Putting 2yo in front seat of car???

[dontcomeatme]

I've discussed this multiple times on MN but we're at the end of our tether right now.
My 2yo DS is severely travel sick. Has been pretty much since he was born, we could never drive for more than 40mins to an hour at max and he would projectile vomit. We had to forward face him at 2yo which we desperately didn't want to do but he was choking on his sick rear facing and being in the laid back position.
We're now at the point where even a 20-25 minute journey is making him sick. We are washing the car seat that often we have bought a spare to use while one is in the wash, and as soon as one is clean the other is dirty 😭 I sit in the back with him primed with sick bags but it makes him hysterical just to look at them so I feel like I'm making him worse!
We've been to the GP multiple times now but they just say its one of those things 🙄 I'm ringing on Monday and I want an emergency appointment with a different GP, this level of sickness isn't normal. It is projectile! Comes out of his mouth, nose, absolutely covers him. He goes grey and feels like sh*t for the rest of the day 😢
Do they prescribe anti sickness meds for kids or do we have to buy them? Most of the ones I've seen online are for 4yo plus and I'm hesitant to give him them.
I am seriously contemplating putting him in the front of the car, with the airbags off. Is that insane? AIBU to think this is the solution?!?! He's 28months, 99centile height and weight. We seriously don't know what else to do!
We've started walking and getting the bus everywhere just to prevent the sickness but this isn't sustainable, we missed a hospital appointment last week because the bus didn't come on time 🤦🏻‍♀️
Any suggestions at all? What worked for your DC? Can the doctors actually do anything ? Do you think front seat would help? It always helped me as a child but this was the 90s, my parents shoved me up the front without even a booster seat.
Any advice is appreciated 🙏

What is your little boy's weight?

I’d give it a try! I had travel sickness really badly as a child and the only thing that really helped was to stare out of the front window, definitely not the sides or look at anything inside the car for too long so it may well work!

I'm swithering at the moment, we need to replace a seat which was damaged (using the grandparents spare at the moment) and trying to decide whether another Bold R or the new Irvana one. We really like the bold but it needs isofix and seatbelt from 18 to 25kg the other seat doesn't. I'd like to see one in real life before I order it but can't find anywhere local stocking it in a shop. Good luck whatever you decide. If the front. seat worked, maybe try the piriton next and then back seat again with piriton?

It's tricky because he is on higher centiles. That's the trouble I think.

Out of Bold R or i-Irvana Max, I would probably opt for the i-Irvana Max unless the price difference is significant. (it has to be the Max, the older i-Irvana doesn't have the 125cm/25kg extended harness limit.) Simply because of the newer regulation. I know many many posters have been happy over the years with Joie Bold, though so it would also be a good choice if you are using the TT/iso.

If you want to persevere with the front seat and don't have isofix there, then you'll need a belt fitted seat, so one of the three I mentioned before (Joie Elevate R129, Graco Eldura R129, Maxi Cosi Beryl). None are ideal because the weight limit on the first two is 21.5kg, which it looks like he might get to around 3.5 years if he stays on the same line (which he might not, but still), and the Beryl has a lower-ish top harness height, so any of these three won't last you as long as the Bold or Irvana Max. The Beryl is also expensive, though IMO it's one of the better extended harness seats as long as shoulder height is not an issue. I can't remember the exact height of it now, but from memory it was identical to the Joie i-Spin 360 so you could possibly do a sneaky try of one in a shop with him if you can't find a Beryl to view in person.

Our 2018 (I think) Peugeot 3008 had isofix and top tether in the front. I know the current latest model doesn't have it - I don't know whether the one in between did. I think ours was the first after they switched to the SUV style. We now have the 5008, which has isofix in the middle back seat although I think the view to the front is not good, and I tend to feel sick if I sit in the back of it for too long. Peugeot and Citroen are both PSA Motors so have some manufacturing similarities.

DS2 will be able to go into the Joie Every Stage you already have, used rear facing. So don't worry too much about this. That at least can be postponed for a couple of years, and you can cross that bridge when he gets close to 18kg! There is usually an ERF seat around the £200 mark, so it wouldn't hurt to try and put £10 aside a month as a sort of car seat replacement fund and if you end up not needing it then you can spend it on something else.

17.5kg, over 100cm height, can't remember last measurment 🤦🏻‍♀️ x

Thank you! I think my 5 month old will probably be closer to 18kg around 12 to 18 months if he stays on track! Thankfully he can just have his brothers seat while I save to buy the ERF, that's a good idea!

I might just get the Irvana max to be honest. It seems the better of the options. I'll sit and compare all the prices tonight though. The shops around here definitely don't stock chairs like that so thank you we'll pop to smyths at the weekend and try the joie spin.
I've managed to get him an appointment on Wednesday I'm hoping we can get something sorted so I can put him back in the back soon x

Thank you this really gave me a boost. I'm been feel like crap about this whole thing, I feel like im weighing up his safety vs his health and I can't win either way!

He has a GP appointment on Wednesday to ask about some meds for his age and weight etc. But for now we're definitely trialling short drives in the front to try and ease his anxiety.

Ooh we have a fan I'll give him one next time that's a genius idea! X

Sitting up front would only really improve things if your DS is facing forward as this is usually the main contributor of sickness. In that case, have you tried the middle back seat forward facing? Middle seat is the safest seat in the car too and much more accessible for you too.

He's been FF for about 5 months with no improvement, even in the middle. I have a gp appointment on Wednesday hoping to get some meds for him and then he can stay in the back for longer 🤞 x

Thank you 🥹🫶

I think it's been suggested on this thread already but in case not - it's worth getting his eyes tested, they have cameras these days that can check a 2yo's eyes without needing him to read letters off a chart. Apparently this can contribute to travel sickness.

Yes I was reading about potential underlying issues that can contribute to motion sickness and it advised to get his eyes and ears checked, definitely want to rule everything out. Its so severe for him it's so restrictive. We dare not even take him on a little uk holiday because the drive would kill him x

I would try the front seat and see how you get on. You feel less motion in the front as well as being able to see further ahead.

Also you could consider changing your car. Some are honestly worse than others - you want a firm suspension and to be lower to the ground so there's less roll.

How old is the youngest?

Sorry just just seen youngest 5 months

yes you’ll need an exemption

Go and look for a UK law that says a child cannot sit in the front seat, using a suitable carseat Or that any exception from the law is required.

It might be law elsewhere in the world, but not in the UK.

It is illegal to put a child in a rearward facing child car seat in the front passenger seat, if there is an active passenger airbag.

apologies
this is the law

Thanks! Yes rear facing airbag must be off.
But no law on children sitting in the front, or exception required.

I think what people are mixing up is the law on children under 3 unrestrained in taxis / minicabs, they must be in the back.
That carseat exception is there for practical reasons, because lugging carseats just isn't always possible.

Maybe I missed it but it doesn’t look like the Op has ever actually had the 2 year old in the front of the car, but seems almost certain that it will remedy the problem.

If people suffer from severe car sickness, then it generally is also the same in the front seat.

@Just3ok think she tried it for a short drive. But shes running into another issue, LO is a big 2yo, who's at the top end of current seat.

Fronts seats tend not to have isofix. So she needs a carseat with straps secured with seat belt and suitable for up to about 21kg. Lots of seats convert to seatbelt only at 17kg

The op has pinned a lot of hope against this being the solution but I don’t think it’s going to be the silver bullet she hopes if he suffers as acutely as the op describes

I didn’t read that it had even be tried for a short distance

My daughter has always been car sick and at that age was much worse and sick all the time - not just in the car. She was eventually prescribed montelukast - an asthma medicine but it dries out mucus int he windpipe and makes them less sicky. It worked but I think it may have fallen out of favour now.

If you have him forward faced in the front you need to turn the airbag back on! Airbag off is only for RF.

It's not my only hope, I'm just trying to rule everything out and trying everything to see if anything makes a difference. He rode for 35 minutes in the front with window open and wasn't sick. Could be a fluke. Could be help. The front seat doesn't eliminate sickness, but being able to see clearly out the front window does help the brain with the mixed signals. I have a GP appointment tomorrow after to ask for referral yo the eye infirmary, ENT and for anti sickness meds x