What do you do if you have 4 kids and only 3 backseats? - Page 2

[cinnamonamon]

Originally Posted by janellesmommy

My research has shown me that kids in the front seat are unsafe because of the airbags. If there are no airbags, or if you have an airbag on/off switch installed, or if it is possible to get the seat far back enough that the airbag cannot reach (and the kid can't lean forward--(5 point harness), then there are no safety issues with the front seat. (Absolutely never rear facing car seats in the front seat with an airbag).

There certainly has been a successful education campaign against kids in the front seat! It's understandable that they don't tell people the exceptions, because if you tell the masses any exceptions, there will be a lot of people who get confused and get it wrong.

Thank you! This makes me crazy... the fact is -- EVERYONE is safer in the backseat -- the most life threatening car accidents are front-end collisions, so the people further from the engine (and crash) are the safest...yet we don't insist our SOs or friends sit in the back.

The front-end collision thing is also (I believe) the main reason for rear-facing carseats... if you are in a rear-end collision, it is actually just as bad as a forward facing seat in a front-end collision. The difference is, the force is usually a LOT less as you are both moving the same way.

[1growingsprout]

JHMO here...
i would not allow my children to ride with someone who does not have enough back seats for ALL children. i would not feel comfortable making that persons child sit up front or risk that my child may be in the front...
even if they said it was ok for their kid to sit there...

that being said... either dont carpool or get a larger vehicle...

just my 2 cents and what i would do...

[pigpokey]

When did the front seat become so risky that we want to have extra people driving in a whole other extra car (another mom, maybe her toddler and baby) to avoid having any child in the front seat? My research agreed with the OP's when I did it. Front seat is acceptable if child is forward facing, restrained and back from the air bag. Air bag deaths in children are children who were not properly restrained. Back seat is safer than front seat when looking at numbers in crashes. My state's laws seem reasonable, if paternalistic: Children under a certain age must ride in the back seat unless the back seat is already full of other children; then they can ride in the front. When I have someone else's child in my car, I put him or her in a backseat position and put my oldest up front (as my car can only handle 2 carseats in the back).

[Tofu the Geek]

Originally Posted by janellesmommy

I haven't looked into side airbags yet, although those would be an issue in the rear seats as well.

From the research I did a couple years ago, side air bags were dangerous for children. Car manufacturers apparently have a way to disable your side air bags in the rear seats if you carry children in the back outboard seats. Side curtain air bags are said to be safe.

Since I did this research when we were buying our vehicle 2 years ago, I haven't saved my references and it's possibly my memory is shaky. But definitely investigate. If you have side air bags in the rear and have been transporting children in the rear outboard seats, that could be potentially dangerous. You may want to look into getting them disabled in the rear.

[mahogny]

Originally Posted by PajamaMama

What kind of SUV do you have that has only 3 backseats?

My SUV has only 3 backseats, and only 2 carseats can fit, b/c the carseats are so huge. It's a Honda CR-V, which is, I think, one of the smallest SUVs available. It doesn't have any more room in the cab than a regular car - the difference is the taller trunk area, so you can haul larger stuff.

[Tofu the Geek]

Originally Posted by mahogny

My SUV has only 3 backseats, and only 2 carseats can fit, b/c the carseats are so huge. It's a Honda CR-V, which is, I think, one of the smallest SUVs available. It doesn't have any more room in the cab than a regular car - the difference is the taller trunk area, so you can haul larger stuff.

Same with us, 3 back seats, can only haul 2 car seats. We have a Ford Escape. Although it doesn't have more seating room than a car, we bought ours so we could tow our trailer for camping. There isn't a car around that could tow the weight of our trailer.

[thepeach80]

As a carseat tech this is what we call real world choices. Say no to activities, get a new car, or use the front seat? If it was occasional I wouldn't have a problem putting AJ's seat in the front seat (if I could get it in right, which I don't think I could, lol, and I didn't have a van which I love). I tell parents that the oldest, most protected child would go up front. So, if your 4yo is still in a harnessed seat, it would be here. You wouldn't ever want a rfing child up front IMO. You then push the seat all the way back (even as far back as it can go, a child should be able to put their legs there or off to the side or cross legged etc, AJ never rides w/ legs hanging) and off you go. There are lots of quirks to using carseats and seatbelts and even for adults. I think it can depend on your carseat too. I'd much rather have AJ in his steel framed Radian up front than our cheap Cosco Scenera (he's too big for it anyways, but you see what I'm talking about).