DO YOU PUT YOUR CHILD IN THE FRONT SEAT?

[sheepgirl]

My ds is almost 9mths old and I drop him off to the CM's every morning on my way to work and then pick him up inb the evening. The CM lives around the corner from me. My ds hates sitting in the car seat and will scream the house down. However, I have noticed that if he is sitting in his car seat in the front passenger seat he is fine. So the 5 min journey there and back could be much more pleasurable. However, is it a total health and safety no no to have your baby in the front seat?

We have a front air bag.

rhubarb an airbag can still cause injury - it is just risk management. Hitting an airbag is safer than hitting the windscreen/dashboard.

disable the front airbag and it will be fine!
or wait till he is a couple of months older, or infact even now, he can depending on weight, sit in a front facing seat. shoujld mean he is happier

An airbag deployment is quiet a violent explosion.

Hmmm, I just assumed as he was strapped in his car seat, his head wouldn't go forward and therefore even if the airbag was deployed, it wouldn't damage him as he wouldn't be flung forward as much as an adult with a normal seat belt would be.

The airbag comes a long way out from dash as it deploys...a lot futher than you think.

The explosion can also damage teh eardrum...

this is American but VERY interesting reading...apparently an airbag inflates at up to 200mph

The effects of an air bag going off with a rear facing child seat in are similar to hitting the back of the seat with a sledge hammer (at least). As has been said they are explosive, if you look around online there are sites that will show you the injuries sustained by babies and the reasoning for it being made illegal to carry a rear facing child seat in a car with an air bag. IMO this is not one of those stupid arguments over "do you let your 10yo go to the shop alone" this is a serious matter where a person could inadvertantly cause serious or fatal harm to their child.

Forward facing seats have similar risks and also increase the risk of major burns from the explosive they use to deploy the air bags.

In answer to the op, I would say do your homework and make an informed choice for yourself, but for myself I would say it is a very big no-no.

sorry not read all the thread, but dh has a focus and i'm afraid no, there is no way of switching off the airbag and as far as i am aware mechanics are not allowed legally to disable them either.

I have a 3 door car and do have ds (15 months old) in the front seat. 1) because i too would be permanently driving with one arm behind me in search of dummy/toy/blankeyand 2) because he and the seat are just too bloomin big to put in the back of a 3 door car!

Well friends after creating this thread I have only placed my baby in the back of my 3 door focus. I have a screaming baby and severe back ache trying to take him in and out as he isn't tiny. Since buying a new car is out of the question I am going to start looking at getting a front facing care seat.....is there a particular age for this?

Next stage car seats are suitable as long as your lo is over 20lbs and can sit unaided for at least 20 minutes. My ds went forward facing at around 8 months but he was 23lbs and could crawl and pull himself up to stand by himself so I knew he had good head control.

Isn't the passenger seat the least safest spot in the car?

or is that rubbish?

You are right LazyLine...the order of safety for any passenger is

Back middle (providing 3point belt/properly fitted carseat is available)
Back behind passenger
Back behind driver
Front passenger

You can find that info somewhere on the website that Hunker linked to.

I thunk it was true!

i let my dd sit in her forward facing car seat in the middle front seat of our car ( there is no air bag in the middle)

what injuries does a airbag prevent ? wont stop your legs being mangled , the seat belt stops crush injuries to your chest ,it doesnt prevent whiplash and they only go off in limited circumstances ,so what do they protect?

Your head hitting the dash/steering wheel (in the case of an adult; doubt that would be applicable in the base of a smaller child whos head won't reach dashboard)

I have also been told by our Ford garage that they will not disable the airbag. They told us that they cannot guarantee that the airbag will not go off in the event of a crash.

I do not think that it is illegal, it seems to be a Ford company policy.

I would never put a rear facing seat in the front, and only put DD (5yo) in the front when absolutely necessary, seat pushed as far back as possible.

Can i make a plea for no one to put their LOs in the front seat please? My beautiful relative was recently killed leaving her child motherless because an airbag broke her neck. She was apparently not wearing a seat belt, but the fact the airbag is that strong has shocked me, and made me really think about their little necks even if they are in an appropriate car seat.

UC
So sorry to hear about your relative, how awful.

Thank you Kindersurprise x

We're not allowed to travel with children in the front seat out here, it's against the law (British forces base abroad). I got pulled over for it a few months ago!

I travel with DD (5) in the front now she is in a booster seat rather than a conventional car seat - I lik the company it's nice me and her time.