Okay, I need some honest opinions from parents out there.
We brought home the Mini last Friday. My neighbors are good friends and their four year old Haley was almost as excited about the Mini as I was. Her parents told her she couldn't ride in the car b/c of the side air bags in the back. I read the owner's manual and it says that it can be dangerous for children if they are sleeping with their heads in that direction, and if you are going to carry children you should consider having the side air bags disabled.
Haley is crushed that her parents have sad no, and has cried and cried about it. I don't have children yet, so I am not sure what to make of this, and I am also not sure about disabling a saftey feature on my car.
I asked some folks at work their opinions and they said they would have never thought of it.
So after all of that, should I disable the side airbags so Haley can ride in the Mini, or just leave them on???
Thanks for your thoughts!!
Maryanne

 

the SIDE airbags in your car are mounted in the front seatbacks and when they are deployed, they deploy in a forward motion, when the car is hit from the side, to protect the person sitting in that seat. In the same type of deployment (side hit) there is a HEAD CURTAIN that comes down from behind the headliner at the edge of the roof, to protect occupants heads from hitting the glass and other hard parts of the vehicle in a SIDE DEPLOYMENT. Now, if a 4yo is properly belted in a PROPER CHILD SEAT in the rear of your MINI, it is not possible for the HEAD CURTAIN to injure them-it wouldn't even reach them in a SIDE DEPLOYMENT. My son has been riding in the back of our MINI since he was 4, when we got it-it is not an issue. As the owner of Airbag Service of Southern California, the country's oldest and largest airbag diagnosis and repair company, I am well versed in how these systems work and what occurs under deployments. (please don't censor me mark, I'm only trying to help, not advertise). The most important things to remember with small children is: NEVER IN THE FRONT SEAT, ALWAYS IN A PROPER FITTING CHILD SEAT, PREFERABLY WITH A 5 POINT HARNESS, CORRECTLY ATTATCHED TO THE VEHICLE. there are NO REAR SIDE AIRBAGS IN YOUR CAR-ONLY THE HEAD CURTAIN IN THE REAR. HOPE THIS HELPS

 

Honestly, I hadn't heard that side bags could be dangerous to small children. My 7 month old grandson rides in the back in his car seat and I've felt reasonably comfortable with him riding in the Mini. If there is data out there that I need to be aware of, please let us know in this forum. I always thought, 6 airbags? Cool! Safe, safe, safe. Now I'm concerned.

 

Considering that almost all new cars are coming with side air bags, I guess we'll see fewer soccer moms out there with the brood.

 

What about little Hayley riding on a school bus? Is she old enough yet? If so, they don't even have seat belts, let alone air bags! Ask her folks about that.

 

yup. how bout walking down the stairs, she can trip and break her neck.

I hate paranoid parents. Soccer moms =

 

The notion of side impact airbags in the rear seats is NOT applicable to the MINI as delivered in the U.S.A. It (rear seat side impact airbags) flat out doesn't exist. Don't know about other geographic regions, but definitely not in the U.S.A.

Haley can ride in the MINI as long as she is in a properly secured/installed child seat. Go Haley!

 

I know I hate the paranoid thing too, but since I am not a parent yet, I don't want to get the, "you just don't understand b/c your not a parent."
I think it is a shame to make children so scared of everything that they are not willing to enjoy life and the adventure.
M

 

The really sad part is when the truth takes a holiday. It is one thing when there is a real reason to say no; but a fictitous reason (as in rear side impact airbags)?

 

I was thinking earlier tonight, that the funny thing is, I am pretty sure my Escalade had side air bags in it too, but they never said a thing about her riding in it. I wonder if it is a size matters thing.
Right now I think I am going to present the info I have learned about the air bags and then drop it. If she can't ride in the Mini, oh well .
I still think she would be safer with me in the Mini than in their old Chevy Blazer.
Thanks for all your thoughts and info. I really appreciate it.
M

 

I grew up in cars with no seat belts, much less airbags, etc. My mother used to carry us in her lap in the front seat and thankfully nothing ever happened.

The cars my parents owned had next to zero pasive safety features. Crashworthiness? ha! what is that??

I used to play on the floor/ground and never got ill.

And I can go on and on.

Now days this "scare of it all" mentallity permeates every aspect of people's lifes. Don't get me wrong, I am a safety advocate myself, but our society has taken this obsession to new levels.

You could say that our parents and grand parents were 'suicidal' by today's standards, but here we are in one piece, you know what I mean?

Not until 10 years ago cars did not have airbags.

Americans are very fearful people at least in our current generation and I think that our fear driven media is responsible for some of this bleak view of life and the future.

Don't let our children get infected with the desease of fear. One thing is to make safety concious choices and nother is to be overly obssesed about them.

 

Nice post C4, you must have had your coffee before posting that one.

 

I totally agree with you C4. From what I have read and seen about our MINI's, I would have no hesitation in putting a little one in a properly secured child seat in the rear seat.

 

And yet another thing is to fabricate a reason (rear seat airbags - that don't exist in U.S. spec MINIs) that is completely baseless. At some point, the kid will catch on and then you have zero credibility with them.

 

Actually, no coffee this morning But rather a good night's sleep.

 

C4, and everyone...
I completely agree with all of you. But at this point, should I present the new info to Haley's parents and let them decide, or should I just get over it and forget about cruzing with her??
Today she told me that she saw a "really old" Mini at the car show here in town, and it was blue. It didn't have bonnet stripes, so she was a little sad about that, cause she really "loves" the stripes.
She is already such a huge MINI fan, I don't want to let her down, but part of me feels like I should just drop it.
M

 

At the end of the day, her parents will make the call. Whether we agree with the call could be another matter entirely. In that case, Haley will have to wait until she reaches the age of majority to be able to make her own decisions for herself.

 

I talked with over protective mom yesterday about the side curtain air bags, yadda, yadda. She said she would talk to over protective dad, so I will let you guys know what happens.
Either way, thanks for all the info!!
M

 

I hate to say this, but if these parents are so over protective it might be in your best interest to just skip the whole thing. Imagine what they would do if something happened with their "precious cargo" in the car...say an accident where she got hurt...I'd imagine they'd be the type to sue you 'til you have nothing left, even if it wasn't your fault.

Honestly, I'd just skip it and I certainly wouldn't disable my airbags to accomodate the situation.

As others have said, I used to ride around in my parents cars...no safety seat, no seat belts...nothing. And, I remember the days as a kid that I would do something crazy with my friends, get injured and not tell my parents for fear that I wouldn't be allowed to go out and do it again.

 

I'm a parent, and a grandparent and I really dislike the paranoia that people are building and fostering as a healthy way to raise children. It goes beyond logic sometimes. I was in the grocery store the other day and smiled at a little girl, about age four who was strapped in the grocery cart. Her mom was right there. I just smiled at her, didn't speak, just smiled. The kid started yelling.. "mommy, mommy, a stranger is looking at me, mommy mommy" Poor kid, she's going to grow up thinking she's not even safe with her mom right there. Her mom whips around and gives me a look that would kill. Imagine how this little girl is going to raise her kids when she has them. Sad.

I believe in safety, I believe in caution, I don't believe in paranoia and making kids fear everything.

 

Well I plan on strapping my grandson in the back firmly tethered in his car seat of course..... don't think his parents have complained... oh wait! I haven't told them I've ordered a mini yet.... lol

 

My little sister was over with my niece and the subject of riding in the car came up, neighbors were hanging out too. My sister said, "well that is crazy, all new cars have that, is Haley never going to be allowed to ride in a new car? Ava (my niece) can certainly ride in the Mini"
Yeah, logical little sister
M

 

I knew a little girl like that. Unfortunately, I now know her as a very clingy overprotected (and spoiled) 8 year old.

 

Well said!

It's also possible that the parents didn't want Haley to ride in the MINI for whatever reason, and just used that as an excuse. While it's always hard to disappoint a child, I wouldn't push the parents. As someone else already said, it doesn't sound like you would want to deal with them if something bad did happen.

The MINI is a safe car. If driven safely and a child is properly restrained, there is no reason to be paranoid. Bad things can and do happen, but worrying constantly is no way to live life.

 

I don't know about the airbags but I find that the most dangerous thing about my 6 and 3 year old riding in the back of my Mini is that I constantly wack my head getting in the back to click together the belts on their kiddy seats! Ouch.