Seating positions- harnessed 5yo, and newborn (also, booster training question)

beki33b · Jun 4, 2009

I know I've read that the least protected child should be in the most protected position. (given that the seats fit properly, and it works for parents, etc).
I'm curious about this advice when the age difference is so big- my ds will be 5yo, harnessed in a Radian, and we will have a newborn, obviously rf'ing. We have a short bench seat in the middle row of the van, so one will be in the middle and one on the side. Safety wise, does it matter which child goes where? Or is it really just a matter of convenience?

Also...how would one go about "booster training" with only one family car? This isn't going to be something we will do really soon, it's just something that I'm curious about for the future.
We'd either have to uninstall the harnessed seat to put ds in the booster, or put him in the booster in the 3rd row of the van (which I sincerely doubt he will like).

bree · Jun 4, 2009

Even though the age difference is big, the newborn is still more protected by virtue of being rear-facing. So ideally, the FF child should be in the center with the RF child on the side, though of course there are other variables like you mentioned that might change that decision.

I'm not all that up on boosters, so I'll leave that for someone else.

Pixels · Jun 4, 2009

Least protected child goes in the most protected spot, even with a larger age difference. In reality, we are all safest in the center rear seat.

What about putting DS's harnessed seat in the third row, and booster in the second? That way he would be easier to keep an eye on.