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Original poster

Putting 2yo in front seat of car???

240 replies

dontcomeatme · 06/09/2025 23:00

I've discussed this multiple times on MN but we're at the end of our tether right now.
My 2yo DS is severely travel sick. Has been pretty much since he was born, we could never drive for more than 40mins to an hour at max and he would projectile vomit. We had to forward face him at 2yo which we desperately didn't want to do but he was choking on his sick rear facing and being in the laid back position.
We're now at the point where even a 20-25 minute journey is making him sick. We are washing the car seat that often we have bought a spare to use while one is in the wash, and as soon as one is clean the other is dirty 😭 I sit in the back with him primed with sick bags but it makes him hysterical just to look at them so I feel like I'm making him worse!
We've been to the GP multiple times now but they just say its one of those things 🙄 I'm ringing on Monday and I want an emergency appointment with a different GP, this level of sickness isn't normal. It is projectile! Comes out of his mouth, nose, absolutely covers him. He goes grey and feels like sh*t for the rest of the day 😢
Do they prescribe anti sickness meds for kids or do we have to buy them? Most of the ones I've seen online are for 4yo plus and I'm hesitant to give him them.
I am seriously contemplating putting him in the front of the car, with the airbags off. Is that insane? AIBU to think this is the solution?!?! He's 28months, 99centile height and weight. We seriously don't know what else to do!
We've started walking and getting the bus everywhere just to prevent the sickness but this isn't sustainable, we missed a hospital appointment last week because the bus didn't come on time 🤦🏻‍♀️
Any suggestions at all? What worked for your DC? Can the doctors actually do anything ? Do you think front seat would help? It always helped me as a child but this was the 90s, my parents shoved me up the front without even a booster seat.
Any advice is appreciated 🙏

OP posts:
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Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:25

dontcomeatme · 07/09/2025 00:46

We're trying to get the bus more, but my partner works 12 hrs a day and I have another DC who has regular health appointments. My DS has nursery which would be 2 buses each way, swimming lessons etc. We're using buses / walking so much more but don't think we could do 100% no car. I will have to try and plan as minimal amount of car as possible.

Show quote history

Surely this is you driving?

Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 19:24

We have had to depend on the car more since new baby was born as they have health issues and we need to get to hospital/doctors regularly and quickly.

OP posts:
Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:24

You said you were a cautious drive 😆

Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 19:23

I never stated on this thread that I drive. I stated that I sit in the back ready to catch the sick. I stated on this thread that my very close friend car pools for us using our car, because we are the only ones going to the nursery with a 7 seater. I didn't see the revelance of who was driving 🤷🏻‍♀️ doesn't matter who drives my DS is the one with travel sickness

OP posts:
Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:18

dontcomeatme · 23/06/2025 08:47

I never learned to drive and I dont want/need to. I use public transport. My family was a 4 car household at one point I am not adding to that. My OH drives and I use the bus and metro with the double buggy. They don't need to drive at all.

one example of many

😵‍💫

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:16

This just got weird. Very weird

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:16

dontcomeatme · 07/09/2025 00:46

We're trying to get the bus more, but my partner works 12 hrs a day and I have another DC who has regular health appointments. My DS has nursery which would be 2 buses each way, swimming lessons etc. We're using buses / walking so much more but don't think we could do 100% no car. I will have to try and plan as minimal amount of car as possible.

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You have said multiple times on. Multiple threads that you never learned to drive and have no desire to, and that you have great public transport and just use that.

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:14

Do you even drive OP?

you are always on posts saying how you don’t drive, no need to as you get public transport everywhere!

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 19:11

So 20 mins to nearest supermarket / retail estate… I didn’t know that 🤷‍♀️

Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 19:10

Skewed 😅 wtf is that spelling

OP posts:
Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 19:03

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 18:33

Op…. You drive there with him In the back

and then… move him

I didn’t clarify because I thought you would just assume that

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I perfectly understood that. But it would be an absolute waste of time. It takes 20 minutes to get to our local supermarket, with him in the back for the drive there, he would already have vomited before we got there. Or at the very least he would already be extremely nauseous, so the experiment would be useless, all the data would be squewd by him already feeling sick.
The only way to determine if the front seat helps would be to put him in the front at the very beginning of a journey before any motion sickness had the chance to kick in.

OP posts:
Just3ok · 09/09/2025 18:33

dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 15:41

I would still have to drive him to the supermarket, by the time i got there he would be sick anyway? So that's not an option. And I've already trialled it the other day and it was helpful. This is a temporary measure until I can hopefully get some medication for him x

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Op…. You drive there with him In the back

and then… move him

I didn’t clarify because I thought you would just assume that

Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 15:41

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 15:31

I’d be going to a supermarket car park or a retail estate on a Sunday evening and driving around on a few occasions to see what happens.

No point spending loads of time debating and pondering something if…. Turns out doesn’t help anyway

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I would still have to drive him to the supermarket, by the time i got there he would be sick anyway? So that's not an option. And I've already trialled it the other day and it was helpful. This is a temporary measure until I can hopefully get some medication for him x

OP posts:
Just3ok · 09/09/2025 15:31

dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 15:24

It's not my only hope, I'm just trying to rule everything out and trying everything to see if anything makes a difference. He rode for 35 minutes in the front with window open and wasn't sick. Could be a fluke. Could be help. The front seat doesn't eliminate sickness, but being able to see clearly out the front window does help the brain with the mixed signals. I have a GP appointment tomorrow after to ask for referral yo the eye infirmary, ENT and for anti sickness meds x

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I’d be going to a supermarket car park or a retail estate on a Sunday evening and driving around on a few occasions to see what happens.

No point spending loads of time debating and pondering something if…. Turns out doesn’t help anyway

Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 15:29

dontcomeatme · 08/09/2025 07:25

Thanks everyone for the car seat recommendations. I'm definitely not RF again that was too traumatic for everyone involved.
We trialled DS in the front last night with his car seat and air bag switched off, we wanted to try it, 1 to see if it actually helped, and 2, if not I needed to swap all the car seats back round haha.
We did a 35 minute round trip with 1 break in the middle, he had the window fully open and we were looking for all the cars out the window, he wasn't sick and his colour looked great throughout the whole journey 🥹 I'm going to keep him up front for now, ring the GP and ask about medication and then hopefully he can go in the middle in the back 🤞 x

@Just3ok I added an update

OP posts:
Original poster
dontcomeatme · 09/09/2025 15:24

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 14:38

The op has pinned a lot of hope against this being the solution but I don’t think it’s going to be the silver bullet she hopes if he suffers as acutely as the op describes

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It's not my only hope, I'm just trying to rule everything out and trying everything to see if anything makes a difference. He rode for 35 minutes in the front with window open and wasn't sick. Could be a fluke. Could be help. The front seat doesn't eliminate sickness, but being able to see clearly out the front window does help the brain with the mixed signals. I have a GP appointment tomorrow after to ask for referral yo the eye infirmary, ENT and for anti sickness meds x

OP posts:
InMyShowgirlEra · 09/09/2025 14:51

dontcomeatme · 08/09/2025 07:25

Thanks everyone for the car seat recommendations. I'm definitely not RF again that was too traumatic for everyone involved.
We trialled DS in the front last night with his car seat and air bag switched off, we wanted to try it, 1 to see if it actually helped, and 2, if not I needed to swap all the car seats back round haha.
We did a 35 minute round trip with 1 break in the middle, he had the window fully open and we were looking for all the cars out the window, he wasn't sick and his colour looked great throughout the whole journey 🥹 I'm going to keep him up front for now, ring the GP and ask about medication and then hopefully he can go in the middle in the back 🤞 x

If you have him forward faced in the front you need to turn the airbag back on! Airbag off is only for RF.

JazzyBBBG · 09/09/2025 14:49

My daughter has always been car sick and at that age was much worse and sick all the time - not just in the car. She was eventually prescribed montelukast - an asthma medicine but it dries out mucus int he windpipe and makes them less sicky. It worked but I think it may have fallen out of favour now.

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 14:38

I didn’t read that it had even be tried for a short distance

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 14:38

Needspaceforlego · 09/09/2025 14:35

@Just3ok think she tried it for a short drive. But shes running into another issue, LO is a big 2yo, who's at the top end of current seat.

Fronts seats tend not to have isofix. So she needs a carseat with straps secured with seat belt and suitable for up to about 21kg. Lots of seats convert to seatbelt only at 17kg

The op has pinned a lot of hope against this being the solution but I don’t think it’s going to be the silver bullet she hopes if he suffers as acutely as the op describes

Needspaceforlego · 09/09/2025 14:35

@Just3ok think she tried it for a short drive. But shes running into another issue, LO is a big 2yo, who's at the top end of current seat.

Fronts seats tend not to have isofix. So she needs a carseat with straps secured with seat belt and suitable for up to about 21kg. Lots of seats convert to seatbelt only at 17kg

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 14:10

Maybe I missed it but it doesn’t look like the Op has ever actually had the 2 year old in the front of the car, but seems almost certain that it will remedy the problem.

If people suffer from severe car sickness, then it generally is also the same in the front seat.

Needspaceforlego · 09/09/2025 11:45

Thanks! Yes rear facing airbag must be off.
But no law on children sitting in the front, or exception required.

I think what people are mixing up is the law on children under 3 unrestrained in taxis / minicabs, they must be in the back.
That carseat exception is there for practical reasons, because lugging carseats just isn't always possible.

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 11:24

Needspaceforlego · 09/09/2025 10:59

Go and look for a UK law that says a child cannot sit in the front seat, using a suitable carseat Or that any exception from the law is required.

It might be law elsewhere in the world, but not in the UK.

Edited
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It is illegal to put a child in a rearward facing child car seat in the front passenger seat, if there is an active passenger airbag.

apologies
this is the law

Needspaceforlego · 09/09/2025 10:59

Just3ok · 09/09/2025 10:57

Sorry just just seen youngest 5 months

yes you’ll need an exemption

Show quote history

Go and look for a UK law that says a child cannot sit in the front seat, using a suitable carseat Or that any exception from the law is required.

It might be law elsewhere in the world, but not in the UK.