FF in middle of back seat or infant seat in middle?

Unregistered · May 19, 2011

My 2.5 year old son is FF on the passenger side as of now (and our 9 year old sits behind the driver). Baby #3 is due is July and I'm wondering if putter the Graco (I think it's a Graco My Ride?) convertible seat FF in the middle of my Pruis, baby #3's infant seat on the passenger side, and my 9 year old (when we have her) behind the driver would work? I've never heard of carseats in the middle seat before. Would it be best to have the infant seat in the middle with the 'older' kids on the outsides?

CarSeatSafetyMom · May 20, 2011

First car seats can be installed in any of the three back seat seating positions.

I believe you are asking what would be the BEST seat configuration for your 3 children in the back of your Prius.

You could put 9 yr. old behind Driver, 2.5 yr. old in My Ride in middle, and put infant seat behind passenger seat.
OR
You could put 9 yr. old behind Driver, infant seat in middle, and 2.5 yr. old in My Ride behind passenger seat.

If you are used to using LATCH in the Outboard (next to doors) seating position, you most likely DON'T have LATCH in the Center position. You will just install the Car Seats with the seatbelt in the middle. Double check your Prius's Owner's Manual to be sure.

Also, Depending on the infant seat you have, they may or may not fit side by side. You may have to play with your configurations to find the one that works best! Good Luck.

wendytthomas · May 20, 2011

No, there's no LATCH in the center of a Toyota Prius.

The ideal (ignoring real life for a minute) would be the nine year old in a booster, the 2.5 year old in the middle forward facing (actually, the ideal would be a 2.5 year old rear facing), and the baby outboard. The baby is safer than the 2.5 year old because they'll be rear facing. The nine year old is likely safer because they have an ossified skeleton.

However, how they all fit is another question. If you can't get them to fit that way, whatever works best. It may be booster, convertible, infant seat or booster, infant seat, convertible.

Wendy