car seat - front or back?

[hayley]

is it just as safe to have your baby seat in the front of the car. I'd have to turn the air bag off but it would mean i'd be able to see my baby better. My back seats are more sport seats which are tiny and slope back quite a lot... when you sit in them your sort of lying backwards.. i find it hard just to reach something on the back seat from the drivers seat... i know if the baby was in the back i'd have to pull over just to touch the baby... the front seats are also quite close together so there isn't much of a gap to fit your arm through.... but is it safe having the baby in the front?

x

 

[Dee1985]

yh im sure its fine as long as u can turn your air bag off

 

[Urchin]

Personally I have Brody in the back because it's distraction while you are driving. If the baby is crying or whatever it's tempting to look and touch when you should be focusing on the road.
If you do decide to put the baby in the front I would recommend not just switching off the airbag but REMOVING THE FUSE for it from your fuseboard.
I can tell you how to do this if you need me too.

The switches have been know to malfunction, so with the fuse out you know it can NEVER go off unexpectedly.

 

[beanie]

I agree with Urchin. Seren has always been in the back in my car as she is too much of a distraction otherwise.

 

[hayley]

thanks girls.. didn't think of the distraction in the front.. i was thinking if the baby was in the back and crying or had dropped something i'd be struggling to get it.. thought i'll be spend more time pulling over! but i suppsose pulling over is better than turning your attention away from the road and seeing to the baby... Thanks urchin.. if i decide to turn the air bag off i'll be back for advise about the fuse...

x

 

[BubbleOne]

You shouldn't have your baby in the passenger seat if you have an air bag full stop. Whether it's turned off or not!!

Apparantly the safest place to have the carseat is at the middle in the back. (providing you have a 3point harness seatbelt there. If not then behind the passenger seat. This is because if a car hits you (head on or side impact) it's more likely to hit drivers side than passengers so less impact for baby if they're on the other side. lol!!

Doesn't make much sense but hope you understand what I mean!!

 

[Hypnorm]

i agree with bubble and urchin - even if you have air bag turned off the swith can be faulty and i just wouldn't risk it.

in the back on passenger side or middle.

 

[bev]

Hi

Funny, was just thinking about this today.
When my friends baby was a few weeks old we were all out in the car, she put the baby in the car passenger seat, I was in the back. I remember thinking, please stop looking at the baby and concentrate on the bloody road!!! So, decided there and than that if i ever had a baby it would be in the back seat from the very beginning, better a crying baby than all of us getting wiped off the face of the planet.
Also, must add, that I really don't understand the car sticker things that say "baby on board" etc, is it supposed to deter someone from crashing into you? If so, then shouldn't they just say "People on Board"?

Sorry if anyone has one of these sticker things, but it's just a thought.

Bev x x

 

[Em78]

Bev thats exactly what i always say about those stickers! - as a general rule dont we all try to avoid crashing onto someone no matter whose on board? and those who drive badly are going to do so regardless of a sticker?

Sorry hope i dont upset anyone - i just find it funny too !

xx

 

[Kim]

The only reason I have one is so I don't get told off for parking in mother & baby spaces in Asda. When you take the car seat in with you there's no way of knowing there was a baby with you.

 

[Urchin]

The reason for those signs is because years ago a baby would get flung out of the car in a crash, and the sign was to alert rescuers so they would look in bushes etc. People were only supposed to display the sign when the baby was in the car.
Obviously the meaning has been lost now, as everyone has one in the car all the time, whether there is a baby in there or not. I don't have one.

 

[Em78]

Thanks urchin i never knew that that makes a lot more sense now! there are all sorts of those stickers now - kiddie ones, pregnent ones etc. just goes to show how a good idea can be spoilt by being sold wrongly - i bet hardly anyone knows that was the intention

the parent and baby space thing is a good point too. we have no baby stuff in car if we take the car seat in the travel system. dont think our local supermarkets check the cars though.

x