10 year old in rear most seat of '98 Caravan

nrae74 · Mar 14, 2007

We recently(6 months ago) with the addition of another baby and thus another carseat, put our daughter (10 yrs. 89 pounds) in the back seat of our '98 Caravan. It has really started to bother us with the lack of head support, and lack of crash room in the back. The seats are just regular bench seats and there is only about a foot of "crash room" in the back behind her seat. What soulutions could you all offer??

twokidstwodogs · Mar 14, 2007

If your bench seat doesn't have headrests, she is not safe back there unless she is in a highback booster that doesn't require headrests. (I'm assuming you have lap/shoulder belts. If you have just lap belts, only a child in a harnessed seat can ride back there.) How tall is she? She might still fit in a Britax Parkway. If she doesn't, you'll likely need to put one of your other kids back there. How old are the other kids you're transporting, how tall are they, how much do they weigh, and what seats are they in now?

As for the rear crush room, I totally understand your concern. But rear crashes do tend to be much less severe than frontal or side impact crashes in general. And if you have to put a kid back there, you have to put a kid back there. I'm not a tech, so I'll let one of them chime in on which kids might be safest in the rear bench. It will, however, depend on the headrest and belt situation.

Samantha · Mar 14, 2007

I have the a similar situation so will be watching this post closely!

I have a '98 Expedition, and with the addition of my 4th child due in July I will have to move one of the three girls I have now to the rear seat (or the front which i don't feel is safe with an airbag). My problem is the same, the rear third seat doesn't have high head rest and it only has lap belts. So only a child in a 5point harness can ride back there. The seats i own now are two Eddie Bauer High back carseats using a 5 point (one was for my DD2 that is 4, and one is in my husbands truck) and an Evenflo Triumph that my one year old is in. Currently my DD1 that is 6 yrs old, 44" and 48 lbs is in a no back booster with a seat belt (which I don't feel is the safest).

Anyway....both my 4 year old and my 6 year old are going to want to ride in the back...my 4 year old would be fine back there in her Eddie baurer seat, but what do i put my 6 year old in? Or do i "MAKE" my 6 year old ride in the second seat (on an end with a door, middle position only has lap belt) with a seat belt with shoulder strap? I've looked into the Britax Regent and have been thinking about putting my 6 year old in that...but what do you guys think? It's a lot of money, is it my safest option or would she be fine sitting in a booster in the second row seats?

Sorry to highjack your thread...I was going to post this same thing and I think we have similar situations

Any suggestions will help

AdventureMom · Mar 14, 2007

I think for an 89-lb 10-yr-old, I may try the Monarch or Compass 510? I think they're wider than the Parkway - especially the Compass. We don't own a booster, so I feel awkward commenting...

... but we did try some out a week or so ago and I noticed that right away.

skaterbabs · Mar 14, 2007

The Compass will be useless. The problem is that Parkway is the tallest booster currently available, so if the child is too tall for it (hip-shoulder) then all you can do is go to the seatbelt.

AdventureMom · Mar 14, 2007

skaterbabscpst said:
The Compass will be useless. The problem is that Parkway is the tallest booster currently available, so if the child is too tall for it (hip-shoulder) then all you can do is go to the seatbelt.

So does the Compass require a high seat back or headrest? Just curious - we're not well-versed in booster seats

skaterbabs · Mar 14, 2007

No, it's just shorter than the PW. The newest model is about the same as a Turbo Booster in height.

nrae74 · Mar 14, 2007

twokidstwodogs said:
If your bench seat doesn't have headrests, she is not safe back there unless she is in a highback booster that doesn't require headrests. (I'm assuming you have lap/shoulder belts. If you have just lap belts, only a child in a harnessed seat can ride back there.) How tall is she? She might still fit in a Britax Parkway. If she doesn't, you'll likely need to put one of your other kids back there. How old are the other kids you're transporting, how tall are they, how much do they weigh, and what seats are they in now?

As for the rear crush room, I totally understand your concern. But rear crashes do tend to be much less severe than frontal or side impact crashes in general. And if you have to put a kid back there, you have to put a kid back there. I'm not a tech, so I'll let one of them chime in on which kids might be safest in the rear bench. It will, however, depend on the headrest and belt situation.

Yes they are lap/shoulder belts in the back.
The other kids are 6 mo. and 24 mo. in a snugride and Triumph soon to be swiched to a FPSVD and Triumph. Or possibly a Radian, this is being discussed in another thread

I am not sure that I am comfortable putting a baby back there even in the best seat they just seem so fragile compared to my sturdy 10 year old.
She is tall (4'9") and 89 lbs. so a booster may be out of the question

I thought that Maybe with the Radian, I could fit the Triumph outboard, the Radian in the middle(lap belt only, is this possible?) and then my 10 yo could be up in the middle bench too, outboard with the lap/shoulder belt. I would feel better about her not being so close to the back with no "crush room" but.......still no headrest and I am not sure I can even put the 2 babies next to each other(the 24m likes to poke the 6 mo. old

)

We cant afford another car, so thats not an option. Anyone ever bought new seats for an old car??

Just seems like ever sence I put her back there everyone looks like they are going to rear end me!

Thanks for all the input!

twokidstwodogs · Mar 14, 2007

The 10 year old really needs a headrest. Otherwise, she has absolutely no protection for her head and neck in the event of a crash. If she's too tall for the Parkway, and she may be, the only good alternative is to put her in a different seat. Your rearfacing babies are actually much better protected back there than she would be. I can imagine that wouldn't be the most convenient option, though. Maybe someone else will have some suggestions.

nrae74 · Mar 14, 2007

All of the seats in my van are bench with no headrests. I think the Parkway says it is good to 60" and my daughter was 57" a few months ago, with the speed at which this kid seems to be growing, I bet I would be lucky to get a month out of the Parkway. The only place with a headrest is the front passenger seat and that has an airbag with no shut off.

Maybe I will contact Dodge and see if they have any soulutions.

skaterbabs · Mar 15, 2007

It may be possible to retrofit a factory replacement seat with a head rests - try a google search for "dodge seats"

emandbri · Mar 15, 2007

The height limit is only a guideline, I would try her in one at the store and see what you think. My 10 year old tall and fits but the parkway doesn't fit in my van well when it is raised that high, I have a bump on the side and it would make the booster tilt. I have a sienna and not a caravan though still you might want to try it in the van.

Someone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong (I've been busy and don't have time to be as car seat obsessed as I used to be) but I think the only booster that requires a head rest is the cosco apex.

Best of Luck!

bobandjess99 · Mar 17, 2007

My understanding was that in a less-than-optimal situation, the rule of thumb is to put the least protected person in the most protected spot. Therefore, the 10 year old deserves to be in the middle seat, even though it seems like the babies should be closer to you. I'd put the 10 yr old and infant in the middle row, and put the 2 yr old in the back row.

emandbri · Mar 17, 2007

I don't think putting the 2 year old in the back is the best option because the parent has to buckle the two year old in so it would be much much easier to have her in the second row. When my 2 oldest kids were little I had them in the back of a van on a trip once with my MIL and getting them in and out totally messed up my knees. It is also really hard to get a sleeping two year old out of the back seat of a van and into the house without waking them.

scatterbunny · Mar 18, 2007

My little sister still fit in a Parkway at 5 feet tall (60 inches) and 105 pounds.

The Monarch is wider, I've heard. I love the Compass, but it will almost certainly be too short. It's two inches shorter than the Parkway.

wondering1 · Mar 18, 2007

Another concern about the safety of the Dodge: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=11592

10 year old in rear most seat of '98 Caravan

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