I don't think riding shotgun is "one of life's joys," so I don't think I'm depriving my child of anything but not letting them up front until they're at least 12. I also don't let them sit in just a lap belt, although I'd consider it if we had an absolute emergency and no form of transportation with a lap and shoulder combo.

No way! Front airbags can kill kids! It's not worth the risk. If I had kids, they could wait until they were big enough to fight over the front seat.

My son was bigger then me at age 12 so yeah, if it's safe for me to be in the front driving, it's safe for him to be a front seat passenger. Would I let me 6 year old ride in the front, no.

My son will almost certainly be taller than me by age 12, but I'm still not letting him unless there's no other option. I'm not even really safe in the front seat but we really have no choice on that one. I show them the visor that says you have to be 12 and tell them I'll get in trouble if I do it. *lol*

Letting a 6-year-old just because it's "one of life's greatest joys" isn't even in my realm of thought. I've seen the damage an airbag does to a child.

hehe Greggie, I don't know if it is technically safe for me either ... you're 4'11" right? I'm 5' and so is my mom. My older brothers were both bigger than her at a young age. I expect my kids to be bigger than me when they are young too. My guy is 6'2"... in fact all of his family is really tall. I always feel very very short around them lol

I remember wanting to sit up front and not being able to. But guess what? I got over it. And my kids will do the same if they want to sit up front. It's not happening until they are big enough.
I'll just take a page from Greggie's book and tell them I'll get in trouble (I love that btw).

I've finally managed to get comfortable with stretching my legs really far and then reclining a bit to get my torso in a relatively safe zone for an air bag.