Turning 13 and sitting in front seat with airbag

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terina918

Guest
My oldest daughter wants to sit up in the front seat of our vehicles but we don't know when a good time would be...she's petite compared to others her age, I don't think the fact that she'll be 13 in a couple of months will make a difference, I don't want anything to happen to her in case of an accident and the airbag deploys. She has asthma and allergies.

I have 3 daughters, and for carseat switches, I went with height over weight. When their heads were over the topmost of the carseat, it was time to get out. My youngest daughter is hoping she can get out of her harness booster this summer, I'm thinking it would be about that time.

I live in Canada, and, there is no "Law" it's a suggestion. What do you think?

Sincerely,

Terina918
 
ADS

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
All I know from asking about the specific recommendation regarding this issue is that it's merely based on statistics that kids 12 & under at more risk ... there's no real weight or height guidelines :eek: Also, somethign I find interesting is that my new vehicle has an automatic sensor to shut off the passenger airbag - when anyone/anything under 100# is buckled into the front passenger seat the airbag turns off, but anyone over 100# has the airbag.... My 10 year old stepson is over 130# & over 5' so I really wouldn't be overly concerned having him in the front, but since he does fit comfortably in the back next to a carseat & booster, then that's where he sits - because I believe I remember reading that the front is about 40% more risky for serious/fatal injuries compared to the back. However, I'm also of the mind that if the kid is a safe "enough" weight/height & maturity level {will sit still properly for the whole ride without leaning around towards the back, etc.} then having him/her in the front can help foster communication - seems like that is one of the most vital ingredients missing in the parent/child relationship these days & with our ever increasingly hurried schedules sometimes the car is the only chance to get the opportunity to just talk :(
 
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terina918

Guest
Thank you for your response

Thank you for your response, after sleeping on the decision, I think that I will allow her to sit upfront, but the seat will have to be as far back as possible from the airbag, not tilted. I drive to pick my daughter and a friend's son up after school, and because he's older (14), and sits up front in his mom's vehicle, I let him sit up front in mine. My daughter really wants to have the prestige of sitting up front, as well, I think I'll talk more with my husband about it. I sure do wish we had the weight sensor in our vehicle...but if that were the case, she'd probably be 15 by the time she got to sit up front, hahahaha...she's pretty lightweight! When we were shopping for my husband's vehicle, we were wanting to get a truck with the switch to turn off the airbag, but the only way you were going to get that was if you got a regular cab, where you had no choice but to have a child up front. In my husband's extended cab, he doesn't have a switch, because there's seats in the back that the children can sit in, we just have to go in "batches" hahaha, or have the youngest sit in front, in the middle (no airbag), which is difficult because the truck is standard.

I do agree with you about letting her sit up front to improve the communication, it's true. But I don't really want her taking over everything in the front...she has expressed that if she gets to sit in the front, she has control of the radio and the heat/cool controls. I can guarantee if she thinks she's going to be doing that, the back seat is where she's going to be for a longer time than she planned.

Thank you again for responding, I do appreciate it!

Sincerely,

Terina918
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I'm pretty small myself - I'm 5'4" tall, but have Crohns Disease so sometimes my weight fluctuates between 95# & 105# *SIGH* If ever I'm a passenger in my own vehicle, I'm sitting in the back {LOL}

The biggest reason I prefer my stepson to sit in the back is because he refuses to sit still - leans over to play with the radio, leans out the window, turns around in the seat @@ He has mental health & behavior problems for which the school & county is involved, but as long as he's in the back with his baby sister he's actually OK - he can safely keep his hands active just playing with her & thank goodness he sees us rarely enough that he's always happy {no sibling rivalry} :) In my Chevy Blazer with a lap-only belt in the back he had no choice but to sit up front & I was constantly stopping the vehicle to either reprimand him or simply wait for him to sit still....

I'd wanted to get an E-Z-On harness for him, but the dealer said they couldn't install a tether anchor in that vehicle because there were already 4 tie-down hooks in the cargo area. However, the dealer did install a tether anchor in my dad's Ford F250. If your truck has a lap-only belt in the center, you might want to look into either the E-Z-On 86-Y or Kid-Y with RideRyte - not sure if the booster would fit, but if your kiddo is between 40# & 168# the 86-Y is great! :cool:
 
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terina918

Guest
Yes, that's the same for me, I'm 5'4" and if I have to sit in the back seat, I sit in the second row of seats or even the far back seat (I have a van)...I've had carseat anchors put into my vehicles, I have 2 in the van I drive, because we had 2 carseats that needed them...if the carseat was unbuckled from the seatbelt, it was still anchored to the floor of the van, so it went no-where. Thank you for the suggestions of the harnesses, but I don't know if they'd work in my husband's truck because there's no true back to her seat...she sits in between our bench seats, the split is right where her legs are. I could get it for my van tho, I think. I'll have to see if it's available here in Canada.

Sincerely,

Terina918
 
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terina918

Guest
Well, we're into September, and my daughter has been sitting in the front seat...although I do forget to open her door from time to time, because I'm so used to them all sitting in the back seat. My youngest daughter is now out of her carseat, which is a blessing as well, because there's more room for friends to come with us.

Thank you all for your help and information. I found a previous posting in my email and thought I would update you all. Talk to you again.

Sincerely,

Terina918
 

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