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Original poster

Car seats - front or back seat?

23 replies

tammybear · 16/11/2004 10:26

Just wondering where everyone puts the car seats in the car. Ive always had dd in the back, but when I got my car I was wondering whether to have her at the front so I could keep my eye on her properly but was worried she would distract me too much, so her car seat is in the back seat behind the passengers seat.

OP posts:

misdee · 16/11/2004 10:30

back is safer. if its a 5 door car then always the back seats. if its a 3 door, with no passenger airbag, then maybe front.

geordie · 16/11/2004 10:32

Would love to hear peoples views on this too!!

Bumpety Bump Bump!!

Aslo want to ask...Is is ilegal to have forward facing car seat in the front?? I thought it waas but see sooo many people with them in the front- is this really that safe??

oh and Tammy- always has ds in front util he was 8mo. Didn't find it any more dostracting than i do now he's in the back (I can pull faces at him in my lil mirror to keep him awake when he's falling asleep 2 mins before we arrive somewhere!!).

misdee · 16/11/2004 10:33

not illegal at all. just not recommended.

geordie · 16/11/2004 10:33

meant to add- we have a car in which you can turn the airbags off!

MumtoLaura · 16/11/2004 10:34

Hi Tammybear,
This is a tricky one. I've always had DD in the front, so we could chat and I could pass her things (not when driving of course!), but to do this I needed to have the airbag turned off. DP prefers her in the back as he thinks it's safer and she is less of a distraction there. A couple of months ago DD announced that she wanted her car seat in the back (I think because some of her friends at nursery sit in the back). So I've moved her to the back (behind the passenger seat), and I have a mirror stuck on my windscreen so I can see her. So actually she's as much a distraction in the back as she was in the front!

Donbean · 16/11/2004 10:42

Hi Misdee, can i ask why its safer in the back than the front. Ive always wondered?
Mine is in the back behind the passenger seat as i feel less distracted, but always think about where would be the safest place and why because as i see it, there is no way of predicting the sort of accident you are likely to have.(God forbid).Is there some statistical evidence out there or something?
(not picking, just genuinely interested ta)

clary · 16/11/2004 10:45

i beleive the middle of the back is safest because of the likelihood of side impact IYSWIM. Not easy in a lot of cars (we have a mini MPV so then you can).
In the front, you should never fit a rearward facing car seat in a front seat with an airbag. I would also avoid a front-facing one myself.
Even if there's no front airbag then the back is still safer.
I am always surprised at the numbers of families you see with (eg) dad in the front with one child, mum in the back with the other (or even on her own!)
I like to talk to DH (and map read ho ho) while we're driving, those poor mummies stuck in the back!

jellybabe83 · 16/11/2004 11:20

We have ours in the back, but the reason for this is because I don't like to sit in the back of the car! There's nothing to say you can't use forward facing seats in the front of a car, so long as there aren't airbags fitted.
Geordie - I'd be a bit hesitant of putting the seat in the front even if you can turn the airbag off... you never know what could happen.
I don't think it is any safer in the back really as far as I know. I know I prefer it because it feels as though it's more secure, and not so exposed, but that's just my opinion....!

jellybabe83 · 16/11/2004 11:21

www.childcarseats.org.uk/
www.babycentre.co.uk/general/536366.html

Here's some info for you!

Hulababy · 16/11/2004 11:22

DD has always sat in the back of the car, with both car seats. It's the safest place for them to be, if in a crash.

beansmum · 16/11/2004 11:59

I don't have a car, can't drive but bean always goes in the front of mums or dads car if they're visiting. The both have quite small 3 door cars and the seat just doesn't fit in the back. They have no passenger airbags though

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:06

Hey TB!!

When we were thinking about how we'd fit all 3 in the back with carseats, we asked Ford if we could have the airbag deactivated in the front passenger seat so we could put a carseat there. They refused to do it and said they don't recommend any child under 12 travels in the front seat.

I know plenty of people who do though and when I only had a 3 door Fiesta when ds1 was born, he went in the front seat in his baby car seat.

Now I've got them all the back (managed to fit them in!) and actually, I do think they are safer in the back.

I've got it in my head, though I could be wrong, that most serious car accidents you would be impacted head on or on the front wings.

iota · 16/11/2004 12:13

Advice from ROSPA

Passenger Airbag in Front of Car
It is safer to put children, including babies, in the rear of the car. Some parents prefer to put babies in the front so they can keep an eye on them. However, it is very dangerous to put a rearward-facing baby seat in the front if there is an airbag fitted on the passenger side. The baby seat will be very close to the dashboard and if the airbag went off it would strike the baby seat with considerable force.

It is not as dangerous to fit forward-facing seats in the front when there is an airbag present (although it is still better to put them in the rear), but make sure that the car seat is as far back as possible and the child seat is securely held to maximise the distance between the child and the airbag.

Solution
Fit rearward facing baby seats in the rear of the car. If you feel (for medical reasons, for instance) that the baby needs to be constantly monitored, find an adult to sit with the baby.

If you must put a forward-facing seat in the front when there is an airbag present (make sure that the car seat is as far back as possible and the child seat is securely held to maximise the distance between the child and the airbag.

It may be possible to have the passenger airbag de-activated or removed, although this means that any adult passenger sitting in the front will no longer have the extra protection offered by the airbag. Check with the car manufacturer and follow their advice.

I previously posted this in an august thread which had big discussion on this

www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=9&threadid=33765#783128

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:19

iota - I can see why you put the seat way back if forward facing seat plus airbag.

I put the Britax Eclipse in their once to see how it went but when ds was in it, his feet were quite near where the air bag was and if it had activated it could probably have broken his legs!!

I broke my wrist in an accident because I was just about to beep the horn as the airbag popped out and shattered it.

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:20

in 'there'

iota · 16/11/2004 12:25

Gobbledigook - I think that someone mentioned on the August thread that a child's body is not as strong as an adult so the airbag hitting it can seriously damage their chest, head etc as well as the legs

Gobbledigook · 16/11/2004 12:26

It's not worth it is it? I didn't take ds out in the front by the way - once I saw where his legs were I just thought 'no way'.

Back is def safer.

hana · 16/11/2004 12:30

def back seat even if you can switch the airbag off. Hate seeing little ones in the front seat. Think its the back until they are in their teens

JulieF · 16/11/2004 13:39

I always have mine on the back. My sil on the other hand has her dd in the front seat as she can not fina a forward facing car seat anywhere that fits properly in the rear (buckle crunch)

zephyrcat · 16/11/2004 13:46

I was going to start a thread like this too just to see if i was doing the right thing!! dp has just bought a new car, which has airbags but the passenger airback has a switch to de-activate it. However i refuse to put ds in the front seat now - just in case. He's 5 months and in a rear facing britax rock-a-tot seat. Its a bit of a pain not being able to see him but am going to invest in some little mirrors to solve that.

tallulah · 16/11/2004 20:38

We had a Peugeot 206 & could deactivate the airbag. When I bought my Sedona there was a notice on the front sun visor that said not to put children under 12 in the front. Being the law abiding citizens that they are (!) my boys insisted that DS3 couldn't travel in front until his 12th birthday (& that was a long time coming!!)

tallulah · 16/11/2004 20:42

Oh I forgot, the other thing I was going to mention is that in older cars with a split rear seat it can be dangerous to put a child on the split because it can be unstable in an accident. I did once see a really horrific programme about it. The back seat had split & sort of folded around the kids in the back, killing one & maiming others. They also advised that if you had split seats you didn't put anything heavy in the boot behind the split without tying it down, for the same reason.

Cars have improved year on year so it may be out of date now, but that has always stuck in my mind.

emilysmith234 · 19/03/2018 06:16

Graco 4Ever is the best toddler car seat. it can accommodate newborns and hassle free baby snack time. it can accommodate 40 pounds when rear facing. TopBabyGears explained well about this for toddlers.

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