As a one off, 2yo in the front seat in car seat (with airbag). Is this OK?

[OrangeKnickers]

DH and DS have to drive four hours to a wedding. I'll already be there. Can we move the carseat to the front so DH can entertain ds?

Shoould we disable the air-bag first? Front facing car seat.

Thry are leaving early, hopefully ds will nap. Then they'll have cds, snacks and tooys for entertainment.

I could be wrong but I think its illegal for this age to be in the front seat

The airbag is certainly a big danger for this age ...

I wouldnt do it

You must definitely disarm the airbag - they can seriously injure or kill a small child. I personally wouldn't have a problem putting your child in the front apart from that if you think it will make the journey easier and less distracting for the driver.

Thanks FM and GFM. I think on balance it'll be safer to have ds where dh can reach him. We'll disable the airbag.

any other thoughts?

It's not illegal to put a child in the front with an airbag but it is very dangerous, just turn it off - I wish I could do this with my stupid car

Hmm. I've driven long distances on my own with dd (aged 2) and had her in the back - big shopping bag full of STUFF next to her, reasonably frequent stops. I wouldn't feel as safe with her next to me, and I think she would understand less why i couldn't get things for her, iyswim?

is it easy to disable the airbag ? Many cars you can't, my old one we had to get a switch put in specially.

That said - I would put him in the back - hope he sleeps and only move him to the front it there is no other option and he gets really disruptive.

it isn't illegal in this country atm, however it is in lots of places on the continent and I imagine we will follow suit soon.

I have never put a child in the front seat and we regually do 6 hour trips (with breaks obv) to dps parents.

Yes they get bored and moan, but if is so much safer for them to travel in the back seat.

No-brainer imo.

But just my opinion.

I would never put a small child in the front with an airbag - they can be deadly. I also think he'd be safer in the back anyway and also it might be safer if your DH couldn't interact with him so easily, as that would be more of a distraction IYSWIM. If I drive alone with DS, he goes in the back, with toys etc., and if I have to stop to sort something out, I stop. Much safer.

In most cars you cant disarm the airbag yourself as it is done electronically.

When DS 1 was born I had him in the front (rearfacing)for a short time as I couldn't manage him in the back due to c section and stupid 2 door coupe car. Think it cost a few hundred pounds to get it turned off and back on again a few weeks later.

thank you very much for the rplies. DH read my thread and has decided to leave DS in the back for safety reasons (plus he isn't sure he can turn of the airbag). It was really helpful reading people's posts. Ta!

This thread begs the question why isn't there the massive warning sign on front facing car seats like there is on the rear facing car seats? To save all this confusion!