[Gstom1]

Very informative video BigBoat. This will be helpful when my son moves from his rear facing infant car seat to a convertible one in the fall.

So which convertible car seats are you guys using? Any recommendations?

 

[PhillyTim]

So which convertible car seats are you guys using? Any recommendations?

Well, the first thing to know is that the latest recommendation based on extensive research is that children are significantly safer rear facing, and thus should rear face as long as possible--which can mean to 3 or 4 years of age depending on the size of your child and the car seat you pick. See Rear-Facing Carseats and Safety for more information. I'm always surprised at how many parents don't know about this and / or choose to ignore it.

This is not popular--many parents seam to view front facing as a "right of passage" for toddlers, but if kids only rear face, they know no other way, and thus don't complain (our daughter is 3 1/2 and the idea of front facing has never come up). Some parents say it seems uncomfortable--but in reality that's untrue--the kids do fine. Their legs look a little cramped, but as I read somewhere, in the unfortunate event of an accident, you'd always rather a leg injury than a head / neck injury!

So, based on that information, I'd recommend you choose a seat that can rear face for a good long time. For that reason, the Sunshine Radian is a top choice for many over at the forums at Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums as it allows rear facing to 40 pounds (with a height restriction which they all have). We have one, and it's heavy, doesn't seam quite as well made as the Britax's, and takes up a TON of room rear facing--which is an issue in most cars, but not in an Ody (which is why we got one!).

Britax also just re-engineered all their convertible seats (watch the video at Car Seats - Britax USA), and they seam to spend a ton of money on R&D--and the quality of their seats are second perhaps only to Recaro (my personal favorite seat, but it's very tall and expensive). The Advocate 70 CS seamed to us to offer the best side impact protection, but there are no standards or good tests, so we're all on our own to guess which is truly best. The downside of the Britax is that it's VERY wide, and only supports rear-facing to 35 pounds.

We use the Britax behind the driver's seat and the Sunshine in the center seat (the safest location and most immune from a side impact)--both in the second row. The Sunshine is nice because it's very narrow, but still seams comfortable. We also tried the "Extreme Air" which ToysRUs seems to be pushing, it seemed quite cheaply made to us and we returned it.

If you're on more of a budget, the Graco MyRide 65 is great, and also supports rear facing to 40 pounds. It's what we have in Grandma's car.

The blog (CarseatBlog.Com - Child Safety Seat Reviews, Ratings & Advice from the Official Car-Seat.Org Blog on Keeping Kids Safe in Cars.) and forums at Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums are a fantastic source of information; I recommend you check them out before you buy. The blog includes an incredibly extensive write up of how many, many seats fit in the 2011 Ody--which I linked to in an earlier post above.

Cheers!

Tim

 

[PhillyTim]

One other good page about rear facing--which suggest it's FIVE times safer than front facing: The Car Seat Lady - Rear-Facing Seats

Tell your friends! I dream someday that front facing toddlers will be the exception, not the rule!

 

[Gstom1]

Thanks PhillyTim. Good information.

I've been reading about how dated the one year rule is (for switching to front facing car seat) but there are no plans to change it (i.e. come out with new recommendations). A lot of parents take it at verbatim without actually doing research into it.

:frown:

 

[BigBoat]

Very informative video BigBoat.

Find credit goes to PhillyTim, I just posted it

One other good page about rear facing--which suggest it's FIVE times safer than front facing:

Tell your friends! I dream someday that front facing toddlers will be the exception, not the rule!

I don't do any research but my wife does and yes, that item comes on top of her safety list and enforces it past the traditional time recommendations . Unfortunately with tall toddlers it can get ugly and extremely uncomfortable so we needed to compromise a little bit at the end.

Anyway, as per recommendations, wife points that she goes for the Britax Marathons because they are some of the few models that have the 5-Point-Harness belts for older kids (height + weight) than others. I believe all seat manufacturers are gearing towards that but Britax is pioneer and has had good reviews and test results.

 

[Shazzam]

Well, the first thing to know is that the latest recommendation based on extensive research is that children are significantly safer rear facing, and thus should rear face as long as possible--which can mean to 3 or 4 years of age depending on the size of your child and the car seat you pick. See Rear-Facing Carseats and Safety for more information. I'm always surprised at how many parents don't know about this and / or choose to ignore it.

This is not popular--many parents seam to view front facing as a "right of passage" for toddlers, but if kids only rear face, they know no other way, and thus don't complain (our daughter is 3 1/2 and the idea of front facing has never come up). Some parents say it seems uncomfortable--but in reality that's untrue--the kids do fine. Their legs look a little cramped, but as I read somewhere, in the unfortunate event of an accident, you'd always rather a leg injury than a head / neck injury!

So, based on that information, I'd recommend you choose a seat that can rear face for a good long time. For that reason, the Sunshine Radian is a top choice for many over at the forums at Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums as it allows rear facing to 40 pounds (with a height restriction which they all have). We have one, and it's heavy, doesn't seam quite as well made as the Britax's, and takes up a TON of room rear facing--which is an issue in most cars, but not in an Ody (which is why we got one!).

Britax also just re-engineered all their convertible seats (watch the video at Car Seats - Britax USA), and they seam to spend a ton of money on R&D--and the quality of their seats are second perhaps only to Recaro (my personal favorite seat, but it's very tall and expensive). The Advocate 70 CS seamed to us to offer the best side impact protection, but there are no standards or good tests, so we're all on our own to guess which is truly best. The downside of the Britax is that it's VERY wide, and only supports rear-facing to 35 pounds.

We use the Britax behind the driver's seat and the Sunshine in the center seat (the safest location and most immune from a side impact)--both in the second row. The Sunshine is nice because it's very narrow, but still seams comfortable. We also tried the "Extreme Air" which ToysRUs seems to be pushing, it seemed quite cheaply made to us and we returned it.

If you're on more of a budget, the Graco MyRide 65 is great, and also supports rear facing to 40 pounds. It's what we have in Grandma's car.

The blog (CarseatBlog.Com - Child Safety Seat Reviews, Ratings & Advice from the Official Car-Seat.Org Blog on Keeping Kids Safe in Cars.) and forums at Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums are a fantastic source of information; I recommend you check them out before you buy. The blog includes an incredibly extensive write up of how many, many seats fit in the 2011 Ody--which I linked to in an earlier post above.

Cheers!

Tim

Tim, I agree 100% with your post regarding rear facing seats and safety. Young children don't have well developed neck muscles and can suffer serious neck and head injury in a collision.

There are many stories posted by parents who have had accidents with their toddlers in a forward facing seat. they have learned the hard way that a rear facing seat could have prevented permanent neck and head injuries.

We have our 4 year old daughter in a Britax Marathon. It was turned to face forward when she was 2 1/2 when we found that her knees were getting close to her chest making it uncomfortable. Our 13 month old son will be moving from a rear facing removable bucket type seat (Graco) to a rear facing Marathon in the centre position. Our daughter's sear is located behind the drivers seat.

Above all, driving defensively is the best thing you can do to avoid injury to your child. While some accidents are unavoidable, in many cases assuming the other driver may not follow the rules of the road can save you from an accident. During my morning commute, people like to tailgate to avoid cars that may want to switch into "their" lane. A car following you at 40 mph with a single car length between your rear bumper and their front bumper is an accident waiting to happen. I usually slow down a bit until the driver sees the other lane moving faster and cuts someone off changing lanes to get around me. We always seem to end up at the next red light beside each other.

Another danger spot is at stop sign intersections; many cars roll through stop signs in our area, or just drive through them. I might have had the right of way in a collision, but does it really matter? Better to avoid the collision in the first place. The other driver will eventually hit a car - it just won't be mine.

Now call me really conservative, but even when I have a green light, I quickly scan the intersection i am approaching to make sure there is no one proceeding through.

I picked this stuff up from driving a 1976 Triumph TR6 I restored. What I realized was that because the car was so small and old (poor safety technology), I was marginally better off in an accident than a guy driving a motorcycle. I've avoided several accidents by following the above rules.

 

[PhillyTim]

Among the best driving tips I've received (because it's not an obvious one), is never, EVER turn your wheels to the left while waiting for oncoming traffic to clear when turning left. Reason being that if you're rear-ended and you've already turned the steering wheel, you'll get pushed into oncoming traffic, and make what should be a minor accident a very serious one. If you stay pointed straight until you actually can turn, a rear end accident will simply push you forward--a much safer alternative!

 

[Shazzam]

A follow up to the discussion on rear facing car seats:

Tots safest in rear-facing seats until age 2 - Health - Kids and parenting - msnbc.com

 

[Nechums]

Hi all. Sorry to be hijacking this thread (and as a newbie, it's even more embarrassing!), but I'm about to go to the dealer to finalize my 2011 Odyssey purchase and am having cold feet. I'm worried about car seat placement. I'm got a toddler rear facing in a Britax Blvd and an infant in a rear-facing bucket seat. I also drive carpool and would require access to a forward facing Cosco Scenera on occasion. What's the best seating arrangement? I'm assuming my two kids go in the second row and the spare seat goes in the 3rd. But what's the best configuration for the second row that will allow me to access the 3rd row and not have the toddler in arm's reach to the infant? Thanks and again, apologies for hijacking!

 

[Shazzam]

Hi all. Sorry to be hijacking this thread (and as a newbie, it's even more embarrassing!), but I'm about to go to the dealer to finalize my 2011 Odyssey purchase and am having cold feet. I'm worried about car seat placement. I'm got a toddler rear facing in a Britax Blvd and an infant in a rear-facing bucket seat. I also drive carpool and would require access to a forward facing Cosco Scenera on occasion. What's the best seating arrangement? I'm assuming my two kids go in the second row and the spare seat goes in the 3rd. But what's the best configuration for the second row that will allow me to access the 3rd row and not have the toddler in arm's reach to the infant? Thanks and again, apologies for hijacking!

Firstly, welcome to the forum. Whatever configuration you choose, the Odyssey has the best flexibility available so I wouldn't have cold feet about the purchase.

I have been contemplating that same issue as we have our daughter behind the driver's seat (4 y.o.) and our 13 month son in the middle. My mother sits behind the front passenger when she comes out with us. Lately my daughter has been complaining about the wandering arms from our son.

I see two choices. Either move our son to the outboard position and let my wife sit in the middle seat when my mother is with us with my mother in the front passenger seat, or remove the 2nd row center seat and my wife can walk through to the rear when my mother is with us.

The third possibility is to take a narrow, but tall cushion to put between the front and rear facing Britax Marathons (the Boulevard is the same basic seat) so the two kids don't interfere with each other. If there was an accident, the divider wouldn't cause injury.

We'll try the cushion first as I like the 3 across seating configuration and I prefer at least one child in the center position and taking out the middle seat reduces the total number of people the van can carry.

I wouldn't put a car seat in the rear most row unless I didn't have any other choice. It is too close to the rear bumper and is difficult to get to.

 

[2011Odyssey]

We have two Britax Advocates in the second row - in the middle and the drivers side outboard. We wanted to have a seat available and easy access to the third row. Our kids are 20 months and don't fight yet, so that hasn't been an issue. I like having the full size seat on the passenger outboard side, along with easy access to the third row. We don't need the extra seating very often but it's nice when we do need it.

You have two Advocates side by side?? Are they RF? And are they the older model or the newer "CS 70" ones? I've heard that the older ones are not able to install on the middle seat but the newer ones are.

I currently have one child RF in Advocate CS 70 behind passenger and another child RF in infant seat in middle. Will soon outgrow infant seat and looking for what will work to keep him RF in the middle. I have a second Advocate in our other car (older model), but I didn't think it would fit beside our other Advocate.

 

[bar10dah]

I've found that the 3rd row seats in minivans are more prone to motion, and those sitting in those seats are more susceptible to motion sickness, versus sitting in the 2nd row. Anyone else experience this?

On my last road trip, about 750 miles each way, going up the kids sat in the 2nd row seats and were fine. On the way back, kids sat in the 3rd row seats and had a blast. Maybe just because it was a new experience, since they're usually always in the 2nd row, but they really enjoyed riding in the 3rd row. I folded the 2nd row seats down and moved them forward as far as they would go. Gave the 3rd row a feeling of greater spaciousness. They also really enjoyed having the little compartments in the 3rd row armrests/wall. That was the only time I ever wished I had the 3rd row sunshades, like I did in my '05. Perhaps I'll pull the service manual out and try to figure out if it's just as easy as buying the touring components and they'll drop right into the non-tourings. I'll let you know if I do.

 

[BigBoat]

3 seats across the 2nd row

Very useful video
2011 Honda Odyssey with 3 seats across the 2nd row​

 

[atlphantom]

We put our 2 little kids all the way in the back. Pulled out the passenger side middle seat so we can get them in the can get them and us out of the sun, rain, snow first lock them in and then go. Plus if we are in an strange area we can hop in close the door, get everyone set and not be sitting in a parking lot with our backs turned to whoever comes by.

 

[imref]

our kids are 10 & 8 and are still in boosters, mainly because my 10 year old uses the slide-out cup holders to keep a few pieces of candy for long trips, and because they have a place to rest their heads when they sleep. We have them in the 2nd row, we kept the center console in place and moved the seats in as much as possible (not using the "wide" setting).

 

[techbrute]

When we first got our 2003 model, we had 2 kids, and were pregnant with our third. When the third arrived, we had 2 forward and 1 rear facing seat. We moved the second row to one side (a feature no longer available), and put the rear facing in the "center" of the van. One forward facing seat was behind the driver, and one forward facing seat was in the third row on the right side so that it was easily accessible by someone standing outside the vehicle.

By the time the 4th kid hit, the two older kids could basically buckle themselves, so they were in forward facing seats in the 3rd row. The second row was back to the outboard positions, and the infant carrier was behind the driver.

With a 2011, if I had two seats that I had to buckle kids into I would put them in the outboard 2nd row seats and remove the center for people to be able to get to the 3rd row. If the people needing access to the third row were harder to accomodate (adults, teens, etc.) I would take out an outboard seat for easier ingress/egress, and then move the opposite seat to "wide mode" (or whatever it's called) for more space for the car seats.

 

[dusty179]

Britax Boulevard 70/Advocate 70

Anyone know if a newer Britax Boulevard 70 or Advocate 70 will rear-face in the 2nd row behind the driver's seat with the drivers seat all the way back?

 

[lan_baba]

Just want to give an update for the two seats config. I have one Britax Marathon and one Britax Regent at the center and the side seat of the 2nd row. Both forward facing. The regent is a monster, it is huge and heavy, but my daughter loves it!
The captain seat is at the outboard position and the center row is pulled a few inches forward, otherwise they won't fit next to each other.

 

[twcamc]

Adding to the discussion on car seat placement. We have 2012 TE and have a total of 3 permanent car seats installed. Our 7 and 5 year olds are forward facing in the 3rd row using the Diono Radian R100. Both are installed on the LATCH in the outboard seats. With these two seats installed, there is room in the center 3rd row for another older child that does not require the use of any boosters or carseat. Our 11 year old niece rides there sometimes. In the second row, we have a Britax Marathon installed in the center movable seat for our 2 year old and its also attached with the LATCH. The seat base is slightly larger than the seat itself but according to my sister in law (certified car seat technician and a PITA sometime jk) as long as more than 80% of the seat is in contact with the seat, its acceptable. With this setup, we can carry a total of 8 passengers with all the comforts for the adults. I think long distance for an older child in the 3rd row center may not be the best but as long as I don't have to sit there, I'm good . The kids do need to move the 2nd row side seats back and forth to get in the out (only slight downside). If you only have 2 seats to deal with, I recommend installing in 3rd row and removing the 2nd row center for easy access. I think the trunk with the 3rd rows up is sufficient enough for most outings (and even some road trips). Remember that not all car seats fit in all cars. Unfortunately, you have to try them to get the best fit. There is a balance between price of seat, type of seat and facing, availability, safety ratings, etc... Parents will know what I mean. Another suggestion, find a local certified car seat technician in your area and ask them for recommendations. Most are extremely helpful (emphasis on overly, I mean extremely ). Unfortunately, the great gals and guys at the fire stations are not always trained to install car seats and know only the basics. Hope this helps others. You can find more information and help from this website. Low income families and other criteria can even quality for free car seats from them. Safe Kids Worldwide