change in carpooling set up--WWYD

PikkuMyy

New member
The time has come. My son has outgrown the Evenflo Maestro by weight. :( It's the only seat I have that fit in my narrow center seat without covering the outboard buckle stalks.

I carpool 9 and 12 year old sisters. The 12 year old is turning 13 next month. My back seat only has head restraints for the outboard seats so the girls have to sit in those seating positions if they're all back there. My set up was seat belt (12 yo)/Maestro/Cruz (9 yo). That needs to change now.

Even if the SecureKid would fit in the center, I'm not willing to shell out the money when my son has less than an inch of torso growth room left. We have a Nautilus and a Frontier 85. The Nautilus works if the girls shove it to reach the buckles. It makes things difficult and also means that the 9 yo would have to use a Literider instead of the Cruz.

Would you:

a) Deal with the Nautilus and use a Literider for the 9 yo (she seems much more comfortable in the Cruz)?

b) Put the 12 yo (almost 13) in the front passenger seat with the seat as far back as it goes? I would put my son's FR85 behind the passenger seat, installed LBP and tethered. The 9 yo would go behind the driver's seat (which is not all the way back) in the Cruz.

c) Make a suggestion that won't break the bank! :) I think the only thing that would fit in the narrow center seat without covering the outboard buckle stalks would be a bubblebum. I don't want my 5 year old riding in a NBB 5 days a week.
 
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abigaylebelle

Active member
Does the middle seat have a shoulder belt? Is there any reason you can't use the maestro in booster mode in the middle?
I would ask the 13 year old's parents about her riding up front before you go that route. Is she adult size or nearly?
 

bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
ya, what is the size of the 12/13 yo??? Since it's a time of puberty for many kids, you get the tiny, "still little kid" ones and the big grown "adult sized" ones LOL.
My stepsons , by 13, were both taller than me, and fully adult sized, in the 5'6' to 5'10 range. I felt fine with them being in front.
 

arly1983

New member
ya, what is the size of the 12/13 yo??? Since it's a time of puberty for many kids, you get the tiny, "still little kid" ones and the big grown "adult sized" ones LOL.
My stepsons , by 13, were both taller than me, and fully adult sized, in the 5'6' to 5'10 range. I felt fine with them being in front.

WSS! My 12 yr old cousin was 3 ins taller than me and has been riding up front for the last couple of yrs.
 

PikkuMyy

New member
Does the middle seat have a shoulder belt? Is there any reason you can't use the maestro in booster mode in the middle?
I would ask the 13 year old's parents about her riding up front before you go that route. Is she adult size or nearly?

The middle seat *does* have a shoulder belt. :) I'd prefer to keep my son in a harness. He's booster trained but that would be my set up 5 days out of the week and when he's tired, he's not the model booster rider. He gets ants in his pants, or something...

The 13 year old is adult size, has hit puberty and has been riding in the front seat of her parents' cars for at least a year. They don't have the 9 year old in a booster either, and haven't for many years. She was horrified when I first made her sit in a booster. Now she loves it because she's comfortable! :D I kind of want to buy 2 for the parents cars but they'd probably just call me crazy.
 

jjordan

Moderator
I'm voting for 13 yo up front with the parents' permission (which sounds like it would just be a formality at this point).
 

PikkuMyy

New member
Today, I had the 12/13 year old sit up front. I mentioned it to their mom when I called to check if the girls needed to be picked up today. She said "yea, it's fine if J sits up front."

J was looking towards the back seat after she got into the front seat. She asked "who's is that purple car seat?" I smiled and said "It's S's. You never noticed before?" S (9 year old) added "Yea, it's really comfortable!" :love: Her older sister didn't say a word after that. lol I wonder what she said to her mom when they arrived home. I think the Cruz went unnoticed because it was hiding on the other side of the Maestro.
 

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