Front Seat.. - Chandler,AZ

I would not let her sit in the front seat. Air bags are so dangerous and powerful. I am not willing to risk the well being of my child just because she wants to sit in the front seat. My daughter is almost 13yrs old but still only weighs 64lbs, and I refuse to let her sit in the front seat. I hear it almost daily how ALL her friends get to sit in the front seat and she doesn't. I just keep telling her it is my job to protect her which is why she can't sit in the front. She hates it, but I know she will get over it!

The VA state guideline is under 12y sits in the back. So my 12y son (who is 130 lbs.) got to move to the front as his birthday present.

My son is 10 and 110 lbs/5 feet tall. I occasionally let him sit in the front seat, but honestly he is very distracting to me! 77 lbs is pretty small, I would keep her in the back for most of the time, maybe occasional front seat

I'm 4'11 and 92 pounds. The rule in our house is they must be bigger than me. For my oldest son, he was 12 (I think 12 is what Texas suggests, too). My 9 year old is far from it.

I weigh barely 100 pounds, and the airbag automatically turns off in the passenger seat. The CDC says no one under 13 should ride in the front seat. It says nothing about weight.

If I waited to be up front until I was 5 feet and 100 pounds, I wouldn't have been able to drive. I didn't hit that until after high school. I still think you might hold off as long as you can. She does sound quite petite.

Wouldn't do it myself at all.
We only started letting our son very occasionally sit in the front seat after he was 100 lbs and more than 4'9", and then it's only when we have no choice.
It's not just about age, it's about the seat belt safely fitting and restraining them. It is the force of the air bag if it were to go off, it is the upper body strength, the front of the car gets more of the force of an accident. Too little a child could be a bad situation.

There are factors besides age.
Is she heavy enough to deploy the airbag? Does it have the ability to turn it off if she doesn't weigh enough? How does the front seat belt fit her? Ours are adjustable at the shoulder for different height riders/drivers--not all cars' are.

And then, does she know about not leaning forward in towards the windshield while moving? A deployed airbag (even for someone of the right size), if the passenger is leaning forward (like digging in the floor board for something), can break a neck and explode in the face.

I'd put her off as long as you can (which means, it is totally up to you and don't let her pester you about it anymore if you aren't ready). If you want to give her some specific parameters to meet (height, weight, age, whatever) and those are your reasons, then tell her and let her know that you aren't changing your mind. For her to show you how she meets the requirements you have determined when she does, and you will reassess.

Children are supposed to be 4'9 and 13 years old before riding in the front seat.

I'm not sure what the legal requirements are, but that's what's recommended for safety.

I sometimes worry about MYSELF as a petite woman. I sit as far back from the air bag as I can and I know some people get them disconnected. My mom got some major burns from an airbag (we are similar sizes). If your car has a sensor that turns off the airbag (my DH's car turns them off when I sit there), I'd be more inclined to allow it BUT the other factor when we started allowing my SD (who is now way bigger than me) to sit up front was that she had to sit properly. No putting the shoulder belt behind her or holding it so it was loose or whatever. Make sure that she can fit properly and actually wears the seatbelt as intended as part of the decision.

My 10 year old is just shy of five feet tall and she weighs 91 pounds. She sits in the front.

Your daughter sounds very small and I'm not sure I would put her there if the airbags don't turn off.

I think she's too small to sit in a front seat, especially with air bags. How tall is she? Maybe you could use this as a way to get her to eat more or to add protein drinks like Boost w/protein or Ensure w/protein to her daily diet.
You can always stop by your local fire station, with her, to discuss the idea.
They'll have a lot more influence than you :-)

13 is just an age to start thinking about the front seat. It's best to go by weight and height, not just an age. Nothing changes magically overnight when she turns 13 from 12. Safety first (sorry, OP's daughter!).

No way, I wouldn't let her.

Mine rode in the front seat when they hit 5th grade.
I pushed the seat all the way back, explained the rules,and off we went.
I know some people who are simply tiny people who if they had to be 100lbs and 5 feet tall to sit up front still wouldn't be able to drive...
The choice is ultimately yours.

Depends on height and weight (more important than age), if and what type of passenger side air bags you have, state law and auto/air bag manufacturer's recommendations. There are a lot of factors. But IMO, no. She's too small to be safe. My husband is a trial attorney representing automobile manufacturers in product liability lawsuits. Our 90-lb., 13-year-old is not yet allowed to ride in the front seat.

For what it's worth, in NJ there are no actual laws regarding age of child in the front seat other than needing to be in a booster up until age 8 or 80 pounds in the back seat, and actually if there is no back seat option (or no seatbelts back there I guess) the booster can go in the front. There is an advisory about airbags and kids that talks about how the back seat is safest.

It sounds like she should be in a booster. You can put her in a booster in the front seat, but not ideal. Back is safer. My niece was small and did not fit the adult belt until age 12.5, so used the booster until then. Please google 5-step test to see if your daughter passes. If the belt does not fit right she can be seriously hurt or killed in an accident. And her bones are that of a 12 or 13 year-old, whereas adults have stronger bones. So, that's why we don't worry so much about small adults who might technically need a booster, too. At age 12, you want to make sure she's using one unless she is big enough.
So, no need to rush the front seat either if you don't have to.

At 13, I'm inclined to say yes?! Do you have a new(er) car? Mine has the ability to turn off the passenger airbag if the passenger doesn't weigh enough.

There is nothing about weigth, only age, but if you look at an average age/weight for a child of 13 that might help. For a boy the average height is 4'8-5'1 with an average weight of 85-100 pounds. For a girl the average height is 5'-5'2, and weight is 95-105. The difference being that girls growth spurt hits sooner then a boys, putting them higher on the curve. Now some of that can vary a little depending on their natural growth curve (high or low end of a growth chart).

According to this, your DD isn't even close yet. My 9 year old is almost 5' and in the 100 pound range (she's an amazon girl) so she sits comfortable in the front seat, so does my 11 year old son who is only an inch or so bigger then here (although I think he is in a spurt and may finally be visably taller then her here soon).

Since the question is the air bag, I'd wait if there are other options. If she absolutely had to sit in the front seat I'd be okay with it, on occasion, just not on any regularity.

By 13 she should be tall enough to sit in the front seat. The air bags are designed for taller people which is why small children should not be in the front.

I am surprised that some of the responses are suggesting she still be in a booster seat at her age. She is a teen not a small child.

I agree about the airbag concern. I am an average size adult and had an airbag deploy on me a few years ago when someone pulled out in front of me causing me to broadside them. It was awful. It gave me a very bruised sternum which made breathing very painful and a 2nd degree painful burn on my hand from the chemicals that fly out of the bag. I can only imagine how it hurt a really small petite person.

If you can turn off your air bags she can sit where ever she wants.

In child care we have strict regulations but I let my older grand kids sit in the front seat when air bags are not involved.

Check state law. I believe in some states kids must be 100 pounds before they can be without a booster seats. Booster seats cannot go in the front.

If you do put her up front but the seat in as far back as it will go. That's what I do when my boys sit up front.

My boys ride in the front seat on occasion, but only because the airbags have sensors connected to the seat....so they shut off if the passenger is too light.

I would wait until she is at least 13 if she is underweight. I tend to err on the side of safety so if she has to be 14 or 15 before she hits the weight requirement, I would back you on that too. What does the LAW say in your state?