun 18, 2010

I would try the 3yr old in the front with the TF since it is the widest seat, one 1 1/2 yr old ff'ing behind the passenger in the Scenera (try it rf'ing first of course), the 6 mo old rf'ing in a Radian behind the driver and the other 1 1/2yr old rf'ing in the middle with a more upright install. Maybe this would then give you room to move the passenger seat back as far as possible.

The Caliber has as much room in its back seat as a Civic Sedan and almost as much as the Ford Focus so maybe you can search the 3-across thread for ideas.

Pixels · Jun 18, 2010

Since the TF is wide, and also has impressively low head excursion numbers, I would put that FF in the front. The rest of the seats in the back, RF if possible. The oldest FF child goes up front, so that's the 3yo. If you have to have other kids FF to make the seats puzzle, you do what you need to do, but the younger kids go in the back seat.

I may need to do a 3 across and...

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