Putting 2yo in front seat of car???

No it's not but airbag must be off....that's what the symbol with the red line means on your seat and on the car....

You can fit a RF sit in a passenger seat, OP. It is only not allowed in a side facing seat.

https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

Different car? Something low to the ground with sports stiffened suspension? I hate those SUV s with their soft suspension; it feels like you are on a boat!

Poor little guy and poor mum! If it helps, I will say that my motion sickness has gotten much better once I knew my triggers (although I am way past 2!) I spent years avoiding long car rides, but now I’m fine with those. The Dramamine will help, but make sure you give it several hours in advance. I think the packet says 2 hours, but I would suggest adding an extra hour (just from my experience).

And most importantly, again from my own experience, if the Dramamine works the first time, do another car ride with Dramamine within a day or two, and a few more within the next week. Yes he might be a bit drugged for a week, but if it works, it can help long term. He might fall asleep, but wake him up before you get home so that he knows he was in the car without puking, You want to get him into a routine where driving in the car without getting sick becomes the norm for him. Currently he associates the car with sickness, and I guarantee that causes anxiety which makes the sickness worse. Once he’s able to get in the car without seeming stressed, just pretend to give him the magic pill for a while and eventually he may forget about it,

Bless him. Poor thing. Not devil spawn teslas or anything then. Perhaps if you're good drivers, try slamming the breaks on instead? Sounds like you'll just have to wait for him to outgrow it unfortunately.

I did feel incredibly sick going in the back of the Citroen we hired on holiday. I don't know what it was about that car. I was fine in the front.

I know what you mean about "glidey suspension and brakes" but TBH all modern cars are like that. I don't think buying a 90s Ford Escort will do much for OP's concerns about safety!

In terms of safety BTW this sickness sounds so extreme that it is worth prioritising over RF and back seat position. He is over 2 and will be OK in an age appropriate seat with airbag deactivated. The only issue you'll get is if he's 99th percentile and you don't have isofix in the front, you'll get an issue when he gets to 105cm/18kg because there are no seatbelt fitted FF seats which go over both of these at once. If you can get hold of a Maxi Cosi Beryl, that would probably be the best thing for that - it was very well rated and totally seatbelt fit up to 25kg. But has been discontinued unfortunately. Probably the newest thing you might have a chance of finding, though.

That’s not what I mean. It wouldn’t be outing and it isn’t an extensive list. But let’s say you say ‘well, my travel sickness wasn’t triggered in a Toyota Yaris 2010 model. So they buy one of those and he’s still sick. So then what? They can’t keep buying cars, even cheap ones!

She says they've had 2 cars so it would hardly be an extensive list...
But if OP thinks it's too outing or whatever, I'd advise an older car without glidey suspension and breaks.

@dontcomeatme is the car a manual or automatic? If it’s manual, see if you can rent an automatic for a few days and see if he does any better in the back. Some people, and I am one of them, get car sick from sudden, frequent changes in acceleration, and manual transitions have a lot more of that than an automatic. Here in Canada automatics are the norm, but when I have been a passenger in a manual, I really struggle with sickness from the sensation when gears are changed.

Airbags or no, the front passenger seat isn’t safe for him. It’s called the shotgun seat for a reason!

@Digdongdoo be sensible. The OP can’t really buy every type of car in every model to see which one doesn’t trigger sickness, and it’s likely they all do. Yes, some may be worse than others but there’s no way of knowing that without more expense than is practical for most people!

OP it would actually be helpful to know which cars they are. I still get awful motion sickness as an adult, modern cars that glide round corners with super smooth suspension are the worst for me, electric cars particularly. I'm much more comfy in a clunky old banger.

I am another car travel sufferer and I am well into my 40s. I feel sick in the back seat and certain car smells can also trigger it. I don’t ever physically get sick but it can trigger terrible nausea. I have developed vertigo bouts as I got older so I think I’ve always had an issue with the fluids in my ears.

I don’t see why you can’t put child in front of car as long as correctly installed but travelling backwards for me makes me exceedingly ill so it might make it worse.

there are travel sickness meds available - they may not be licensed for small children though but definitely investigate. It must be very limiting for you all so you have my sympathy .

Definitely try the piratin, that and cold air was a game changer for us. Her consultant thinks she'll grow out of the issue but said s lot of families use it as you can give it earlier than most of the actual travel sickness pills for children now, which mostly start at 4 or 5. We use IKEA ziplock bags and have one in her cup holder and others in the car for sick clothes to keep the smell down. We have to use the car a lot for unplanned trips to hospitals etc, so can't just decide not to travel/use public transport.

Sympathies OP, my DD was exactly the same. At the time we lived abroad and the front seat was illegal so we put her in the middle, thankfully the car was big enough to do this, and it worked. With time she mostly outgrew it and now it’s only really windy roads that get her. If you can I would try the middle first. If still no improvement or the car is too small then definitely do the front. Push the seat all the way back and consult your manual re the airbag because it varies for forward facing seats depending on the model of car.

Motion sickness is strange. I don’t think any two peoples experiences are the same. Mine has largely gone now I’m an adult and sit in the front but I do start feeling queasy quite quickly in the back. That’s actually the worst, when you aren’t actually sick but end up with that shaky, nauseous feeling sometimes for hours afterwards.

In many ways there are parallels with pregnancy nausea - some women have it so badly they are hospitalised and some women go through pregnancy without so much of a hint of sickness. Motion sickness is similar really, it just doesn’t affect some people but for others it’s really bad. And I guess as with pregnancy there are different triggers.

I had to turn my daughter FF from around 15 months because the travel sickness was awful. She’s fine FF in back seat. I also get really bad travel sickness but I’m fine in the front seat or middle seat. Is he on a tablet because that worsens travel sickness.

Is the car very hot or air conditioned? Can you open a window to let in fresh air, do you drive nice and steady with no sudden movements (as far as possible obviously). Very hard or soft suspension? Is it the same in all cars? I would try sitting in the front with air bag turned off and see if it helps.

My daughter can go 20–30 minutes without throwing up now but if my mother is driving, she’s sick in less than 5, because she has exactly this abrupt driving style.

Sorry OP I edited my post with somethings that helped us