How bad is it for a 5yo to be in the front seat of the car?

[StealthPolarBear]

I ahve just seen DH drive off with DS like that. In his car seat. It's something that has never occured to me (and my car doesn't have the fittings in the front anyway) and I have no idea if it is a huge issue or not ideal but not too bad.

As long as the air bag (if you have one) is disabled, I don't think it's a massive concern.

long as the air bag is turned off its absolutly fine aslong as they are strapped in correctly and in the right carseat/booster foir their age.

if he is small (under 120cm I think) he could be suffocated by the airbag should it go off.
the safest place for children is in their carseat in the middle seat of the back row.

opoh I hope he remembered that. Sure he will have done, he's quite good with things like that. i might call him when I think he's there to at least make sure he does it on the way back.
That;s a relief, thanks :)

he will have done it as DS gets car sick ad he thinks this will help. There will have been a reason as he had to tae the seat out of the back and put it in the front (I saw him start to do it but assumed he was just swapping sides to give DS more leg room behind the passenger seat)

He'd be safer in the back, but like the others say...

if they cant switch the air bag off then the seat should be moved as far back as possible

no he definitely can, and probably has. But I have texted him anyway to make sure :)

My friends DH works in the R&D dept of a car manufacturer and has always been happy with putting DCs in the front (they have 5! so have needed to!) so long as the airbag was de-activated.

The only exception he has not been happy with has been a rear facing infant seat

thanks everyone. It's just soemthing we've never done (though we have had infant seat on the front when needed, and for a short journey about 6 or 7 times) so had never crossed my mind

The air bad should be switched off in a REAR FACING car seat.

As CadleCrap says the turning off of airbags only applies to children in rear facing car seats so at age 5 it doesn't really matter if they are off as I assume by now he will be on a standard booster seat.

Oh, right. Hmm. But is he at the right height for the airbag to act?

Smaller children should have the airbag off when forward facing as well. In a rearward facing seat the force of an airbag could kill, in a forward facing the force of an airbag could break bones (ie O have heard of legs being broken).

Ok rospa says we should ask the car manufacturer about airbags with front facing seats, will have a look on their site

I agree with Arion, I saw it on a TV programme once where they used crash test dummies and it was the angle and force that the airbag caught the child that was the problem...leading to broken necks and dislocated jaws etc.