Would you participate in this carpool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The seat belt issue has to do with hip development and possible abdominal injuries. Because it's soft tissue, injuries can happen quickly and be irreversible. If the child can't sit correctly in the belt, they need a booster, and for some that may mean at 11 or 12.

Front seat riding is a separate issue. The impact of the airbag can seriously harm a teen due to the sternum not being as strong as it is in a healthy adult, and it can kill a younger child. However, the likelihood is that a healthy teen will not die from an airbag deploying as long as the teen is wearing the belt correctly and is positioned correctly in the seat. The main issue, in my opinion, is that the front passenger seat is the deadliest seat in a crash; there's a reason it's been known as the deadman's seat. The steering wheel protects the driver, but the dash is too far away for it to be protection, and it just gives more room for the airbag to deploy. For safety, kids in my car ride in the back unless they are driving. If anyone's going to be in the deadman's seat, it'll be me, and there's zero chance that it would be a preteen.

It's about the airbag which is why there were no age limits when we were growing up.

Um, I think there is a lot more to this then just airbags.

So much has changed. Probabbly the biggest is all the information. I shudder to think about my childhood - I loved going places with my Uncle who would let us sit up in the back of his cadillac when he had the top down like we were in a parade, except we'd be going up 95 to Baltimore to see a baseball game.

[Anonymous]

For me it would depend a bit on the car and the route. A heavy car or SUV crawling across Capitol Hill or through a neighborhood - sure. Driving on a freeway in a small car with a 11/12 year old in the front seat -- that would make me pause.

[Anonymous]

Oh for the love of all that is sane! It's a stinking carpool, put your kid up front, it has to do with seat belt safety and height restrictions and yes about the height for an airbag. If your car is like mine it turns the airbag off for certain weights.

My 11 year old daughter rides up front all the time, her friends are always begging to ride up front but I tell them that I can't make that decision for their parents. They all swear their parents allow them to ride up front. Your kid, your car, he rides in the front.

You can always just wrap him in bubblewrap if it makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The seat belt issue has to do with hip development and possible abdominal injuries. Because it's soft tissue, injuries can happen quickly and be irreversible. If the child can't sit correctly in the belt, they need a booster, and for some that may mean at 11 or 12.

Did you have your 11 or 12 year old use a booster seat??

I nanny, and yes, I had one charge use a booster until shortly after she turned 11. At that point in time, she was barely 70 pounds, and 4'10", and the belt was just starting to fit correctly.