Where do you put your kids?

While I wait my C4S to make its way slooooowwwly across the country, I've been pondering something: I have two kids that will be riding with me occasionally - a 10 year old girl (about 85 pounds) and my up and coming linebacker 6 year old (also 85 pounds). Both are long out of car seats, but what would you do in the 996? I'd like to disable the passenger airbag and have one ride up with me - surely they're as safe up there as they would be sitting 14 inches behind in the back, and that way we both can enjoy the ride. What do you do, and what do you think of the plan?

At 10 years old and 85 lbs, surely there wouldn't be much additional risks sitting in the front passenger seat -- of any vehicle. Yes, children are the safest in the backseat, but an average 10 year-old should have the size to be properly secured by the SRS, so I wouldn't imagine they would be in any more danger than a regular adult in the front seat. Additionally, is a passenger (adult or child) really safer in the backseat of a sports car like the 911? Personally, I've put my 2 year-old in a childseat in the front a couple times -- with the seat all the way back as far as it can go. With my 4 year-old, he's in the front seat with a booster. I've yet to take both in the car at the same time.

Roof rack.

Put your least favorite child in the passenger seat ;-> They should both fit fine in the rear. Check local regulations at what age & weight & height they can sit up front.

Trunk. But only for short trips.

Both my boys ride in the rear.

skateboard tow, just take it easy on the corners

Apart from the roof rack and skateboard tow options, I don't think there's a law that says you have to put them in the back. I'm thinking along with Ucube that there's not much safety difference between the front and back in a car so small. Plus, when one is sitting up front, we can actually have a good time and enjoy the ride. There was an article in Car and Driver about a year ago where Csaba Csere (or Beddard) noted that it was statistically SAFER to have the kids in the front than the back, since the number of accidents caused by distraction from the back seat far outweigh the relatively few airbag accidents. Since it's not illegal, and not any less safe, I'm looking for the negative... However, if I put them in the trunk, I'd have to leave the hood up a little so they could see out, but no doubt they'd be messing with the CD changer.

definately trunk.. we all need our room to recline and drive comfortably..

You can get a Porsche child seat that fits in the front passenger seat..... With this you can fit an extra seat belt bracket at the front of the passenger seat and get your local Porsche shop to active the airbag switch function in the computer. Then when the Porsche child seat, which comes with a male seat belt fixing on the front, is in place it switches the airbag off. Now having done all this, cut the male seat belt part off the child seat and just bring it with you. Plug it in to deactivate the bag and remove it to activate it again. It's that simple. This solution is probably Illegal in most states and in Europe. Please do not try it at home

...and the ultimate place for kids in a P-Car......in mom's car.....

Woo hooo mbergeron! I'm with you on that one. Anyone who might pee their pants, puke or otherwise "drop their Cheerios" will ride in Mom's car. Once my kids reach an age where I feel they can appropriately behave/exist in my car, they will ride with me. And, of course, who ever calls "dibs" on the front seat, gets it.

My kids have been brain-washed...no drinks, no foods, no dirty feet and no putting their hands all over the windows in daddy's car....they make it up by turning daddy's pickup into a mobile pig barn...

My kids are 9 and 7, they both ride in the back all the time, and love it. I sometimes let my 9yo son ride shotgun,(esp when he goes to thre track with me) he loves that, just don't tell his mom. BTW, I have the same no food/drink/bickering rules in Daddy's car. Do whatever you want in Mommies SUV.

OK, now I'm obsessed - is the reason that kids over six are sitting in the back an AIRBAG issue, or do you truly feel they're safer sitting crammed behind you? I would think any kid under 80 pounds automatically rides in back, but these are not unsubstantail children, almost as big as small adults, so what gives? Plus, I'm 6'6", so the chance of anyone riding behind me is zip.

Being a guy who routinely carries grandchildren from age 4 - 10 my 996 Cab, I took this occasion to find out exactly what the "conventional wisdom" is ... as opposed to sticking with the "they say" theory of information. The assertion above has some merit. According the NHSTA and CDC websites, the minimum age for exposure to front seat airbags is age 12: Why are airbags dangerous to children, newborns and toddlers? Airbags are designed to inflate in the blink of an eye - that takes an incredible amount of force. That same force can severely hurt or kill passengers and drivers who are too close to the dashboard. It's always best to buckle all children under 12 in the back seat. However, further reading seems to support that this age limit is based upon the assumption that the child MIGHT not be belted in properly ..... due to his size and/or driver negligence. How come airbags work for adults but not for children? An average size adult who is wearing their seat belt correctly is not likely to come in contact with the airbag until it's completely inflated. Unbelted or improperly belted children can easily fly off the seat when a driver slams the brakes to avoid a crash. That throws them to the dashboard where the force of the airbag inflating can cause serious injury or death. Based upon this information, I will continue to use the factory airbag deactivation bar when my 4 year old in riding to school every AM .... but .... when the strapping 10 year old is in the front seat, properly and securely restrained by the seat belt/harness, I will leave the airbag activated for his added safety.

Great post, Kim, I agree. Since my kids know if they sit up front they must be properly belted, I think we're good to go. I have no problem with the airbag, but my wife is a realy saftey czar, so I may need to do the airbag deactivation with the 6 year old in the front. It's so much more fun to have them up front to enjoy the ride and participate in the fun instead of just being shuttled from place to place...

I usually put them in the van with Mom.

TCR...where does the golden retriever rides ?

Rufus the mad insane dog has spent the first year of his life chewing his way through the wall in my kitchen to what I assume is his final destination, the garage. I can only guess that if he makes it all the way, he would opt for a ride in the 996.

Great post guys. Just to clarify, will rear facing car seats work in the rear of a 996? I have a new baby coming (my first!) in 8 months. He or she will need to ride with me at times. I currently have a 993 and an E30 M3. I like the M3, but seeing how it's worth about as much as a used 996, I'd love to trade it for one. TIA, Joe 1995 Porsche 993 1988 BMW E30 M3 2.5 (240HP) daily driver 2001 KTM 400 MXC

Joe, I'm not aware of a rear-facing car seat that will work in the rear of a 996. They take up too much room front-to-back. You can buy a rear-facing car seat that goes in the front seat with a special buckle attachment that disables the airbag. I waited for my kid to be a year old so he could go forward facing, and then installed a Britax Roundabout in the back seat. I've been meaning to post pics, but just haven't gotten to it yet...

Thanks Gnome, I was afraid of that. Joe 1995 Porsche 993 1988 BMW E30 M3 2.5 (240 HP) daily driver 2001 KTM 400MXC

I put my son 6 y/o (going on 7 y/o son) and my 4 y/o (almost 5 y/o daughter) in the back seat 99% of the time. If I drive my 996 to work that day its just a short trip less than 1 mile from their schools to home so there's at least less time and distance for something to go wrong. Regular car seats don't fit back there though...well you can wedge a booster seat (the flat type that use the vehicle's restraint system) in there in a pinch. Don't put them in the front seat....as that's reserved for ahh wifey or those with male chromosomes only! (ahh....the price we pay for our toyz!) But so far I've had no problems at all. Kids love it and my 6 y/o already can identify Porsche and BMW (other daily driver) by sight! Yeah I know I'll pay for that probably later in oh let's say 9 yrs when he turns 16 y/o and wants his driver license! LOL

Oh yeah and the no food/no juice/no freaking french frie eatin from McDonald's definately applies when in any one of Daddy's cars unless I say okay. That's for mommy's car which resembles a thrift store at times as you can find almost anything in it at one time or another! Got her out of the SUV and into a coupe (CLK500) and still no change! Running joke between us is that if she is ever stranded in a winter snow storm or traffic she'll have at least 3 days worth of food of some sort and entertainment hidding somewhere in the crevices of her car! LOL

As a pediatrician, I always recommend that any kid ride in the rear of a vehicle. But, as the attached guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, if you must, put the kid most likely to sit straight forward in the front seat (set back as far as possible to avoid airbag injury). http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm Hope this helps!!

As I noted earlier, a thorough search into the NHTSA and CDC websites will show .... although not readily .... that the exposure to air bag concern is based upon whether or not the front seat occupant, regardless of size, is securely restrained by the seat harness, so as not to be thrown too far forward and, thus, be too close to the airbag when it expands. So, while these sources use age 12 as a cut off point, it becomes clear from reading them in depth that this age has been chosen only as an average age at which a person reaches sufficient size so as to be properly restrained by the harness. Clearly, there are adults who would be too small .... and 8 year olds who would be large enough. While general guidelines are better than nothing, I suggest that a little common sense and good judgment go a lot further. Finally, from a pure statistical point of view, ANY person is safer in the back seat as opposed to the front seat. In spite of that particular statistic, my wife still rides in the front seat with me.