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?

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought riders had to be at least 13 to sit in front seat?

It is the APA's recommendation after a study showed that kids ages 8-16 are 40% more likely to be critically injured or die in the front seat than the back seat - both properly belted. It used to be 12, they raise it to 13 last year. It has nothing to do with how tall or big the kids are, their bone structure and density is different than an adult. Not only that, even in minor car crashes, the front air bag deployed can knock a kid pretty hard. Airbags are made for the minimum, which to the manufacturers, is a 165 lb grown men.

Once they move up there, make sure the seat is all the way back if no one is behind them. If someone is, minimum halfway back. Always buckled tight with minimal clothing (no bulky coats)

I highly doubt kids will remember and hate you for making them ride in the back seat. But even if they do, at least they are alive to hate you. Think of your worse case scenario in an MVA and think where would you want your kids in that vehicle. You don't get a do-over in life.

Signed,
National CPS certified Mom of 4

That is bullshit.

Oh really???

Differences between children and adults include:

1. Children’s bones are growing.

Children’s bones are softer than adult bones. The relationship between a child’s bones and muscles also changes over time; some bones grow faster than others.


2. Child bone growth occurs at the growth plates.

Growth plates define the length and shape of mature bones. When growth is complete in adolescence, growth plates close and are replaced by hard bone.

Growth plates are the weakest link in growing skeletons (weaker/softer than ligaments and tendons), representing fifteen percent of childhood fractures. Damage to child joints usually occurs at the growth plates. Of particular importance, damage to growth plates can affect future bone growth.

Ligament and tendon injuries are fairly unusual in children with immature bone growth plates. Since ligaments are two to three times stronger than the bones, injuries are more likely as bone fragments than to ligaments.


3. Taller children are not necessarily less prone to injury than their shorter counterparts.

People often assume that taller children are better able to safely perform manual tasks such as heavy lifting. Yet children may be at greater risk following a growth spurt.

Bone growth in children requires "catch up". For example, the long bones of seven-year old girls on average reach eighty percent of their peak length – while the bone mineral content is only forty percent of the ultimate level. That is, their bones grow longer before they become stronger. Following a spurt of bone growth, children also need to learn posture and coordination; soft tissues need to develop to accommodate their new dimensions.

We also waited until our kids were 13. Our kids knew the rule ahead of time and it was easy to explain our reasons for the rule. Aside from a comment here and there about how "everyone else already gets to ride in the front", our kids didn't start to complain about it until a month or two before their 13th birthdays. In a way, it turned out to be a cool "right of passage" sort of thing.

I didn't sit in the front when I was a certain age, I sat in the front when I was a certain height. Because THAT is what it is about. Not age. I am doing the same with my kids. I am from Germany, where this rule is what everyone goes by. Children have to be BOTH at least 12 years old AND at least 1.50m tall (that's almost 5ft)

Anonymous wrote:Curious why PPs who have an available rear seat don't wait until at least 13?

My 11 year old is taller than me. A tiny 14 year old who barely weighs anything (me as a kid) is probably in more danger from sitting in the passenger seat than my already nearly adult sized 11 year old. Not sure why age specifically is relevant here rather than size/weight/ability to sit up properly in the seat or other things that actually have an impact on the physical safety of sitting in the front seat.

Curious why PPs who have an available rear seat don't wait until at least 13?

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?

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.

You realize that by adding the weight of the booster, your passenger airbag would probably deploy?

Sorry, you are making a horrible decision. You can say life goes on but for others, life didn't go on. You are risking such a young group of kids because you prefer to say "oh well - whatever"

Just started letting my 12.5 year old up there occasionally. I would not do it until she weighed enough that the airbag would be working. I think once a kid is close to adult size it is fine. We would all be safer in the back seat and helmeted but..

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.

Anonymous wrote:I know that I am in the minority, but I have let my kids sit in the front seat since they were six. They only sit up there when we are carpooling (my car seats 5) and always use a booster seat, but I really have no issues with it. My car is a 2009, so the air bag disables automatically when a child is in the front seat.

Poster above: I am a former Pediatric ICU Nurse: Please, please, DO NOT let your 6 year old ride in the front seat.

belted in the back seat until age 13 is the standard and for VERY good reasons having to do, not just with airbag induced suffocation and spinal cord injury, but impact studies revealing what portion of car is typically hit and or absorbs most of impact.

trust me, when a child goes through the front windshield, you'd wish you had made a different choice.

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.

For me, it depends on the car and the kid. The kid has to fit properly in the front seat, i.e. feet reach the floor, knees bend at right angles, seatbelt hits at the right place. Some car seats are more adjustable than others, and some kids are bigger than others. Another factor is the airbag -- it can kill smaller kids.

I've let my eldest son sit up front in my car since age 8, but he's exceptionally tall for his age, my car has extremely adjustable seats, and the airbag automatically shuts off for passengers under 90 lbs. I didn't let him sit up front in my husband's car until he passed 90 lbs., though, even though he was tall enough, because that car has no auto-shutoff for the airbag.

He's 10 now and 5'4"/nearly 100 lbs., as big as some adults, so I no longer worry about him sitting up front in anyone's car. My youngest, however, is more normal-sized, and won't be sitting up front until he fits in the seat properly, whether that's when he's 8 or when he's 13.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought riders had to be at least 13 to sit in front seat?

It is the APA's recommendation after a study showed that kids ages 8-16 are 40% more likely to be critically injured or die in the front seat than the back seat - both properly belted.

Does anyone seriously make 14-16 year olds sit in back?

How is my 15.5 year old with his permit supposed to get driving experience from the back seat?

Safety is good, but there comes a point where it gets a bit ridiculous.

There are always risks in life and you can't avoid them all. I go by height and turn off the airbags.

The recommendation is under 13 to be in the back. But the studies still show young teens up until 16yrs old at a 40% risk in the front seat. People just need to be aware. I mean, even adults are safer in the back seat. Doesn't mean they will choose there instead of the passenger seat.

Do not turn off the airbag for kids 12 and over. Just make sure their seat is far enough back. They need that airbag in a collision. Please do some more research.

Ok, I'll keep that in mind for when oldest turns 12. For now turning the airbags off works fine, I think.

Dumb-ass, you just said you have a 15.5yr old.