to think it's a bit indulgent to put a child in the front seat of the car rather than an adult?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

Obviously in the passenger seat.

And don't get me started on the safety of it.

Often you can get two car seats and an adult in the back of a car where it is not possible to get three car seats.

The rules in our car are that ds1 can sit in the front if no other adults are in the car (apart from the driver, of course). When an adult is in the car, he swaps to the back and tbh sitting in the front is a 'treat' not am everyday thing. That said, when DC3 is born, ds1 will probably sit in the front during the week and go in the back when another adult is in the car, such as at the weekend as it will be a tight fit in the back, so for ease he will go in the front.

Chaos: I know but just pointing out that the look on an 8 year-old's face after being taken for a hoon spirited drive in a 2-seater convertible trumps all safety considerations

Good point nancy and Kirsty.

at baby on lap. People with that sort of mentality are beyond words.

My DS sat in the front while my brother sat in the back with my DD recently.
Not being indulgent, his seat was already in the front from earlier when I needed the back seats,and I couldn't be faffed to move it.
I had turned the air bag off though.

He does normally go in the back, and grown ups in front (rare that I give adults a lift though!)

Sometimes DD (11) sits in the front if she's being tormented by DS in the back seats.

On long journeys DS is sometimes in the front instead of me of DH as he gets car sick and being in the front helps to stop it.

If there are no other adults then he is usually in the front - he's nearly 5.

I'm only short so imo it wouldn't make much difference if it was me sat in the front or my DC on a booster seat - the air bag would hit us in the same place. However i don't allow DC to sit in the front unless she has two friends home to play (they sit in the back and she is in the front which again imo is the less safe of the two places so i don't allow a friend of my DC to sit there)

I remember being pg and my friend making me squeeze into the back seat of her two door car because her pfb had to sit in the front because he always did when being picked up from school. Was a bit at this but didn't want to disagree and rock the boat! I have a pfb of my own now but will always allow an adult to take the front seat even when my DC have grown up because that is polite. It only takes one minute to put a booster seat in the back to allow an adult to take the front seat but of course if it's a rear facing carseat with a newborn then i wouldn't dream of taking the front.

My DC have sat in the front seat regularly since they were big enough not to need booster seats. Especially when it is just 1 adult and them.

If I was taking another adult with me they would just get into the back without having to be asked.

When we go out as a family 2+2 they generally sit in the back but not always I don't mind the back seat it is as comfortable as the front.

On holiday or for long journeys we move around especially when sightseeing.

YANBU

My 8y does sit in the front seat - seat back, np arbag, on booster, although tall enough to not need one.

When smaller she always went in the back as it is safer.

But if an adult is travelling with us, or it is me and DH in the car with DD, DD always goes in the back.

Most cars are smaller in the back than they are the front. Therefore they are generally more comfortable for children, who are shorter, than adults.

I personally hate sitting in the back as I get quite travel sick, but don't in the front. DD doesn't suffer so no reason for that to change.

I have a 4 seater car and 3 children so frequently have to do two trips if DH is with me. The youngest is 5 months and sits in the front as there is no room in the back for her. With the airbag turned off I don't see why it is a problem.

On Longer journey's I like to sit in the back with my youngest son - to watch a film.... and I make my older son sit in the front !!

YANBU, my Sil does it with her (only) DD, doesn't matter how many other people are in the car at the time, they have to squash up in the back seat.
Our DS (10) can travel in the front with no booster seat if it's only him and 1 other adult but other than that he's in the back. I find it quite rude to relegate another adult to the back just so your little darling can play with the cd player all the time...

I agree with you. And I suffered car sickness as a child but was always in the back.

I know lots of people who had their kids as toddlers in the back but when they get to 6 or 7 let them sit in the front. I don't understand it, its still safer to sit in the back. DD is 10 and still sits in the back which she thinks is very unfair when her friends can sit in the front of their parents' cars.

Maryz, I know, incredibly rude, but he is always allowed to do exactly as he likes so I just grit my teeth for the sake of friendship! (am waiting for him to be the teenager from hell though).

My dcs would never even dream of climbing in the front while an adult 'guest' had to sit in the back, even though dd is 15 now.

My DDs take turns in the front seat, it started out just to stop them from killing each other in the back, though.
Anything for a bit of peace, other adults or not.

I always used to sit in the front of my parents car with my mam or dad in the back with my sister and brother when we were all together because I couldn't sit in the back all squashed up and then walk when we stopped as all my joints seized up. No matter what other adults were in the car they would always go in the back and me in the front.

As for my children well they go in the back because they are small but when they get older they will go in the front sometimes and I can't see me sticking them in the back because I give someone a lift, it's our family car so our family gets best seats those getting a lift can take what they are given.

But there's more legroom in the front freddy, surely the littlest go in the back if you're giving a lift?

I get car sick in DHs car so often sit in the back and DS sits in the front

Should add DS nearly as tall as me 5'8"

My DS2 (almost 4) rides in the front of the car with the airbag switched off and the seat pushed as far back as it will go. (He even has his own wee steering wheel.)

Most of the time it is just us two in the car cos big brother is at school so i can keep him occupied better in the front than in the back and am not as distracted checking the mirror to see what he's up to...

I read that it was against the law to use the front unless all back seats were taken with other child car seats. So I only ever do it if we have a friends child in the car. My two would love to go in front all the time tho.

I'm in my 30s and still get into the back of my parents' cars automatically if they have another 'adult' with them