naughty idea?

[robinsmommy]

just wondering if the rule of not installing a car seat in the center of the car with latch also applies to car seats that are being used as boosters. (and therefore not dependent on the latch anchors for safety) dd #1 gets carsick and i'm trying to figure out some way of getting her in the center of the car once she outgrows her radian. long drives are miserable for all.

thoughts?

thanks!

ps - pardon the grammar - left shift key died.

[o_mom]

It may or may not work, depending on the car. In many cars, the anchors you would use for this will overlap the seatbelt. Your back seat would look something like this:

__S_L___L_S_S____S_S_L___L_S__

Where S is the seatbelt and L is the LATCH anchors. If you put a LATCHable booster in the center, the LATCH belt would interfere with the seatbelt, so you couldn't use it.

Second problem would be spacing. If it is a flexible LATCh strap, spacing isn't as much of an issue, but for rigid LATCH (Indy Plus, Oobr), it has to be the exact right spacing.

So, if you get one of the few cars where the LATCH anchors are offset to the center and don't overlap the seatbelt and are spaced correctly, then I think it would fall into the area of parental decision. I will say that DH's 2006 Accord has the anchors offset to the center and exactly spaced with the standard LATCH distance.....

As long as you have a shoulder belt, you should be able to use a booster in the center - they don't have to be LATCHed. Is there a reason you can't put the Radian in the center now?

[robinsmommy]

I can try again, but I have never had any luck getting what I think of as a solid install with the seat belt. I am also waiting for our other DD (2yrs) to be a little older and either rear face her in the radian (might not work either with seat belt) or opt to turn her FF at that point. It is already becoming a struggle for her to be rear-facing now. But in any case, the radian FF and DD2's RF blvd don't puzzle well, and we have a small car. Just couldn't make it work.

[o_mom]

In that case, a booster in the center might be harder to buckle and may not puzzle well either.

Have you tried putting the older one in the Boulevard and the younger one RF the Radian? The Britax sitting up higher might give her a better view out the window. I also find the Radian to be much nicer for an older RF child - more leg room and lower sides.

Another thing to try is when you don't have a passenger in the front seat, you could remove the headrest there which also might give her a better forward view. Probably won't help much for the long drives since you will both be in the car, but might help for shorter ones.

For getting the Radian in the center, or really any position with the seatbelt, this is my trick that I use for our Accord: http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin...50&postcount=7
If you had the Radian FF center, you would probably have to use the seatbelt for the BV outboard and not LATCH, but still might not work for a small car - just throwing out some ideas.

[DrSally]

Why would putting her in the center help with car sickness? Just wondering. Fresh air (cracking the window a bit) can help a lot.

[robinsmommy]

I was hoping that putting her in the center would give her views into the distance, which helps with carsickness. Sitting by a side window where most of the view is rushing by rapidly is not so good. Helped me as a kid. And cracking a window just isn't an option for us much of the time, unfortunately - we live in a cold winter climate and cross a mountain pass on our long drive. Not great for highway mileage either.

I don't think she fits in the BLVD anymore. I suspect that she is too tall in the torso, as she is nearing the top slots on the radian - she is almost 6.5 yrs. - but I'll try it again.

we'll try some more things and see what works. Anybody know if a frontier or nautilus puzzle well with the radian or blvd?

[o_mom]

The Frontier seems to puzzle with a FF Boulevard, not sure about RF, though. I would think the RF Radian would puzzle well with either one, but hard to say for sure.

[DrSally]

Originally Posted by robinsmommy

I was hoping that putting her in the center would give her views into the distance, which helps with carsickness. Sitting by a side window where most of the view is rushing by rapidly is not so good. Helped me as a kid. And cracking a window just isn't an option for us much of the time, unfortunately - we live in a cold winter climate and cross a mountain pass on our long drive. Not great for highway mileage either.

I don't think she fits in the BLVD anymore. I suspect that she is too tall in the torso, as she is nearing the top slots on the radian - she is almost 6.5 yrs. - but I'll try it again.

we'll try some more things and see what works. Anybody know if a frontier or nautilus puzzle well with the radian or blvd?

That makes sense. If she has a clear view of the front windshield, it might be just like she's sitting up front (which helps my motion sickness a lot).