At what age did your kids sit in the front seat of the car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do people think it is fine with no airbag? Would you buy a car without airbags? No front seat for mine until she was heavy enough for the airbag to deploy.

I know. Total logic fail. They put a kid that is really too small in the first place in the front seat, and then take out the First line of defense in an accidents. And think this is okay. No, not okay. BETTER. WHaaaaaat?

Because kids have suffocated and died from deployed airbags. So manufacturers had to reluctantly make a weight limit for parent's too dumb to listen to recommendations. To cover their butts if a parent sues the airbag manufacturer. There are actually people who place infants in the front seat. So they think they are doing them a favor by turing it off. Instead their heads go thru the windshield.

And honestly, if you are in an accident, even if there is no one in that front passenger seat, you STILL want the airbag deployed for protection for everyone else in the car. But that can't happen now because they have to add the weight limit. It is unreal who idiotic parents are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've got three kids... 3, 8, and 9. The 8 and 9 year olds trade off for who gets to sit in the front seat of my Honda Civic. It is most definitely not against the law. That's laughable. Why do you think they make the air bags automatically shut off when a child is in the front seat? The olders are still in backless boosters and the 3 year old's car seat takes up a lot of space in the backseat. So one has to be in the front seat. Not a big deal in our family.

You put your kid in a booster in a the front seat of a car? WTF. There are plenty of car seats that can fit 3 across, even in a Honda Civic. You just didn't care to research it.

Sure, I put them up there. It's easier for us, and it doesn't bother me to have them sitting up there. As someone else mentioned, it is safer for adults to sit in the backseat as well. But most of them choose not to. I love my car, and I love my kids, and life goes on.

Sorry, if you loved your kids you would keep them safe.

No if she REALLY loved her kids she would never put them in a car in the first place. And she would carry them everywhere lest they trip and fall. In fact, the fact that she doesn't do these things is practically child abuse. Please remove her children pronto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've got three kids... 3, 8, and 9. The 8 and 9 year olds trade off for who gets to sit in the front seat of my Honda Civic. It is most definitely not against the law. That's laughable. Why do you think they make the air bags automatically shut off when a child is in the front seat? The olders are still in backless boosters and the 3 year old's car seat takes up a lot of space in the backseat. So one has to be in the front seat. Not a big deal in our family.

You put your kid in a booster in a the front seat of a car? WTF. There are plenty of car seats that can fit 3 across, even in a Honda Civic. You just didn't care to research it.

Sure, I put them up there. It's easier for us, and it doesn't bother me to have them sitting up there. As someone else mentioned, it is safer for adults to sit in the backseat as well. But most of them choose not to. I love my car, and I love my kids, and life goes on.

Sorry, if you loved your kids you would keep them safe.

No if she REALLY loved her kids she would never put them in a car in the first place. And she would carry them everywhere lest they trip and fall. In fact, the fact that she doesn't do these things is practically child abuse. Please remove her children pronto.

There are necessary risks (putting a child in a car, assuming that you live somewhere where you basically have to drive to get places), and there are unnecessary risks (letting an 8-year-old sit in the front seat of a car when the child can sit in the back seat of the car).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My car shows a message that the air bag is turned off. We can't keep our kids in bubble wrap, people. Plus, what if I could not afford to buy a minivan. Am I not supposed to have 3 kids?

First off, putting a child in the front too small and feeling safe that the airbag won't deploy in a collision is a tad crazy, don't you think? If you were slamming into a back of a truck, I am pretty sure you would second guess your decision.

Second, you CAN fit 3 carseats in a row in a honda civic. Like I said before, you just didn't research it. A baby bucket seat can go in the middle rear facing. Or you can forward or rear-face a convertible (kids need to be rear-facing until age 2 now though) in that same middle spot. If you need 5pt harness seats, Sunshine Kids Radian are just as narrow as booster seats and could fit into both end spots. Otherwise a booster with seatbelt could fit there. If you are unable to do this, you need to contact a carseat technician and they will install them for you. Here are just a handful more of carseats that will fit 3 across in multiple ways.

Graco Nautilus Elite 3-in-1 Car Seat $159 Dimensions – 29? L x 20? W x 36.1 ” H

Britax Parkway SG $93 Dimensions – 15?L x 17? W x 35 ” H

Diono RadianRXT $ 288) Dimensions – 16? L x 17? W x 28.5? H

Maxi Cosi Mico Infant Car Seat – $119 Dimensions – 30? L x 15? W x 17 ” H

Maxi Cosi Pria 70 - Dimensions – 19.5? w, 25.5” tall (and the headrest extends to 30” tall).

Combi Coccoro $189 Dimensions – 17 ” L x 14.65 ” W x 28.25? H

BubbleBum Inflatable Backless Booster Seat $39.99 Dimensions -13? L X 13? W X 4.5 ” H


Last, there are many cars besides minivans that have 3 rows. Many many many. If you want a lot of kids, then consider a car that has 3 rows. You can buy them used for just a few thousand dollars. Research and plan. Don't just pop kids out and complain about recommendations not being far for you.

[Anonymous]

I can not believe there are people here rationalizing why they put young kids in a front seat and either those same people or others getting defensive with sarcastic comments. It just shows how uneducated and ignorant people can be. Instead of opening their eyes, they just turn their heads with an eye-roll.

I think this thread is an eye-opener. Why not keep your kid safe in a car? I just don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My car shows a message that the air bag is turned off. We can't keep our kids in bubble wrap, people. Plus, what if I could not afford to buy a minivan. Am I not supposed to have 3 kids?

Do you turn your airbag off when you drive? If it's ok for your child to ride in the passenger seat with the airbag turned off, then it should also be fine for you to drive in the driver's seat with the airbag turned off.

[Anonymous]

It's interesting to see the wide range of view here. My DD, who is going to be 14 next week, still rides in the back seat. I should note that she's small for her age - 5 ft. tall - and thin. I've invited her to the front, but she has declined. I might start to encourage her to start riding in the front though, so she'll have a year or so experience at least riding in the front before she gets a driving permit. It's a different experience and I think she'll pay more attention to where we're going and traffic rules, etc. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting to see the wide range of view here. My DD, who is going to be 14 next week, still rides in the back seat. I should note that she's small for her age - 5 ft. tall - and thin. I've invited her to the front, but she has declined. I might start to encourage her to start riding in the front though, so she'll have a year or so experience at least riding in the front before she gets a driving permit. It's a different experience and I think she'll pay more attention to where we're going and traffic rules, etc. Thoughts?

Didn't make much of a difference to me or for us. Your daughter may not be interested in driving when she comes of age. My oldest DD was that way no interest until 2nd year of college. My younger girl can't wait. They both sat in the front at 13.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting to see the wide range of view here. My DD, who is going to be 14 next week, still rides in the back seat. I should note that she's small for her age - 5 ft. tall - and thin. I've invited her to the front, but she has declined. I might start to encourage her to start riding in the front though, so she'll have a year or so experience at least riding in the front before she gets a driving permit. It's a different experience and I think she'll pay more attention to where we're going and traffic rules, etc. Thoughts?

If she is fine back there, just keep her there. I doubt she will be looking at anything but her iPhone if she was in the front anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting to see the wide range of view here. My DD, who is going to be 14 next week, still rides in the back seat. I should note that she's small for her age - 5 ft. tall - and thin. I've invited her to the front, but she has declined. I might start to encourage her to start riding in the front though, so she'll have a year or so experience at least riding in the front before she gets a driving permit. It's a different experience and I think she'll pay more attention to where we're going and traffic rules, etc. Thoughts?

If she is fine back there, just keep her there. I doubt she will be looking at anything but her iPhone if she was in the front anyway

This is SO true

[Anonymous]

I've got a 10 year old, 4 year old, and 3 year old. And a toyota prius. Three car seats can be squeezed into the rear seat, but two car seats and a backless booster cannot fit. My oldest DD cannot buckle the seat belt with the other two car seats in place. She is only 55" tall, so she still needs a booster... but she does not fit into a 5-point harness anymore. So she rides in the front seat. I'm not concerned. What bothers me more are the increasing number of people who text while driving. I saw one person in a "big, safe, three rows of seats" minivan nearly mow down a kid in a crosswalk this afternoon. Now that is way more scary to me than the slightly increased risk of injury from sitting in the front seat. Particularly since my daughter walks to school.

[Anonymous]

So for those of you with the mentality of "always" in the back - when its just you and your spouse does the non-driver sit in back? That is the safest after all. And it's by far better for your kids to have both of you alive so it's best for them as well if one of you rides in the back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So for those of you with the mentality of "always" in the back - when its just you and your spouse does the non-driver sit in back? That is the safest after all. And it's by far better for your kids to have both of you alive so it's best for them as well if one of you rides in the back

Unlike my child, I am tall enough and heavy enough for the airbag in the front passenger seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for those of you with the mentality of "always" in the back - when its just you and your spouse does the non-driver sit in back? That is the safest after all. And it's by far better for your kids to have both of you alive so it's best for them as well if one of you rides in the back

Unlike my child, I am tall enough and heavy enough for the airbag in the front passenger seat.

But it is still safer for passengers to be in the back seat. So you are saying that you are willing to risk that both of you might be killed in a car accident? And leave your kids parentless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for those of you with the mentality of "always" in the back - when its just you and your spouse does the non-driver sit in back? That is the safest after all. And it's by far better for your kids to have both of you alive so it's best for them as well if one of you rides in the back

Unlike my child, I am tall enough and heavy enough for the airbag in the front passenger seat.

But it is still safer for passengers to be in the back seat. So you are saying that you are willing to risk that both of you might be killed in a car accident? And leave your kids parentless?

Do you have data to support this assertion?

In any case, if you want to say that it's ok to put a child in the front seat without an air bag because parents sit in the front seat with an air bag, then why stop there? After all, you can reduce your risk of dying in a car accident even more by never getting into a car. That's the reasoning you should be using.