How do you fit 3 car seats in the 2nd row of the Range Rover?

I have 2 britax roundabouts currently, and my graco snugride doesn't fit in the middle of them. My 3rd is due in December, and my kids are currently ages 3 and 21 mo., and neither of them will be in a booster anytime soon. Please help. I LOVE my Range Rover and am very opposed to the minivan concept (please don't recommend one for me). Thank you!|||You ought to be able to keep your car and get 3 across, but it may mean purhcasing more seats, and skipping the infant seat for the newborn, using a rear facing convertible instead. (Yes its safe - the infant carrier is not a required stage in car seats) The Sunshine Kids Radian65 is the narrowest car seat you can buy, and fits kids 5lbs to 65lbs. It would be best installed in the middle, if it will work, b/c it does have a rather tall seat shell and limits the space of the passenger in front of it. In the middle it will stick between the 2 front seats and won't limit how far back they can be. The Range Rover has a pretty wide back seat, so you really shoudln't have much trouble. When shopping and trying to configure seats, its important to remember a few things:


1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly.


2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.


Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!


A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.


B)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.


C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.


D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)


3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can't sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight - 40" tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I'd have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.





Something to consider is that you may want another car here at some point, b/c its pretty hard to have a 3 across using booster seats. Depending upon the size of your kids, the 3 year old may be able to fit in a Radian65 for another 2-3 years before you have that issue. Even if you get one Radian, for the 3 year old, it might give enough room to make them all fit. Or you could get 2 or even 3. :) The Radian can be difficult to install with the seatbelt - so a best bet is to buy from walmart.com so you can take it back if it doesn't work in you vehicle. Its your best bet for 3 across though - and is easy to install with LATCH (but you can only use LATCH to 48lbs).





So for until they're boosters it ought to be doable. Then I would try and get something else. Its just too hard to have to dig between child seats to get the buckle every time they get in and out of a booster.


And you don't necessarily have to have a Radian65 - the trick to getting 3 across is puzzling the seats - putting different brands of seats facing different directions next to each other. You'll see that in the link posted below.|||You're very welcome! If you're set on an infant carrier, I forgot to say to try the Chicco Keyfit22 - its about as narrow as they come. Its also a GREAT seat.

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