Im our car we sit in front in laws in the back with DD. In their car FIL drives and MIL used to sit in front until one day last year. I don’t like being confined in small spaces and was squashed in the back and the automatic door lock engaged. I tried to hold it together but had a panic attack. We pulled over and MIL gave me her front seat. So now I sit in the front with FIL. It feels weird but I don’t need that happening again.

Yes, I believe the elderly should get the seat they prefer, out of respect, but that likewise, they should not put themselves forward and DEMAND a particular seat if it's not their car and they don't have a particular health issue.

My mother tends to get car sick when she's not in the front seat, but then she also likes to sit next to the kids, so we move around. One time both her and my father sat in the cramped third row!

I insisted my arthritic mother-in-law sit in the front. She "resisted" every time but I think she was relieved - she had a lot of pain. Had she insisted on sitting there I would have gone along, but this way meant we were both happy.

She's dead now. She definitely wasn't perfect but I miss her.

Where ever is more comfortable for the older person. I really don't care one way or the other.

Anonymous wrote:I offer my MIL the front seat. She deserves quality time with my husband and it’s more comfortable for her to be in the front.

+1

As a MIL and grandmother, I ride in back with the grandkids. My preference.

So lition: you drive. See what DH thinks then!

Anonymous wrote:It's weird for her to insist, but I offer my MIL whichever she prefers.

This. Especially if she may have leg or back issues, the front seat is more comfortable. I am happy to zone out in the back seat and let them entertain each other. If I am in the front seat, then I feel pressure to entertain MIl sitting in the back.

Anonymous wrote:OP, why don't you drive and your husband and his mom can sit wherever they want?

Let’s set the Driving Miss Daisy scene. OP driving and DH and MIL in the back.

Wife

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always let an older person sit in the front because it's generally more comfortable.

But more dangerous for older people.

A few years ago they started saying in newer model cars the front seat is safer for older people. Maybe that suggestion has changed recently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always let an older person sit in the front because it's generally more comfortable.

But more dangerous for older people.

How many head-on collisions do you get into?

Hahahahahahaha

My DH and his dad usually sit in the front. MIL and I sit in the back. We like to sit together so we can chat.

This is such a weird thing to be territorial about. It is good manners to offer her the front seat, and poor manners to begrudge her the spot.

She has vertigo so behind the driver or passenger seat.