“Daddy let’s us sit in the front seat of his car!” My immediate response was “but you’re too young to sit in the front seat”. This was followed by my husband asking why and tears from my 8 year old. At the time I couldn’t remember why, I just knew it was unsafe. But why is it unsafe and when can my child sit in the front seat of a car safely?
I try not to tell my kids no to a question like this without an answer. So my next step was to do the research.
The consensus is that children under 12 should sit in the backseat.
Here are 3 fantastic reasons to support the age restriction.
1. Air Bags
On the visor of my truck it says “DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY can occur. Children 12 and under can be killed by the air bag.”
Call me old fashion, but I take warnings that start with the words “DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY very seriously.
The reasoning behind this is that airbags can inflate at a speed of 200 miles per hour. Can you imagine how much of this force can be transferred to a child’s head and body? With this amount of force the airbag has the ability to lift the child off of the seat and hit the roof of the car.
I know we may be living in an overly safety conscious world, but why would you intentionally put your children in harms way? To make your kids happy?
We need to remember that our most important job as parents is to keep our children safe.
If we choose to ignore SERIOUS safety warnings like these, what are we teaching our children? To only pay attention to warnings that don’t negatively affect their happiness?
Fun Fact: Air bags are designed to protect a 140-pound man wearing a seat belt during impact, not children.
3. Bone development
Children come in different weights and heights, so the criteria should be based on size not age. This is a common argument against the 12 year old rule.
This makes sense on the outside, but according to medical professionals this is not true on the inside because their skeletal systems are still developing. As a result this puts the child at an increased risk of injury when sitting in the front seat.
Damage to the bones while developing can lead to all kinds of musculoskeletal problems.
The under developed hip bones of children can also allow the seat belt to ride up over the abdomen according to Pediatric Child Health . This can result in seat belt syndrome.
The older the kids get the stronger their skeletal systems get so why not wait until the “magic” age of 12.
2. The Back Seat Is The Safest
This may or may not be true anymore due the advancements in technology.
Should this deter you from following the American Pediatric Association’s current recommendation for keeping your kids in the backseat until they’re 12? No !
Technology aside, the fact remains that most crashes occur in the front of the car and the back seat is farthest from this impact. So in general there is a lower risk of injury for back seat passengers.
According to the big yellow warning sign on the sun visor of my truck “the BACK SEAT is the SAFEST place for children.”
If you’re tired of your kids harassing you to sit in the front seat then try sitting in the back seat with your kid. Pretend that your significant other is your chauffeur. That should make your young ones feel special.
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“But I sat in the front seat when I was a kid and I’m fine.”
These kinds of statements always get me so mad. Instead of looking at things from this perspective, try to be thankful that you weren’t hurt or killed. Just ask the parents who lost children due to conditions that could have been easily avoided.
According to Safe Ride 4 Kids , more than 100 children have been killed by air bags in recent years. Many of these deaths were in slow-speed collisions that should have been minor.
Despite progress in automobile safety, nearly 1000 children under 16 die in motor vehicle crashes per year in the United States.
The crazy part to me is that the warning on the visor has been staring me in the face (literally when my husband is driving on sunny days). But I never paid attention to it.
The warning on your sun visor may not be as strong as mine. But next time you’re in the car read yours, really read it and take it seriously. Keep it in mind next time your under 12 child wants to sit in the front seat.
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Great post and such an easy thing to do to keep kiddos safe!! (Drives me nuts too when people compare now to when they were kids!)