..to ask why you allow your child to sit in the front seat of the car?

[schooltripwoes]

By child I mean one small enough to need a car seat / booster (under 11s or thereabouts).

All safety advice I've ever read clearly states that children are generally much, much safer sat in the back of the car if there were to be an accident.

Passenger seat safety features such as airbags are designed to protect an adult body, and as such may not work well for a young child.

Yet many of the children arriving at my children's school / hobbies travel sat in the front of the car (I notice this mainly for ages 5-8). In some cases it's because the rear seats are occupied with several siblings / lift shares, but in most cases it's not.

If you let your child sit in the front, why?

Because my 8 yr old was big enough to reach the height criteria!!

My last and current car have the front passenger airbag turned off by default and oddly so have the small cars I've hired- I have to turn it on. In other words car manufacturers expect you to have a child the front passenger seat of small cars and hatchbacks.

Oh. And i turn the passenger airbag off when there's a child there.

I have my kida who liles to unbuckle in the front. Safer for him and me as he can't sneaky unbuckle when he's right next to me

I have 4 dc, so three in the back, eldest in the front. I guess I could put one in the boot, or someone could buy me a 7 seater. Feel free to send me one for Xmas, Santa!

I don't have a booster seat for Ds2 anymore. He sits in the back or the front, and has done from aged 9.

I don't think 'safety is NOT a priority for such parents' applies.

The only time I have a child in the front for a short journey when the car is full ie kids friends coming back after school. Tallest in the front, seat as far back as poss. This is a recent thing as DD is 9 so most of her school friends are tall enough.
Never otherwise. One of my close relatives is a crash safety specialist for one of the big car manufacturers. It is of course a parent's perogative to make their own risk assessment regarding this but I personally feel it's not a good idea having a child in the front. Even if they just meet the height restrictions, the damage from the airbag on a child's body can be worse than the crash itself depending on the speed. Unfortunately switching off the airbag doesn't 100% guarantee they won't activate.

My dd only goes in the front when dh isn’t travelling on a long journey with us. Dd1 gets car sick, and also they fight when they’re bored regardless of all the entertainment I give them on the journey, and all the stops. It’s distracting and dangerous.

For posters with motion sickness these might be worth a go (or you could try a pair of sunglasses and stick some paper one side).

www.amazon.co.uk/TravelShades-Motion-Sickness-Relief-Glasses/dp/B075XQR5YK

They look ridiculous, but they work for me.

Because mine fight in the back and it’s way more dangerous as I can’t concentrate if they’re punching and screaming
One in the front seperate them and we can get to our destination safer and far less stressed

Car manufacturers have a lot to be blamed for. I bought a touran 7 seater which cannot fit two high backed boosters in the back and a rear facing seat so right now my 7 year old is up front. I hate it and I’m so annoyed but unless someone wants to pony up 10k that’s how it’ll have to be.

Have a look on You tube theres loads of videos

Heres just one

Both of mine went in the front when they were in baby seats as they both hated them and screamed the whole time unless they could see me. My daughter travels in the front now at 4 because she pukes every time she goes in the back.

Mine has been in the front since she could talk, cos once she started she never stopped and as a driver it’s far less distracting (and therefore safer) to have someone talking in the front seat rather than have to concentrate on the road in front of you and the child wibbling in the back.

They don’t fit in the car otherwise

I have my 6 yo DS in the front on his booster with the air bag deactivated. I actually started doing this more after being on a speed awareness course where they showed us films of crash scenarios. One of which was a mother crashing her car because she was distracted by her children arguing in the back.
I had no idea people would be judging me for letting him travel in the front seat

But I'm a rear facing to 18kgs person

My 6 year old is 17.2 kg (just weighed him), can just imagine his reaction to that (he's in a 5 point seat still and won't be moving for a while). It's a nightmare being a short family, DD1 is 11 but still under 135cm and does not like having to be in a HBB when she gets a lift from friends who don't need them anymore. Meanwhile their cousins are much taller and have parents who are more 'relaxed' about carseats so my niece who is 7 no longer uses a booster. So that's helpful.

When my dc fight in the back I parent them, I don’t put one at risk to stop an argument. Loads of good reasons here for using the front but I think we all know that not everyone has four kids, vomiting kids or uncontrollable kids. It’s one of those “they’re so grown up and they want to” things for many parents.
It’s legal to give your child alcohol, not sure how that’s an argument.
I have always heard the front passenger seat being called the death seat too, couldn’t tell you where from.

God you guys would hate me i took my 10yr old up the shops on the back of my motorbike.

Hang on can I legally pop my four year old into the front without a car seat??

Because that seems like a really bad idea to me.

count but I meant withthe airbag off, I turn mine off as I knew this was dangerous but I thought if I did that then child was relatively safe but I think people are saying it isn’t. So I was just asking to clarify as I don’t understand why. I see that car accident from the front would be dangerous but also someone going into the side with kids in the back is just as dangerous isn’t it? Is it just that the probability is that accidents involving the front of the car are more common?

No Leonie - it’s not legal to have a 4 year old in your own car without a car seat, whether front or back, unless it’s an emergency.

My 7 year old sits in his car seat with surrounds in the front and talks to me on short journeys. The seat is pushed back but he has the full protection of his car seat. You should only turn off the airbag for rear facing car seats not normal forward ones.

www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/honestjohn/6936341/Honest-John-Child-car-seat-rules-and-front-airbag-usage.html

In Spain children need to be 12 years old to sit in the front seat. www.autoeurope.com/travel-guides/spain/spain-driving-laws-and-child-safety/

Do none of the “maximise safety at all costs” brigade want to blast me for my reckless walking habits then?