Did you buy a vehicle with a third row specifically to carpool?

[chiisai]

My oldest is in 1st grade and has started getting into a few activities.

I felt a bit awkward at a recent practice, when another mom said I should join carpooling with the other moms. I have a Honda CRV, and also 2 year old DD. DS is in a high back booster and I can't fit another booster in between (or really even a person unless they are small and it's a short ride).

Is it common to have a larger vehicle with a third row solely for carpooling? Otherwise, we really don't need more room. The back has enough room for all the stuff we need.

I was planning to use my CRV for another 4 - 5 years. I didn't realize carpooling was so common, either. whoops.

Does anyone not carpool? I think this is moot, since we can't really afford a car payment, we just set up 529s for the kids. I guess I just feel bad that I can't do it.

[Cam&Clay]

One of the main reasons I bought a minivan was so that I could participate equally in the soccer carpool and still have a carseat in the back for DS2. We drive DS1 all over VA/MD/DC and I need to have room for 4 teenagers plus a carseat.

It also is easier to get DS2 in and out and is easier for our dog to get in and out of. My Hyundai Santa Fe was an awesome car but I really couldn't fit more than my two kids plus one more in it!

[Katigre]

Yes, by the time a kid hits 1st grade or activities it is a hindrance to not have space in your vehicle for 1-2 more kids.

[sste]

Can you reconfigure your car seats/boosters to fit three across? I think if you are in booster-territory you should be able to do that . . . try the car seat forum. Much cheaper than buying another car!

I do think it is nice to have at least one extra space. Even if you don't carpool your kids are going to want to go places with friends, etc.

[LizLemon]

As someone who is nowhere near this stage, in terms of age of kids, what do you do about carpooling now that kids are supposed to be in booster seats so long? If you are someone who values following car seat/booster regulations for your own kids, do you keep extra booster seats in the car for carpooling? If you are in an accident and you are transporting someone else's kids who are inappropriately not in a booster seat and they are injured, do you have some liability there? Just curious...

[Katigre]

Honestly, in your situation i would get a narrow carseat for the toddler and a narrow booster to use just for carpool so you can fit another child.

[lhafer]

In your situation I wouldn't get another car due to peer pressure about car pooling. It is what it is.

But to answer your question - we have 2 kids, will only have 2 kids and I have a minivan and have since day 1. I love the extra space. Now my oldest is in 1st grade, and has activities, and we do car pool occasionally, but not frequently. I am now her girl scout troop leader, and like that I can have most of the troop fit in my car for field trips. I stash an extra low back booster in my van at all times (in the hidden storage so it's not a projectile). Plus I have a couple of other low back boosters around the house. And if I need it in a pinch, my DD1's Harmony Dreamtime highback booster is in my husband's car that I can use as an extra too.

We leased my car because I don't want a minivan forever. So in another 2.5 years when my lease is up I want to go to a SUV. But the SUVs I'm looking at are 7 seaters. I won't do a 5 seater because I want the extra room for friends, etc. Plus my BFF has 3 kids - and I want to be able to pick them up from school or whatever when needed. This happens occasionally as well. So when I look at a new car in a couple of years - I will keep all of this in mind and right now at the top of my list are the Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia because of the pass through to the 3rd row, and the new redesigned Nissan Pathfinder because it's build like the Infinity JX and has easy access to the 3rd row when a car seat is in place in the 2nd row.

Love the Santa Fe and Nissan Murano - but have ruled them out due to being 5 seaters.

[amldaley]

If carpooling is an essential component to successful commuting or logistics for moving family members around, I would get another vehicle but it is certainly not in my budget to pay for a more expensive vehicle and more gas just for the convenience of occassional carpooling.

I get asked all the time about carpooling for preschool activities and I simply reply that with two car seats, I'm maxed out. Sorry, can't do it! I am not the only parent there without a giant SUV or mini van and so far we have never been excluded from an activity b/c I can't rideshare.

Besides, I honestly don't feel comfortable with the liability of someone elses kid in my car.

[crl]

Carpooling is awfully convenient, but I wouldn't buy a new car just to be able to do it. And I wouldn't feel guilty about not being able to carpool. But I bet you can get three across. I do in an old Forester. Dd (2 1/2) is rear facing in a Britax Roundabout. Ds and friend ride in backless boosters. It's tight but it works.

Catherine

[edurnemk]

As someone who is nowhere near this stage, in terms of age of kids, what do you do about carpooling now that kids are supposed to be in booster seats so long? If you are someone who values following car seat/booster regulations for your own kids, do you keep extra booster seats in the car for carpooling? If you are in an accident and you are transporting someone else's kids who are inappropriately not in a booster seat and they are injured, do you have some liability there? Just curious...

I have a Bubble bum booster for travel and the occasional extra passenger. That said I have a Nissan Rogue (so same space as OP) and it is a challenge to get a 3rd passenger between the 2 car seats. I don't know what we'll do when DS gets to 1st grade, I'm resisting getting a minivan.

[chiisai]

Thanks, everyone. I might see if we can try to do a booster in the middle in DH's car. There is very little room between the carseats in the CRV. DD is still rear facing in the Coccoro (spelling?), which is pretty compact?, and very small still (5th %tile). I have a radian I can try to put her in, that is our narrowist, and DS is still in that in DH's car. I was planning to get a booster for him in DH's car, maybe I can move the radian to mine for DD. I still think it will be hard.

I'll go to the car-seat site to find the narrowist high back boosters. At this age, I would feel uncomfortable without having a belt guide. I could try to fit one in the middle. I wouldn't mind just keeping it there in the middle if it works, it's not like the space is used for anything else. It is just really a small space. If it doesn't work, it just doesn't, I guess.

But, I guess that is really just one more kiddo to be able to bring. It seems like each mom is bringing 4 or 5 kids at a time. I suppose I won't be able to help out all that much for a few years with DS if I wait until I was planning to get a new car, but if I get a 7 or 8 seater then, I would be able to with DD's peers, and DS and co would still need rides to stuff.

I just was stressing (because there is not already enough to stress about, right?)

Thanks, folks.

[Katigre]

Fwiw, low back boosters have belt guides too. Ds uses one for his shoulder positioning.

Sent from Katigre's Galaxy S3

[SnuggleBuggles]

It was a factor into our Mazda5. I didn't need a minivan or other large car for day to day life; I didn't need a full time 3rd row. But, the car size is actually equal to our Civic but it has the 3rd row if you need it. I don't carpool much but I anticipate more of it with ds2. I wished I'd been able to do it when ds1 was younger.

[knaidel]

do you keep extra booster seats in the car for carpooling? If you are in an accident and you are transporting someone else's kids who are inappropriately not in a booster seat and they are injured, do you have some liability there? Just curious...


My kids are in jewish parochial schools, no bussing available. Carpooling is part of registering at the school....(joking, but you get the idea).you carpool! I keep extra boosters in the car for carpool.

I was once hit on a snowy day, with a full minivan of kids. No one was hurt, just the car was messed up. But no liability. As long as I wasn't charging any kids to ride in my car (operating a business)....no issues.

[JustMe]

Sort of. Carpooling, but even more important to me was the ability to have each kid have a friend along on an outing as they get older. My kids are physically small for their age, so will be in boosters for quite a while. I got a Mazda 5. I can only take 2 more kids total (plus one adult in the front, as I am single), but that's all I wanted to be able to do, not major mulit-family carpooling.

[american_mama]

The desire to carpool was a factor in me buying a 7 seater when I had two kids. We were TTC our thrid child and succeeded about a month after the car purchase, but I was committed to the 7 seater regardless.

But, I was wrong. My perspective was too limited. When you've got an infant seat and a 3 year old, you may just have to decline carpooling in a sedan. But by the time your oldest is 5ish, things get easier even in a sedan. My oldest was about to start kindergarten when we bought the car, which means I spent most of my day hours/home from preschool driving just two kids around even though I had three. The mass carpool with 2-4 extra kids after sports practice has never really materialized - it's rare that I drive more than one extra kid. And kids grow up and out of giant seats and into smaller ones. Eventually, they ride without car seats in the back and in the front.

As for the car seat issue, I did buy a cheap backless booster just for visiting friends and when my kids visit others. If the child is too young for it, I might play musical car seats and put the younger child in DS's Marathon and DS in his sister's booster, or I might ask the parent to supply the car seat. I don't really worry about this being less safe than my normal car seats. I figure, I'm restraining the child adequately, if not ideally. We are usually going a very short distance. I ask the parent if they are ok with this and follow their requests. Then I consider it done.

[AnnieW625]

Nope not all. It was an added bonus. It has proved somewhat handy since DD1 has started elementary school. We do not carpool, but sometimes have an extra kid with us for a play date, and the girls think it is a treat to be back there.

[essnce629]

We bought a Mazda 5 (seats 6-- 3 rows of 2) because I really liked the captain's chairs and sliding doors but didn't want/need a full size minivan. I did want to be able to fit my mom, which is why I wanted a third row and not have to squeeze her between carseats. Being able to take 2 extra kids (plus my 2) is a bonus. We now carpool full time with one other child. DS2 is rf'ing in the second row, and DS1 and carpool boy sit in the third row in highback boosters. DS1 is 9 and can legally sit with just a seat belt, but he doesn't pass the 5-step test and the third row seat belts in the Mazda5 don't fit very well with just a backless booster. Carpool boy is 8, so can legally sit with just the seat belt as well, but he's the size of a 5 year old and REALLY needs a booster. So I bought him one for my car and DS1 has a Monterey that stays in carpool boy's car full time. I also have 2 backless boosters for field trips and play dates. I always make DS1's friends sit in boosters in my car even though they don't in their own cars. CA booster law just changed to 8 last year so most of DS's friends have been out of boosters since they were 6. None of them pass the 5-step test and if anything happened while I was driving I'd feel terrible as I know better. I drove for a field trip at school 2 weeks ago and one of DS1's classmates was in near tears because I made her sit in a backless booster. It took her 5 minutes to finally sit down and buckle up. Luckily DS's teacher came over and backed me up and said my car, my rules! I think by next year, when all of DS's friends and classmates are 10 years old, they will pass the 5-step test. They are all close, but not there yet. I really don't see how any normal 8 year old would pass the 5-step, which is sad since the kids are ditching their boosters the day after they turn 8! Maybe the law will be 10 years old one day.

[niccig]

I have a CRV and can get 3 boosters across. 2 normal boosters either side of a bubblebum in the middle for DS.

I wouldn't get another car and add a $500-600 monthly car payment to my family's budget just for carpooling. If I needed a new car, then I might consider it a bigger car, but only if I was finding I needed to carpool weekly.

We haven't done much carpooling and most people I know have 2 kids in a CRV, so it's just one extra child that they can take.

[Globetrotter]

As someone who is nowhere near this stage, in terms of age of kids, what do you do about carpooling now that kids are supposed to be in booster seats so long? If you are someone who values following car seat/booster regulations for your own kids, do you keep extra booster seats in the car for carpooling? If you are in an accident and you are transporting someone else's kids who are inappropriately not in a booster seat and they are injured, do you have some liability there? Just curious...

Our lives run on carpools - couldn't manage with it! Keep in mind we go to a commuter school, too. When the kids are in my car, my rules, which means they sit in boosters until I think they are ready to graduate. I bought enough backless boosters to outfit my van! I can squeeze three in the back, but the Harmony and bubble bum, in particular, really help. Now we only have three kids still in boosters so life is a bit easier.

OP, one carpool mom has a sedan and it does hold her back a lot. This morning she had to borrow my van to take the older girls to an activity

[swissair81]

No. I have an 8 seater because I need it. I have 4 seats with installed car seats and a 5th with a Low back booster. I only have the middle rear and front seat free. No carpooling for me. I did drive my for my dd's zoo trip in the summer though. Since I didn't have any other kids with me, I had enough seats to take a large portion of the camp.

[niccig]

OP, one carpool mom has a sedan and it does hold her back a lot. This morning she had to borrow my van to take the older girls to an activity

I think this has to depend on geographic location and neighborhoods. I'm thinking of the cars I see in the carpool at school. I know a handful of families with minivans. Majority have smaller SUVs or sedans.

I was room parent in DS's pre-K class and the teacher lamented the lack of minivans and Surburbans as we needed more parents to drive to ferry all the kids as everyone could only take their kid + 1 more - they were all still in car seats at this point.

[Globetrotter]

I think this has to depend on geographic location and neighborhoods. I'm thinking of the cars I see in the carpool at school. I know a handful of families with minivans. Majority have smaller SUVs or sedans.

I was room parent in DS's pre-K class and the teacher lamented the lack of minivans and Surburbans as we needed more parents to drive to ferry all the kids as everyone could only take their kid + 1 more - they were all still in car seats at this point.


It's mainly due to the fact that we are in school and other activities together, so we are always shuttling groups of kids back and forth. Since she can only take three (four if we count the front seat, which is another issue) and there are five girls who routinely need a ride, this becomes problematic. She wants to carpool to high school but she can't exactly participate since she only has space for four - not sure how we would work that out if we end up going to the same school! As of now we have enough kids for two cars/trip so it has worked.

Then again, I live in minivan/large SUV central ;)

[roseyloxs]

No. I would not get a bigger car just for carpooling.

We also drive a CR-V and have 3 seats across. Radian RF with angle adjuster, Frontier, and Cybex Aton. The Aton will turn into another RFing radian when the time comes. We are still using the 5 pt harness in the frontier so the seat belt buckle doesn't have to be very accessible right now. I can definitely see getting 3 across and being able to buckle a regular seat belt troublesome.

We do plan to have 4 when all is said and done so we are planning to upgrade to a minivan in a couple of years but we'll still be using most of the seats with just our family so I am not sure if carpooling is in our future anyhow.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We had a beloved CRV and had 3 seats installed because we were going to make it work. A couple weeks into having 3 actual DC driving around town, our closely-spaced toddlers were picking one another's noses, poking at the infant, and a new chapter began for us. DH demanded a 3rd row so we could drive without constantly "looking back" to see what was going on. It has been awesome to have that extra space for crowd control, so people could have their own personal space around town and on trips.

As far as carpooling goes, it has been a godsend. When a WOTH mom friend has childcare problems or needs help on a certain day, I can fit her 2 into our van without a blink. Same goes for when DD has a playdate on a cold day, and I help the other mom by picking up the older sister and drop her off at her home before continuing to our house. On the occasion of having grandparents along for the ride, it is great. There are so many fun/helpful/bonding reasons we enjoy having the minivan over the smaller SUV. We have been able to toss DD into a carpool if the family has a larger sedan like an Accord, but it's only for one DC. After soccer this season, someone was watching DD on her field for me, while I toted 2 players from DS's team up to where DD's team was playing. That was really nice.

What I notice about a pile of friends who go to a private school is that they all have Odysseys with multiple extra seats, and they have an awesome carpool system lined up for their elementary kids and their preschoolers. I think it only works because everyone is able to drive when it is their turn because of the space available. The families who don't have room for extras don't seem to have the same level of friendship as those who have been riding together for all these years, day in and day out. I guess personality plays into that as well. You'd have to be pretty social and not mind a lot of extra people around to enjoy it.

[Pyrodjm]

Carpooling for school and activiites isn't that common here but we live near family and I knew that I wanted to be able to take my niece and nephew with us on outing sometimes. My nephew will probably attend the same elementary school as my girls when the time comes and even now I pick him up from daycare if his mom is running late. I also like being able transport my father whose eyesight is failing when needed. Most of our friends in the congregation have children as my DD's get older I could see them wanted to bring friend with us to lunch after church.

Most of our friends with 2 or more kids have a minivan or 7 seater SUV. Growing up all of the families in my congregation had minivans and we kids loved tagging along with a friend's family after events well into our teens. I want my girls to be able to have the same experience.

[sste]

OP, I will add to my prior post that we are going to buy an ody minivan this year partially for the carpooling reason and also I want a bigger/safer car than our civic and we have out of town guests a fair amount.

I have sort of romanticized carpooling and have even gone so far as to work out my work schedule so I have some clear days for it! It *seems* in my own mind like a common parent experience and having potential for community and involvement etc. Well my dh has been laughing his *ss off at me! Given my personality, general dislike of driving and truth to be told I am not even a love,love,love (other people's) kids type of person, he predicts all this carpooling I am gearing up for will not come to pass. Plus we usually live walking distance to things! Anyway, for my situation, I suspect my vision of carpooling is not going to live up to the reality!

[smilequeen]

Not for carpooling, but for visiting family. We would put the 2 carseats in the 3rd row when we had family in town so we could take one car. And then we had a 3rd child:) So now, we just have to take 2 cars and even with a big car I can really only fit 1 extra kid in the car unless I really adjust the carseat sizes (3 will technically fit in my 3rd row, but it would be really tight with normal booster seats and my second row is captains chairs).

One of my friends just traded in a CRV for a 3 row car for exactly that reason though :)

[codex57]

Not for carpooling, but for visiting family. We would put the 2 carseats in the 3rd row when we had family in town so we could take one car. And then we had a 3rd child:) So now, we just have to take 2 cars and even with a big car I can really only fit 1 extra kid in the car unless I really adjust the carseat sizes (3 will technically fit in my 3rd row, but it would be really tight with normal booster seats and my second row is captains chairs).

One of my friends just traded in a CRV for a 3 row car for exactly that reason though :)

Same here, cept we only have 2 kids. But it's purely for when family is over so we don't need to take 2 cars. Did that before. Big PITA.

Is carpooling that convenient?