OT: Am I the only one who makes my kids sit in the back seat of the car??

[moopdog]

I feel like I am being ridiculous, because NOBODY else seems to be doing this anymore. I was a stickler for the booster seat rules, and seemed to be the only one in my neighborhood who was the same (not that I cared).

Now I'm realizing that I'm the only one who's making my daughter (age 10 today!) sit in the backseat - even when we're they only ones in the car. I just started letting my son do it last year and he's almost 12.

I have seen horror stories on the news, in papers, etc about kids being decapitated by the airbags, and the yellow stickers that are on the sun visor advise against kids 12 & under being up front. I know we all have our "thing" and that is mine, I guess. But, in the meantime, I've been made to feel like I'm being a bubble-wrap kind of mom. I truly don't think I'm that way at all, I won't give examples of what I DO allow my kids to do, but I think they pretty much have normal rules,etc. for other kids their age. I started noticing that I am the ONLY one around that keeps my 4th grader in the back. Truth is that she's tall for her age, 5 foot and about 80 lb.s...only 2 inches shorter than me. But she's thin and has a bird neck and....to me she's just too fragile to be in the front. I guess I need to take a step back and re-evaluate! LOL

The truth is that I CANNOT STAND it when I see someone whip their car into a parking lot and out of the front seat pops a little 3 or 4 year old kiddo. It is just wrong. Sorry but it's so unsafe for their tiny bodies!!

Or....is it just me?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Nope. Not just you. My DD is 9 and sits in the backseat, and will sit in the back seat until she's 12.

 

[Princess on the Run]

None of my kids have ever sat int he front seat of a car. And they're all still in a 5-pt harness (2 Britax and 1 Radian). And they will be until they're 40!!!

Seriously, I am considering moving my oldest into a booster but just haven't done it yet. He's big enough and responsible enough. Part of it is that I have 4 sets of carseats (me, DH, my mom and nanny's car) and replacing one means replacing 4. Since there's nothing wrong with his seat and he hasn't complained about it, I haven't done it yet. I will probably do it in the next 6 months or by the time he turns 8 in July.

I feel like safety in a car is the most important thing to spend money and be strict about when it comes to kids. What kind of bedding or shoes they have is irrelevant if they are thrown through a windshield.

 

[amomma23]

Nope, not just you. Last week I was strapping my 3 year-old into her 5 point harness after dance class. As I buckled her, another mother from class drove past with her 3 year old standing in the backseat holding on to the back of her mothers seat. I was sick! Not only was she not in any kind of safety seat, she didn't even have a seat belt on!
For what it's worth, my just turned 10 year-old still rides in a high back booster and my soon to be 6 year-old rides with a 5 point harness. I know none of their friends ride in seats like that, but I don't really care.

 

[nchulka]

I just wanted to point out that when you post a question like this all of those who are super vigilant will flock to it to say they agree with you. You are really not going to get a true picture of what most parents are actually doing with their kids. I have a 9 & 10 year old. The 10 year old rides in front all the time. The 9 year old will ride in front only when the 10 year old has a friend along and she and her friend sit together in the back. When it's just me and the 9 year old he is in the back. At our house we have made 10 the age for riding up front. This seems pretty normal. DD has MANY friends and none ride in the back unless they have older sibs that claim the front Next year when the kids are 10 & 11 I guess we'll have to work out some sort of turn taking system! The only place I know where kids are in 5 point harnesses past 5 or boosters past 7 is here on the Dis, I have NEVER seen it in real life

 

[Sugar Jones]

Nope I don't let my kids ride in the front - 10, 8, & 5 yrs. My 5 yr old is still in a 5 pt harness.

 

[samgminov]

I'm not a super "DISer" nor do I consider myself super vigilant, but my son is 5 and he is in a 5-point harness Britax. My daughter is 3 and she is in the same. Both, obviously, are in the back seat. I, like many of the other posters, have read, heard about, or experienced through my friends, horrible stories regarding children and car safety. I may be a safe driver, but that doesn't mean some drunk driver or texter, coming towards me on a two lane, isn't going to hit my car. For that reason, my kids will stay in 5-point harnesses until they outgrow them and will stay in the back seat for as long as possible. I think this position is very realistic and not at all uncommon.

 

[jlhill4444]

My DS (9) is not allowed to sit in the front, except for very rare occassions. He is tall for his age and still had to sit in a booster until he was 8 and 80 lbs like Ohio law dictates. My DD (8) is still in a booster because she is not tall enough nor does she weigh 80 lbs yet, so she will be in her booster until the law says otherwise. She will not be riding up front until she is big enough to not need a booster. Not to mention that my 17 month old is still rear facing in her car seat, and will be until she is 20 lbs., as the law requires. I think that parents should follow their own path within the confines of the legal limits. Each state is different.

I have friends that are like me and have kept their kids in boosters/car seats until they are big enough according the the recommendations and law, and others that have allowed their kids to ride upfront after the age of 5. I don't judge other's decisions, but I do what I can to keep my own kids safe and legal.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I only started allowing my 12yo to sit in the front seat this week. My 14yo I allowed when she was around 12.5 as well. My 12yo is actually a little shorter than I'd like for sitting in the front but I've gone ahead and allowed it figuring she's taller than some adults we know who sit in the front seat (she's 4'10"). I don't know a single one of their friends' who had to wait as long but I'm not their parent; I only make decisions for my child.

I was also the last parent I knew to allow my kids out of their booster seats.

DD12 was always just about the smallest of all of her friends so I just couldn't see letting what her friends were doing influence my decisions. Her safety came before feeling like I should be changing what I'm doing because others were doing the same. I do remember shaking my head when the mom of the only child smaller than her in her group was sitting in the front seat of her mom's car when my DD was in the back seat of mine in a booster seat because she was under the recommended weight/height for no longer needing it.

 

[CanuckTraveller]

My boys are 7 and 4, neither ride in the front seat but many of their friends do. I cringe when I see it, but it's none of my business. DS1 outgrew the harnessed seats available in Canada when he was 5.5 yrs, DS2 is still harnessed and will be until he outgrows the seat.
I volunteer as a car seat technician and I can truly say I've seen it all, including a bullet casing holding a seat together
There is a plethora of evidence showing children between 4-10 yrs (depending on their physical size) are safer in a booster than seatbelt alone. Car manufacturers clearly state children under age 12 are safest in the back seat. While I know a little bit about child safety in vehicles, I trust the opinion of those who make this their life work more than the habits of my neighbours or friends.

 

[erisgirl44]

Well my six year old is 4' 9" and 70 lbs and is still in a booster seat in the back.. so no you are not alone. My two year old is 35 lbs or so and still in a five point. I don't consider myself an overprotective mom.

Plus North Carolina state law requires that all children who are under age 8 and under 80 pounds ride in a properly used car seat or booster seat. I don't want my kids to think we can pick and chose which rules to follow... They would be too quick to turn that reasoning on me

 

[nchulka]

Everyone always throws around this 8 years AND 80 pounds. It is 8 years OR 80 pounds, big difference! They do this so that a 7 year old who weighs 90 pounds isn't still being crammed into a seat that's too small for them jsut because they aren't 8 yet. Once you are 8 you don't have to be in a booster anymore, you do NOT have to wait until they are 80 pounds also. I literally would have still been in a booster in 8th grade if that was the case! DD 10 is only 65 pounds, we are small people. That is why the law has an age and a weight limit, a child only has to hit 1 not both!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

My kids will sit in the back until they meet the state minimum requirements for riding in front and then they will ride in back for as long as I can convince them. My husband is a paramedic and sees first hand what happens when kids are improperly restrained or not restrained at all (seems to be common around here). I just wont take the extra risk for my own convenience. I see kids pop out from the front seat all the time when I drop my DS (age 8) off to school. I just couldnt live with myself though if there was a accident and I would constantly ask myself "Could I have done better, could I have done more" and if my answer was I could have had my child in a safer carseat position. ....well....

"Regardless of age, all passengers need to be buckled in. Follow specific guidelines for your childs height, age and weight to determine the best child safety restraint. For children ages 5 to 9, who are under 4 feet 9 inches tall and less than 80 to 100 pounds, a car seat or booster seat is a must for the best protection." SafeKids. Org

"All children under 13 must ride in the back seat. Booster seat from 4-8 and over 40 pounds and until 4'9 or 57 inches." http://www.in.gov/fssa/files/CarSafetySeats.pdf

The seat belts do not fit correctly for person under 4'9 regardless of age and I have known many smaller adults who sit on pillows so they will be the right height to both see properly over the steering wheel and to have the seatbelt cross in the body in the correct locations.

 

[kalc12345]

Nope you are not alone. My DD just turned 13 and I still make her sit in the back. I also have my 7 year old in a 5 pt harness.

 

[disykat]

Everyone always throws around this 8 years AND 80 pounds. It is 8 years OR 80 pounds, big difference! They do this so that a 7 year old who weighs 90 pounds isn't still being crammed into a seat that's too small for them jsut because they aren't 8 yet. Once you are 8 you don't have to be in a booster anymore, you do NOT have to wait until they are 80 pounds also. I literally would have still been in a booster in 8th grade if that was the case! DD 10 is only 65 pounds, we are small people. That is why the law has an age and a weight limit, a child only has to hit 1 not both!

Are you aware of the backseat rule?

I think many people simply aren't aware.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Everyone always throws around this 8 years AND 80 pounds. It is 8 years OR 80 pounds, big difference! They do this so that a 7 year old who weighs 90 pounds isn't still being crammed into a seat that's too small for them jsut because they aren't 8 yet. Once you are 8 you don't have to be in a booster anymore, you do NOT have to wait until they are 80 pounds also. I literally would have still been in a booster in 8th grade if that was the case! DD 10 is only 65 pounds, we are small people. That is why the law has an age and a weight limit, a child only has to hit 1 not both!

Not sure if you are aware but for babies the law differs from car seat manufactures rules as well. A baby needs a bigger seat if they meet max height OR max weight but to forward face in the bigger car seat the baby needs to meet BOTH 1 year AND 20 pounds according to the law.

 

[nchulka]

Not sure if you are aware but for babies the law differs from car seat manufactures rules as well. A baby needs a bigger seat if they meet max height OR max weight but to forward face in the bigger car seat the baby needs to meet BOTH 1 year AND 20 pounds according to the law.

I haven't had babies in a long time so I do not know the current requirements for them. Having a 9 & 10 year old I do know the regulations for boosters. I hear people say 8 AND 80 so often and that is just not true. The poster who said it here said she is from North Carolina. I double checked the North Carolina law just to be sure and sure enough is said that to be out of a booster they must be EITHER 8 years OR 80 pounds, but they do not have to be both!

 

[pacrosby]

One of our cars is a two seater. Since I can't put them in the trunk, the front seat is it.

That said, I was more vigient with the first two than with the last (my kids are 7, 9, 11 and 12). And I am someone who you might see start to drive from the parking lot with one of my kids still crawling around the car. That doesn't mean we drive all the way home like that. They are usually in place and buckled in well before we have even gone a mile. My kids may also unbuckle for a few seconds while we are driving to retrieve something they can't reach while buckled. They also may unbuckle prematurely while we are pulling into a parking lot. You may not want to be so quick to assume that a child you see unbuckled for a few seconds is a child of a negligent parent.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My youngest child stopped using a booster this past summer. He was 10 1/2 years old. I'm not going by age or weight, but rather how the seat belt fits him, and how he fits in the seat. He is very short for his age, and just didn't fit in the seat correctly without the booster. He will not sit up front until he grows a lot more.

My older child stopped using a booster much earlier, and he started sitting up front at 11 years old. That is because he is a much larger kid. At 11 1/2 he is taller than me, and weighs more than I did when I graduated from high school.

It isn't a one size fits all issue. I think it depends on the kids.

I do know of plenty of other people in real life (not on the DIS) who keep their children in car seats past 5 and boosters past 7, but I also know people who don't.

 

[Missy13d69]

We go by the laws. Our children have never sat in the front seat.