What seat for a 3 year old who sits in the back of my van?

[swissair81]

I currently have 3 kids. My oldest sits in the back, but she knows how to buckle herself into her booster & I don't have to climb back there. My 2 car seated kids are in my captains seats. My 18 month old is RF in a Roundabout & my 3 year old is in a Graco Nautilus. I am due in the summer & the 3 year old has to go sit in the back. With 2 RF kiddos in the front, I am going to have to buckle her from the trunk. I find the Nauti harness buckle a little trying, even when I'm standing next to it. My daughter apparently doesn't find it hard, because she unbuckles it regularly while I am driving. So should I change it over to seat belt- which she won't be able to undo? Or should I buy a new seat? My husband has a Radian in his car & she hasn't figured out that buckle yet.

[mikeys_mom]

I'm not sure why you will have to buckle the 3yo from the trunk. I've got a similar setup - my twins both RF in the captain's chairs, DS (5yo) is in a booster in the 3rd row and DD#1 (3yo) is in a FR in the 3rd row (both outboard). I just moved the two captains chairs side by side, and there is plenty of space for me to either step in or just lean in and buckle DD#1 that way.

None of mine ever tried to undo seatbelt buckles so I can't help you there. Hopefully, someone else will chime in with some advice.

[KrisM]

I'm not sure why you will have to buckle the 3yo from the trunk. I've got a similar setup - my twins both RF in the captain's chairs, DS (5yo) is in a booster in the 3rd row and DD#1 (3yo) is in a FR in the 3rd row (both outboard). I just moved the two captains chairs side by side, and there is plenty of space for me to either step in or just lean in and buckle DD#1 that way.

None of mine ever tried to undo seatbelt buckles so I can't help you there. Hopefully, someone else will chime in with some advice.

Many minivans don't allow you to move a chair, so maybe her van only has them outboard.

OP - if you're talking about using the seatbelt in booster mode for your 3 year old, that is way too young for a booster. If she's undoing the buckle, I don't think you will find she sits nicely in a booster all the time.

Any chance you could get 3 kids in the third row? Maybe 2 RF outboard and a FF in the middle and the booster seat in the captain's chair for ease of buckling and get rid of the other captain's?

If you do have to load someone from the trunk, a baby in a carrier might be the easiest, since the baby is buckled in already.

[swissair81]

Do you know if I could fit 2 Radians & a Snugride 22 in the back seat of an Odyssey?

I can't put my Captain's chairs together because my 18 month old is very aggressive. I don't want to let him sit next to a newborn.

[Tanya]

I think the Nautilus button is easier to push than some other seats. For example, our Britax Marathon button is much harder to release the buckle than the Nautilus. So, maybe another seat will fix that problem. However, at that age, I'd really work on explaining the safety of riding in a carseat and NOT unbuckling it unless Mommy says it's okay.

My 3.5 year old rides in a Marathon (and sometimes a Nautilus). Every once in awhile, one of us doesn't get the buckle clicked in just right and it comes loose and she immediately tells us because she knows that she has to be strapped in properly to be safe. It greatly upsets her if I can't get pulled over to fix it immediately.
She can fasten the chest clip, but she cannot do the buckle. She can't release either. I don't think she's ever tried to get out of the Nautilus since she doesn't ride in it very often.

As for reaching the 3rd row, you could possibly enter the van through the front and then go back through the aisle to strap your 3 year old. Are the kids ducking under the RF seats to get to the back? When your booster age kid is around, can she help buckle the 3 year old? My 7 year old often helps unstrap my 3.5 year old.

Maybe your 18 month old will grow out of the aggressive phase because it would definitely be nice if you could push the seats together.

[swissair81]

Right now they don't have to duck under the RF seat. They just enter from the Nautilus side. Once I have 2 RF, I won't have that luxury.

My booster age child is helpful when she is around. However she is in school from 8:30-4 & my 3 yo is in playgroup from 9:45-12:45. So I don't have much overlap.

I would love if my son would stop being aggressive. He is such a lovely child when he's calm.

[HIU8]

Is it possible to put your 18 month old in the 3rd row with your oldest and put your 3 yr old and the newborn in the captains chairs? That way maybe you could push the seats together or walk through the center aisle. I say this having put a RF seat in the 3rd row of my Ody, but I did remove a captains chair so it would be easier to get back there (only 3 kids to deal with doing that).

[GraceH]

If you do have to load someone from the trunk, a baby in a carrier might be the easiest, since the baby is buckled in already.
:yeahthat:

[sarahbrown29]

We had the twins RF in the 3rd row of our Odyssey. It was easy to lift them over the back and buckle from the trunk (just remove the headrests) and even better when they could climb into their seats by themselves and (still RF) we could buckle them.

I'd say, keep your oldest in the 3rd row, move the 18mo old RF to the 3rd row, but the bucket seat and another FF child in the captain chairs.

The car seat location shuffle ... we're doing that right now with #4 expected soon! Good luck!!

[KrisM]

Is it possible to put your 18 month old in the 3rd row with your oldest and put your 3 yr old and the newborn in the captains chairs? That way maybe you could push the seats together or walk through the center aisle. I say this having put a RF seat in the 3rd row of my Ody, but I did remove a captains chair so it would be easier to get back there (only 3 kids to deal with doing that).

I was going to suggest this as well.

I know the aggressive stage - my 22 month old is still there. No one wants to sit next to him at all. Someone has to, but they're older and they deal.

Also, the 18 month old might not be able to reach the infant if they're both rear-facing. You could try it and see. I turned my DD a bit early (27 months) because she and DS1 were having "issues" and by making them both FFing, she couldn't reach his head anymore.