Great, if you have one child, but not an option if you have twins. Just one more study to make me feel like I'm a terrible mother...

Baby is safest where baby fits best, which isn't always the middle. The base can fit better into a side seat, making the child safer overall.

Baby is safest in a car seat that is installed correctly and used correctly 100 % of the time. For those with twins or more than 1 child the middle is not always an option. Read your car seat manual, have the install checked by a Child Passenger Safety Technician and make sure the harness is properly fitting the child.

Even with just one child, the middle may not be the safest depending on your car. If it raises in the middle it can make the base of the carseat unstable. A carseat safely installed on the side is going to give more protection in a crash than a middle spot that's ill-fitting.

"If it raises in the middle it can make the base of the carseat unstable."

I was just thinking that, Greggie. While I don't have a child, my sister's friend has one and they have ridden in my car. My backseat slightly rises in the middle b/c the side seats are concavely curved to fit 'bums'. The middle seat would make the car seat wobbly and would scare me if I were the one driving (or even otherwise).
That is one thing that I am nervous about when I have kids... is making sure I have the proper seat, fit, and installation.

Even in our van, the middle wouldn't be the safest place because of how the middle sits. The bench that seats three is two seats put together, so it's almost a point in the middle. It's fine when someone sits on it alone with the belt, but not for a carseat.

We installed ours in the middle per our instruction manual and the certifier who checked our installation at the fire department. I was told it's marginally safer in the center in my car, but wow, it's sure a pain. It's so hard to get the carseat in and out and I recently hurt my back doing so. I have to climb totally in and contort myself to get it out. The certifier said that it's nearly as safe on the side, (in my model) so we might opt to move it outboard soon as my son gets heavier. I'm really worried I'm going to do permanent damage to myself. Of course, my son's safety is paramount, but if what I read is correct, in my car the center isn't really a great deal safer in the testing. And of course, whatever convertible seat we get soon might have completely different safety instructions.

the reason the middle seat is the best for a child is because in case on an accident that is the first point of contact or if it is thrown onto oncoming traffic it will be hit, that is why i choose to use the middle seat, yes its convenient to put the child on the seats closer to the door, and the middle is easiest if you have to turn over to check on the child

For us, it isn't "convenient" to put the child closer to the door. It's safer, in the van at least. All carseat techs have stated that it shouldn't go in the middle.

In schappycat's case, I'd feel perfectly fine moving the child the side and not consider it "convenience." The margin of safety in her car's middle seat sounds very small, and the added safety of her own health should be taken into account. Being possibly unable to physically get the child into the middle seat correctly would negate the "safest" spot.

greggie why are you so offended i simply wrote it would be convenient to put the seat closer to the door that is a statement not attacking what you are saying is easier, "I" do think it is convenient to put the seat closer to the door, "ME" my opinion

Good point Pink.

We purchased our car with the safety of a car seat fitting in the middle.

Our seat fits nicely in the middle and I climb into the back seat to put baby there.

I have child #3 coming this summer and I have been debating how to situate 3 car sets--especially for the new baby.
I think proper installation will be paramount.
They offer car set installation service at the hospital so I'll probably leave it up to them.

Does anyone know if you can put an infant seat next to a front facing toddler seat? (E.g. my 18 month old will be in her seat on the side, next to the door. My new baby would go in the middle, right next to hear seat?)

I've always thought the middle was the safest because of the risk during a side impact collision. Now we have to have one car seat on each side, with my stepdaughter in the middle (referee). When the next baby shows up I suppose we'll have to move someone to the third row (we have an Explorer)and I don't consider that very safe but what else can you do. At least we don't drive much.

i have a new crossover and have no middle seat in our car, and our second car has a large incline in the middle so that seems much more unsafe than placing her behind the driver. plus we will have two soon, so that isnt even an option anymore. (both are cars are rated the highest for safety so we thought about that too when we purchased them)

i don't think we do things to make it easier for us, i think it has to do what is the safest for the car seat. if your car seat doesn't install correct in the middle than it isn't the safest place for your infant/toddler. Oh and opinions can still hurt peoples feelings when it comes to kids so I understand getting upset about saying it is an inconvenience. would you say that to a friends face talking to her, probably not the internet makes people a little meaner than they should be.

bessa--yes, you can. This is how we had our sets installed when my 2nd child was born. The safety guys did it for us and said it was safest. It also gave us room for 1 more passenger.
It probably depends on the car.

*seats* installed, I meant

bessa, yes, as long as they fit safely. We had a hell of a time finding a bucket and two boosters to fit safely in our Santa Fe.

yes i would actually tell a friend to her face, but that was not my intention to upset someone, so why get so upset

I'm not upset, I was merely explaining how it's not always for convenience, but for added safety. And the posts that asks you if you'd tell a friend that to her face is very calm-toned as well, not upset.

The middle seat is not the safest seat, period. There are other factors that need to be taken into account, whether you have one child or eight.

My center seat has a arm rest so the center is not the best place in my car.

Thanks for the responses.

My car has the Latch system but it is only available for the side seats. It is impossible to fit a child's seat in the middle seat. I have tried several times (cause miraculously it is gonna change one of these days, right.) So I will have no choice but to put the carseat on the side. The same goes for hubby's car.

The Latch system makes me nuts. *lol* I've never found one that worked easily with either of our cars or fastened it more securely than the seatbelt alone.

To clarify, I don't mean people shouldn't use it. Just that it makes me personally nuts. Others I know love it and would never use a seatbelt again.

I got the Orbit toddler seat. It may have been pricier but the turning feature is great.

Greggie- I plan to use both the Latch system and the seatbelt if possible...cause I'm not neurotic or anything...lol...

That's what I always said I'd do, too. *lol* I just for some reason cannot get the Latch system. Maybe it's because when I first became accustomed to installing and changing out carseats, they didn't have it.

Be sure to check your users manual as most car seats do not allow to use the LATCH and seatbelt together. If it isn't crash tested and allowed by the manufacturer it isn't safer. Your seat should be fine with one or the other correctly installed.

Jennifer, my car also has the LATCH system on the sides only, but the certifier I saw told me that the center with the seat belt only was still safer (as did the manual), at least for my brand of car seat. It really depends on your seat with your car seat and how snug you can get the fit. We could get the seat belt fit just as tight as the LATCH. Otherwise, we would have done the side.

schnappycat- the middle seat of my car isn't wide enough for a car seat to fit and be buckled in...like I said, I have tried repeatedly. I think my best bet is to have it checked out by a certifier.

We have our baby in his infant seat in the center with the LATCH. My 2 year old is in his convertable with the LATCH on the passenger side and my older son is in his booster on the driver side. It is a huge pain to get the baby in and out of the middle seat because we have a Yukon which is high anyway, plus we have to lift him over my sons booster, but that is the only place he will fit. I don't want to move any of them to the third row until they are old enough to be out of a booster seat. We specifically bought our Yukon so that all three of them could be in the same row but we could have an extra row available for other passengers and subsequent children.

Be sure to check your manual before you automatically place baby in the middle. Some cars - all our VW's for instance - are specifically designed for the side seats to be safer for baby. Presumably, they do this since you can only put baby in the middle when you only have one baby. Everything from the shape of the seats, to the way the car absorbs impact to the placement of the airbags is specifically designed for baby to be on the side, not the middle. So, baby is NOT safer in the middle in a VW.

When we got our first VW, I read the manual and then spoke with several people at VW before I was convinced of this.

This is good to know