Originally Posted by
jamienbaker
Should those passengers not be allowed to drink? Maybe better to exclusively seat minors there. Ok, I'm kidding, I see your point. FWIW, my kids have sat in row 1, no different than row 1 on a manline aircraft such as the A320. Only on Vueling have I seem row 1 designated as no-kids.
One difference with RJs is that they have fewer FAs, sometimes just one. So if the FA is unable to help with the door, for example if he/she has been injured, it's more likely that passengers in the first row will need to open that door in an emergency.
If we're talking about small probabilities and small amounts of time, it should never matter who sits in the emergency row. In fact, maybe planes shouldn't even waste the expense and weight of having those emergency doors.