to have put so much thought into where my children sit in the car?

[kittymamma]

Not a serious thread - I'm just wondering if I am a little nuts, as my husband suggests

When deciding where to sit my children in the car, I refuse to put the child lock on and sit my older child (5 years old, so not in any way mature) on the opposite side to me so that my son is behind me. I do this so if I need to get out of the car in an emergency (THINK: Car about to explode or broken down on the railway crossing) I can get myself out, get my DS out (who is just a baby) and my DD can get herself out. We can then all be away from the car in the quickest possible time. It also means that if I stop on the hard shoulder, my DD is on the side of the embankment, not the motorway. Hence I can get my son out, walk around the car carrying him, open her door and walk to the embankment with minimal fuss.

So am I nuts or have others thought of these things? Perhaps I have just watched too many action films as a child.

That's everyone's Christmas presents sorted, thanks swimlyn, plus props to you for sneaking the word 'boob' in via the product code .

Yes. Completely nuts.

I can honestly say I have never ever given anything like this even a moment's thought.

I think having a hammer is just sensible really. I have one. You can use them if you come across an accident as well.

Is the headrest thing actually true? If not I need to get one of those centre punch things. And I now need to reassess who sits where as I currently have the youngest behind me.

I was once told by a crash investigator that the worst position in the car (the one where the passenger gets killed the most in a crash) is the person sitting behind the driver and especially if it's a child.
Because of that I never dit my DD behind my seat and if she goes out with anyone I tell them where she had to sit (although I'm ashamed to say I never tell them why) I just ask for her to be sat behind passenger seat.

That's awful. What if you have two dcs though, you have to pick which one is more at risk! I had actually heard it was the front passenger seat that was the death seat.

I’ve had cars where the head restraints are NOT removable, so I’d not rely on that. Tricky to do anyway in an emergency.

Resqme is perfect for my worries – car, train, coach, it’s in my pocket. It’s a seat belt cutter and hammer all in one – about the size of a small matchbox. Only useful for toughened side windows, a laminated window (like a windscreen) is hard work.

It’s interesting to hear what ‘experts’ think, but I suppose you’ll never be able to cover all the possibilities. Look at Gorden Kaye (René in Allo Allo) in a storm he suffered serious head injuries in a car accident where a piece of wooden advertising hoarding smashed through his car windscreen.

Stocking filler anyone?