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Do you let your 13yo sit in the front seat?
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Dd just turned 13 and she and hubby think it’s fine. Anybody have any stats on this? I checked the American Academy of Pediatrics site, and all I found was that kids 12 and under should be in the rear seats. Last time I asked our Dr., he just checked what their site said.
Our front passenger seat has an air bag sensor. She’s light enough that the sensor says ‘air bag off.’ Not sure if that’s good or bad. I’m definitely not comfortable putting her there on the highway, and am not sure about around town. She’s about 5′ 1″ and 80 lbs. What do you all do? Thanks:) Gina
She’s about 5’1″ and 80 lbs.
Well, I know this is not what you are asking, but I’m about 5′ tall and 90 lbs. I am 39 and am definitely not getting any taller. I do drive. I do worry about the air bag though. I wonder if it would cause me more harm than good.
I allow our 13YO son, about the same size as your DD, to ride up front, and the air bag is off. I can insert my key and turn it on or off. I keep it off as I don’t want it on when I’m riding there either (when DH is driving).
I don’t really have an answer, but just wanted to say I’m right there with your DD, except I have no choice b/c I am just petite and have no choice in waiting (to get bigger).
Ok so I have always heard this: Must weigh at least 100lbs, if you are under you should have the air bag off as it will do more harm than good. Also they should be able to sit fully upright, all the way back and there knees should be able to bend comfortably at the edge of the seat toward the floor. Also, I heard 14 yrs?
Now that said my son is over a 100lbs and is taller than me and I still don’t let him sit up front and he’s 13 (14 in Aug). I suppose I could more now just haven’t really felt the need and he hasn’t really asked. WE have a 12 passanger van and he has lots of seats to pick from.
I am HUGE carseat/booster seat person. My kids sit in one till one of 2 things happen: I can see them over the seat AND/OR they are 9 yrs old. Which seems to be when both happen around here. I know it’s a long time but I believe in MN the state law says 7yrs..
So my kids get stuck in them forever. Anyone else crazy like me?
Misty, I’m like you. I go even farther and make my girls, who are VERY petite, sit in a five point harnass until they are too tall to fit under the straps – we just recently let them switch to a regular boosters (they are 8 and 6), but we did it for vacation because we needed to travel with the car seats on a plane and I just couldn’t do 4 big ones. I wish they had a five point harnass for me – I’d definitely wear it!
Rebekah
I’ve let my current 12yo sit in the front for a while. Of course, my kids are sort of exceptions. He’s 5’5″ and weighs more than I do. I had always to let my kids out of booster seats and stuff much earlier than normal, and I always worried about it. I had to turn my babies from rear-facing to front facing when they were still only a few months old because they wouldnt’ FIT! And my oldest couldn’t sit in a booster seat anymore from the time he was about 3 or 4 or his head would hit the roof of the car.
We always just figured if we ever got pulled over, no one would believe the age of the kids anyway so no one would question it.I am a car seat crazy here. DD7 is still in a 5point harness. Her seats expire when she will be 8 and 8 1/2. She is using the top slot now, so we will move her to a booster at those times. DS5 has the same seat, so he will transition when he either outgrows the seat or when it expires, whichever comes first. DS2 is still rear facing. We will turn him forward when he outgrows the weight limit for rear, which will be a while. He is only 25 lbs.
The more I learn about car seat safety, the more cautious I become. Each transition is less protection, so I am in no hurry to transition.
With that said, I do not have a teen, so I haven’t studied moving to the front seat. With that said, if you have any hesitation I would just wait until your DD is a little bigger and weighs more.
LDIMom….thanks for your perspective. Yeah, I’m not sure if the airbag is a plus or not when you’re small. My brief research said that the newer ones adjust to size/position, etc. Maybe that would help?
Misty….I read that airbags are made for 165 lb. males (except not sure about newer ones that are supposed to adjust). You’re lucky your 13yo doesn’t ask. My 13yo asks about every single time we get in the car!
Misty and Rebekahy….cautiousness (probably overly:) is my tendency. My struggle is that is not dh’s….he’s a great dad but simply doesn’t worry about things. He says the Lord is not going to take anyone one day earlier than planned. I also know of serious wrecks where the back seat was the dangerous spot….I’d just like stats on this. Anybody have a good site for this?
I’m leaning towards allowing the front seat if we are in our town or the next (35-45 mi. per hr., no airbag). And back seat for higher speeds/highway driving. Anybody else have thoughts? :)Gina
Bookworm….your kids are much bigger than mine:) I probably wouldn’t be as concerned if dd were larger!
artmomto3….easier said than done:) I have hesitation and would prefer her to just wait…but it’s a constant issue.
I need facts to present to dh. Anyone?! Thanks for all the input:) Blessings, Gina
Thanks for this thread ladies — it’s reminded me to speak to my dh about the time or two he’s let our very small 11 yo ds ride in the front when the two of them go fishing. I still really prefer him to use the booster. He’s only about 4 foot five and weighs about 70 lbs, but he’ll be 12 in Nov.
Well, perhaps I am the odd one here or like the dad who says we will go when it’s the Lord’s timing. I grew up always riding in the front seat and my little brother sat on the fold down armrest as his horsey from 1.5-3. I’m not advocating that, of course. I realize we drive faster and have more distractions these days. With that in mind, I buy the safest car seats and boosters and everyone is always buckled no matter the length of trip. We all feel naked without seat belts! Our vehicles are newer and have the air bag weight sensors.
I do allow my dd11 who is 5′ and 85 or so pounds to always sit in the front. I also move my kids up to boosters as soon as they are safely able to fit in them and be trusted to stay put. For my oldest 3 kids this was at age 3 or so and they were all average size. My dd5 sits in a buckle over booster still, but my ds8 does not. He is small for his age and would easily fit in a booster, but he can sit with his back on the seat and knees bending properly at the front edge.
Truthfully, I can not imagine making my 8-12 year olds ride in booster seats. They hop in either of our cars, grandparents and friends cars and I simply don’t think it necessary for us. As long as they wear their seatbelts properly every time, I’m comfortable trusting the Lord with the rest.
Like everything, you need to do what you’re comfortable with.
Christie
I don’t know exact laws in your state, but in MN you must be a certain age PLUS a certain weight PLUS a certain height to not need a booster seat. I believe in all 50 states you must be 13 years or older to ride in the front, regardless of height/weight (and many states also can pull you over just because of no seatbelt or wrong carseat, so I’d check on your laws). All that said, all my kids are still in a minimum of boosters, and my oldest is nearly 9 1/2. She is very petite, though, and it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. My 8yo is only an inch shorter than her and is about 3 lbs heavier. 😛 But they are both in the same kind of booster seat, backless that just sits on the seat. My 5 1/2yo dd is tall for her age, but she’s still in a booster with the back on it. My 3yo is in a front-facing booster with 5-point harness. Check on the laws in your state first and foremost, and then go from there. I can definitely say that we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it because of how short our oldest is right now. She is probably the only 9yo who is still in a booster, honestly, but like I said, she could care less. 🙂
Sara B, our state is 8 years old, no height or weight restrictions.
Funny thing is that in those states where there are restrictions, I would still be in a booster seat! I think the laws are good, but I’m kind of somewhere in the middle I supposed b/c I know cars, safety restraints and even boosters are built for the “average” size, of which me and our children are nowhere near. Like someone else said, airbags are built with a 6 foot tall man in mind (not a 5 foot tall, petite woman like myself.
What do you all do in airplanes? Most won’t allow booster seats, and most children outgrow airline-approved safety seats. We flew to China in February with all of our children, ages 6-13 at the time, and they wore the seat belts at all times while seated. In China, there are no seatbelts for fastening safety seats, so we just prayed and trusted the Lord. No one uses them there.
We are in Texas, and there is no law here specifying how old or how big a child must be to sit in the front seat of a vehicle. The use of a safety seat is required up to age 8, and manufacturer’s recommendations on use of the car seat must be followed. This would mean no rear-facing car seats in the front seat, etc. My 10yo dd rides in front most of the time. She is tall and around 80 lbs.
Now, I did find something in the regs about following vehicle owner’s manual recommendations, and apparently some do recommend keeping children in the back seat until 12 years of age.
OK, I found this article. Basically, from what I understand of my limited research today is that children under 15 are safer in the back b/c of the use of airbags up front. Also, from my reading forums on carseat.org some say there have been studies done which show that the timing of moving to the front has to do with the child’s developing body, thus it is best to wait until they are older when their bodies have developed through much of adolescence.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/airbags_teens.html
We always just figured if we ever got pulled over, no one would believe the age of the kids anyway so no one would question it.
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