10 year old in front seat (>135cm)

[sleepraptor]

Is there any reason not to have a 10 year old child who is above the height for a car seat in the front seat? And would you keep the air bags on?

From what I can find online it seems to be fine, and you can even have a child in a car seat in the front seat. Seems to suggest if front facing then keep air bag on (turn off if rear facing).

And a side question, is there any benefit to keeping them on a booster seat even if past 135cm but not yet 12?

Thanks

Is anybody under that height at twelve? That is very short.

My son is 8 but over 135cm. I keep him on a booster cushion as the seatbelt fits better across his chest, otherwise it looks uncomfortable. He normal sits in the back with his siblings but if we are in the car alone will sit in front with air bag on. Although I do have the seat back as far as it can go - somehow feels safer to me.

My 10yo, last measured at 145 a couple of months back, sits on the front seat on a booster cushion as it makes the belt comfier.

My 10 year old is 156cm and has sat in the front as a normal adult would since he was 8. Airbags on.

My 10 year old is 143cm and in a hbb - sometimes she goes in the front seat in it but with the airbag off. She’s not tall enough just to use a seatbelt without either the booster cushion or hbb yet.

Thanks, that's really helpful. It seemed to be fine from what I could find but just wanted to check if people were doing it.

I'm interested in this too. Is there a height/weight at which using high back boosters is less safe than just a booster or nothing?

Personally I wouldn't put my DC in the front seat unless there's a really good reason to do so as I understand that back seat is much safer than front seat.

Sit in front with airbag on but seat pushed fully back, but he would be safer in the back.
If you had three younger kids he’d have to sit in the front.

Have a look at how the seatbelt crosses his lap. If it's still on his tummy then he's better off with a booster seat even though over 135cm, whereas if it's across his hips or top of thighs then he's fine without. You also want to look at whether he can sit comfortably with his bum to the back of the seat and his knees at the edge vs whether he tends to slouch forwards slightly in order to bend his knees, which is common when their legs are just slightly too short to sit right back. The problem is this slight slouching causes the lap belt to ride up onto their tummy. You don't want it over soft tissue, you want it crossing bone. It can cause internal bleeding/abdominal issues if you crash and the belt is over their tummy rather than hips.

In some European countries the limit is 150cm. In reality children have different length of legs, thickness of tummy etc and car seats and seatbelts are different shapes, so all children will reach the point of being safe without a booster seat at different times, generally somewhere between 135 and 150cm, and often at different times in different cars.

There is always a benefit to using a high back over a booster cushion, until they are physically too big to fit (many up to date ones will last for the full 150cm assuming the roof of your car doesn't get in the way.) they give you better belt support for the upper body and some provide side impact protection for the head, but it's the lap where it really makes a difference. For younger children high back is definitely worth it because the seatbelt tends to rub their neck without the shoulder belt guide.

As for front seat / airbags, if a child's head and chest is where an adult's would be in that seat then they are protected by the airbag, but if their head and chest are lower then they are at risk from it because of the force with which they inflate. Some cars prohibit children under 12 in the front seat - check your manual.

The back seat is much so safer than front seat. All of the safety features (airbag etc) are designed to protect an adult's body and can actually cause injuries to a smaller child, even in minor impacts (such as if the airbag goes off it will do so in their face instead of protecting their chest etc.). In some countries (e.g Spain, Romania), it's illegal for children younger than 12 to sit in the front seat if there are empty rear seats because they're considered less safe.
Regarding high-back boosters over normal boosters, ours (Recaro) are designed to suit children up to 150cm (as this is the requirement in many European countries, most major brands will be the same) and so long as a child still fits, they are much safer than just a booster seat.

Booster (or HBB) until the 5 point test is met britax version.

My oldest son needed a booster cushion until pretty close to 150cm in my car. We ditched it in DHs car before then because ye fitted the seats.
My currently 10 yr old is 140 and still in his hbb, as he still fits.

They only go in the front if they cant go in the back for some reason.

Thank you for sharing this information. My DC have been clamouring to get rid of car seats and I was tempted to give in until reading all of this. Will be keeping the hbbs until they actually grow out of them. Thanks.

My 10 yr old D's is 162cm he doesn't use a booster seat when sitting in the front or back of the car.

My 8 year old is above the minimum height and will occasionally ride in the front on short journeys. He is primarily in a HBB in the back and ill keep him in that until he outgrows it.

DS 10 is > 135cm. Only recently have I allowed to sit in the front with booster for local/city drives. I said he doesn’t need the booster but he likes the height. He always sits in the back for motorway journeys though.

All really helpful and interesting thanks. It is just a one-off journey as I'll have 3 kids in the back as well but I think I'll put the one in the front on a booster seat depending on where the head sits against the seat.

Thank you so much for that great information @BertieBotts. My DD is 8 and 136cm and I'm just starting to think about this. That information has changed what I'll do.

I agree with a pp that the back seat is safer. Unless you need a child to sit in the front because of space, why do it? I wasn't allowed to sit in the front until I was about 12/13 and I didn't let my son, either.

For a one-off journey I'd not stress about it though OP - I let ds sit in the front once when he was 8 because I had 3 other kids in the back.

I thought booster seats were dangerous?

Do you mean booster cusions, animal?

Yes, sorry!

OK so I suppose this is the same old problem when we classify things as "safe" or "dangerous" in a blanket way, when what we really mean to do is make a comparison between two options.

If you have the choice between high backed booster vs booster cushion, high backed boosters are definitely safer. Particularly for younger children but for any child in that booster seat stage really.

But for older children if you have the choice between seatbelt only vs seatbelt with booster cushion, and the booster cushion gives them a better fit over their hips, then it's a safer option relatively speaking. Sometimes a full size high backed booster isn't an option for an older child - either because the car ceiling doesn't allow space for it (can be a problem in hatchbacks), or because the child has outgrown the top setting and is old enough it doesn't make financial sense to buy a full booster seat or because of portability/practicality, or sometimes just because it can be easier to persuade them to use one if it isn't as obvious/visible to their peers!

Booster cushions are safe and do offer an advantage in safety if the child is old and tall enough. High backed boosters are still better if you have the option to use one.

@BertieBotts

Thanks so much for all this advice. It’s really helpful.

Great response @BertieBotts!

Something that stuck with me during a discussion on younger children who are past the 135cm is that whilst they might be tall for their age, their bone density is no different to shorter children the same age so they still need the same protection.

These people are good: childseatsafety.co.uk/135cm/

I'm not really sure what bone density would have to do with it, but the article does illustrate the problem very well.

When DS1 was just 135cm we travelled back to the UK and I didn't take a booster seat with us, because I had one arm in a cast and just really needed to minimise luggage! But what I found was it totally depended on the car whether he fitok without a booster seat or not. And I think that is why the UK has gone with 135cm, its a kind of flexibility / let parents decide thing. Whereas other countries have gone with the 150cm as all children will fit nicely in all cars by that height.