Opinions on when a child can sit up front

MamaTo*My-Little-Monkeys* · May 3, 2009

My oldest DS is tall for his age & family members keep asking me when he can sit up front.

When can he & what should I tell them.

He is 9 yrs old, 4'11" tall & 104 lbs, he is big boned too, he has 4" before he is the same height as me & the peds say he should hit 5 ft this summer.

He is in a lbb in the back of my van now since the seatbelts don't even fit me correctly back there but they do in the front seats.

Thanks

Patriot201 · May 3, 2009

I would still wait a few years.

mommaon112903 · May 3, 2009

I have a LONG time until I have to start even thinking about this, but right now Josef will be allowed up front when he starts driving and not a day sooner.

zactayaus · May 3, 2009

We have a safety campain thing going on in my area that says "12 and under should ride in the back". My kids are tiny however so I probably won't allow them to sit up front till they are like 14.

canmom · May 3, 2009

mommaon112903 said:
I have a LONG time until I have to start even thinking about this, but right now Josef will be allowed up front when he starts driving and not a day sooner.

:yeahthat:

The backseat is safer period, for anyone.

amyd · May 3, 2009

mommaon112903 said:
I have a LONG time until I have to start even thinking about this, but right now Josef will be allowed up front when he starts driving and not a day sooner.

Ditto, although I might reconsider around 13 if P gets car sick as bad as I do.

carseatcoach · May 3, 2009

Perspective is different from the front than the back, so I think I'd want my daughter to have some experience seeing things from the front before she gets behind the wheel, so I might start letting her ride up front at 14ish. I'd probably be okay with her being up front on occasion if necessary for a carpool or similar situation around age 12, provided the belts fit correctly (she is on the small side).

NVMBR02 · May 3, 2009

chickabiddy said:
Perspective is different from the front than the back, so I think I'd want my daughter to have some experience seeing things from the front before she gets behind the wheel, so I might start letting her ride up front at 14ish. I'd probably be okay with her being up front on occasion if necessary for a carpool or similar situation around age 12, provided the belts fit correctly (she is on the small side).

This. I can't see letting my children ride in the front before age 13 under normal circumstances though.

TechnoGranola · May 3, 2009

When they can drive.

Or close to it. I agree with chickabiddy that maybe around 14 since she (my DD) will get her learner's at 15 so some experience in the front could be beneficial.

cheerbop · May 3, 2009

Well, in my area, if you ask 98% of parents, it is age 5,6

But, I always use the "Warning" sticker on the back of the sunvisors in the vehicle to show my kids. Even those have in bold print to not put a child there before age 12.

My kids, I dunno...My oldest is 11.5yo and he is small for his age.

Mommy2Marcus · May 3, 2009

cheerbop said:
Well, in my area, if you ask 98% of parents, it is age 5,6

But, I always use the "Warning" sticker on the back of the sunvisors in the vehicle to show my kids. Even those have in bold print to not put a child there before age 12.

:yeahthat:

I often see kids that are coming home from school in the front seat. My 3 & 5 YO nephews both get to ride up front. My son not going to happen for a LONG time. I know I was not allowed in the front seat of the car till I was 12! That was a long time ago to. WTG for my Mamaw! She always made us ride in the back seat. I thought it was mean then, but I understand it now.

joolsplus3 · May 3, 2009

I wouldn't allow the front seat until very rare emergency type trips (like, if there are no other options) at 10 or 11, and not routinely allow front seat riding till at least 13. There was actually a study that found that kids are seriously just not safe in front of airbags till they are at least 15 (something to do with skeletal development, perhaps? It just broke out that kids younger than that were at substantially higher injury risk)..but I can't find the study. The rear seat is at least 35% safer for most of us, it's really too bad we still have this cultural baggage that riding 'shotgun' is so much cooler than riding in the back

MamaTo*My-Little-Monkeys* · May 3, 2009

Thanks so much for all the input.

Yes I agree & know he is safer in the back seat, I guess I am just wondering too about his size since he is the avg size of a 12 yr old now, say when he is 10-11 & the size of a 15 yr old would it be alright. His predicted height as of right now is 6'3''.

He is getting ready to need Men's size 9 shoes!

Everyone always thinks it is strange that I have him in a lbb still. He does pass in some cars. I can't tell if he passes in our new car though, I can't tell if it is low enough or not, he said he feels safer in the booster

I just wish everyone would quit bugging me about it on where he sits and his lbb seat!!!

thanks

Melodiya99 · May 3, 2009

Your state could have laws about it too..in CA under 12 can't ride in front unless there are no other seats available.

azgirl71 · May 4, 2009

For me it is about 15 yo. That is when my kids get bigger than me. My 15 yo is 5'9" about 130 lbs, my 16 yo is 6' and about 145 lbs. They are both still growing.

joolsplus3 · May 4, 2009

Melodiya99 said:
Your state could have laws about it too..in CA under 12 can't ride in front unless there are no other seats available.

True about laws may discourage it. I'm seeing that CA only restricts front seat usage till age 6, though... http://www.iihs.org/laws/ChildRestraint.aspx

rochelle · May 4, 2009

joolsplus3,

CA under 12 can't ride in front unless there are no other seats available.

the under 6 rule is only if the back row(s) are all occupied by car seats.
e.g if I have 3 car seats on the back seat of my corolla, than the 4th kid can ride in front with the air bag disabled.

the below California Highway Patrol pdf is clearer. the rule on the CA DMV website is just a one-liner on car seat use.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/community/pdf/4_steps_for_kids.pdf

MamaTo*My-Little-Monkeys*,

I am sitting in the back with my boys instead of at the front passenger door. when people ask, my hubby just tells them that there is crumple zone in front and back but not at the side. so the front passenger seat is not at all safe.
(btw I am < 100lbs and 5'3"). we got hit at the front passenger side just last month. lucky I was sitting at the back.

skaterbabs · May 4, 2009

TechnoGranola said:
When they can drive. Or close to it. I agree with chickabiddy that maybe around 14 since she'll get her learner's at 15 so some experience in the front could be beneficial.

:yeahthat:

joolsplus3 · May 4, 2009

Yet the very title of the link you linked to only says kids in the back till age 6

The actual law is here and it doesn't say the back seat only until age 12... http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=veh&group=27001-28000&file=27360-27368

rochelle said:
joolsplus3,

CA under 12 can't ride in front unless there are no other seats available.

the under 6 rule is only if the back row(s) are all occupied by car seats.
e.g if I have 3 car seats on the back seat of my corolla, than the 4th kid can ride in front with the air bag disabled.

the below California Highway Patrol pdf is clearer. the rule on the CA DMV website is just a one-liner on car seat use.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/community/pdf/4_steps_for_kids.pdf

MamaTo*My-Little-Monkeys*,

I am sitting in the back with my boys instead of at the front passenger door. when people ask, my hubby just tells them that there is crumple zone in front and back but not at the side. so the front passenger seat is not at all safe.
(btw I am < 100lbs and 5'3"). we got hit at the front passenger side just last month. lucky I was sitting at the back.

wendytthomas · May 4, 2009

Even though he's the size of an 11 or 12 year old, or even adult, his skeleton hasn't had the time to mature into an adult strength skeleton. Size doesn't matter as much as time on that one. That's why big babies aren't safer forward facing. It's not about size.

Piper has sat in the front once. We were in China and the backseat didn't have seatbelts. So her Radian went into the front and I sat behind her, kind of sliding toward the footwell so I could scoot down and be compartmentalized if necessary (and in Shanghai there was a good chance, they're maniacs, and we actually saw a guy on a bicycle get hit by a truck on that ride). That was over two years ago and she STILL talks about the time she got to ride in the front. But she has never asked here if she can, and I've told her she's not safe up front.

She'll likely be taller than me by the time she's halfway through her puberty growth spurts, and likely at that time I'll start letting her sit up front. Though then we'll have little sister in back being six or so and wanting to go up front too (hopefully I can turn her into another little CPST to be so she wno't fuss). Here in WA it's state law that kids sit in the back if there's a belt until age 12. They can get their permits at 15. So some time between 13 and 15 Piper will be allowed in the front, which is probably when she'll be my sized or bigger.

Wendy

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