idiot parents!
 

why do people seem to think that car seats are a restraint for children? every day i see parents that are not using them properly, some are not even strapped in with the seat belt, some are not fitted correctly and some children dont have them at all.

The new law has come in that says that all children have to be in a child seat, does that not mean that they have to be used properly? can the police stop people if there seat is fitted wrong?
this morning i saw a new(ish) baby, about 4 month old in a car seat that should have been fitted facing backwards, but wasnt, being fed a bottle by a toddler who was stood in front of the baby (obviously not straped in) this was outside the police station and the car was waiting to turn onto the main road.... what would have happened if the car had crashed? i have never been so much in a rush that i would put my child in danger!!!

Has any one else noticed this 2?
sorry if i am ranting but it is really peeing me off!!:mad:

Re: idiot parents!
 

Great question! I see a lot of this because my work takes me all around accrington every day, I have to say that the worst offenders seem to be of ethnic origin, but yes, I am fed up with seeing children standing up or just being 'free' in cars, and at school times, frequently, the mother will be drinking or eating too. In Blackpool at illumination time, you see kids standing on seats, hanging out of the sunroof, just the smallest bump from behind could break a childs back in this situation. Mind boggling!

Re: idiot parents!
 

personally, i couldnt care less if the adullts dont wear a seat belt.. if they have a crash, its their own stupid fault.. children dont know better and if their stupid parents dont care enough to strap them in, why should they suffer.. imo this is a child protection issue as the parents are endangering their child...

Re: idiot parents!
 

Re: idiot parents!
 

See it all the time and it annoys me as well. Once again we have a law that isn't being enforced. If we see it so much do the police just ignore it?

Re: idiot parents!
 

Last Saturday I drove behind a Ford Fiesta with 6 children in the back. Four of them were on the back seat, 2 of these were half hanging out of the windows, and 2 more were in the boot with the parcel shelf removed. :eek: This was in the centre of Warrington in very busy traffic and only 100 yards from the police station.

Re: idiot parents!
 

the stupidity of some people is amazing.......
i have also seen a car with 2 adults in the front and a 2/3 year old in the back holding a newborn baby!!
the law should be that babies cannot be taken home from the hospital without a correctly fitted car seat and parents should be trained to fit their car seats, when they buy them so that the idiots dont put them back in wrong!!!

Re: idiot parents!
 

I was always under the impression that mother and baby were not allowed to leave the hospital without baby being in a carrycot/car seat :confused:

maybe Lettie can say if this is right or not? But that is the impression I got when I had mine.

Re: idiot parents!
 

maybe its not enforced.. i hav seen nw paretns getting taxi's home and carrying the baby on their knee

Re: idiot parents!
 

When I had mine you weren't allowed to carry your baby out of the hospital a nurse had to do that. Don't know how it works now.

Re: idiot parents!
 

Yes a nurse carried both mine out too!! and that was only nearly 11 and 9 years ago.

I don't think you are allowed to go home on the bus with your new baby either.

Re: idiot parents!
 

my mate went home on the bus with her new baby and i walked out of the hospital with mine....

Re: idiot parents!
 

My granddaughter goes to ballet and modern jazz classes, on Saturdays, with 2 other girls from our street. The mums take it in turns to take the 3 of them and bring them home. We have 2 booster seats and so does Sophie's mum so they lend them to each other as needed because the Law says so. Anna's mum, very often, doesn't bother. Anna's dad is a policeman. :confused:

Re: idiot parents!
 

When my girlfriend had our little lad we were allowed to carry him out, but the nurse did ask if we had a car seat (which we did). We always use the car seat, dont use it very much though as we tend to walk to most places. We have always been very strict on making sure the car seat is fitted properly, one taxi driver started telling me to hurry up fitting it so i simply took it out of the car shut the door and told him that i wont put my child in danger and if he expects me to rush while putting a piece of protective equipment into his car that could save my sons life in the event of an accident then im not willing to get in a car with him. Then he started asking me for money for wasting his time that he spent driving to my house, i very politely told him to 'get lost'.

Re: idiot parents!
 

So was I, Slinky.

Re: idiot parents!
 

For some strange reason the car seat laws don't apply to taxis.

I've no idea why this is so. Very wrong, in my opinion. :(

Re: idiot parents!
 

the details we were sent out to hand to parents said that the law doesnt apply for lifts given to you by other people.. taxis etc.. i dont know why either!

Re: idiot parents!
 

Think you will find that the law looks on it as your responsibility to make sure your child is safe ie you provide the baby seat /booster seat to ensure their safety.

Re: idiot parents!
 

yeah but some people just dont care!! and if they are stopped they can just say 'he is just giving me a lift'

Re: idiot parents!
 

Agreed but we can't worry about everyone!!!

Re: idiot parents!
 

Why is it against the law to sit as a passenger in your own car with a baby on your knee but not against the law to do so in a taxi? :confused:

Re: idiot parents!
 

it didnt say...... i didnt understand either. maybe because you cant be expected to carry a car seat every where you go..

Re: idiot parents!
 

Your guess is as good as mine:)

Re: idiot parents!
 

it all depends on which hospital you had your baby, as we both had our lads round the same time,our babies were carried out by a midwife, however when i had my 3rd baby up here the rules were different, the midwives have never carried the babies out of this hospital, you had to do it yourself,
and as for making sure your child is strapped in properly, how can any parent drive off knowing that their child isnt secure and they are responsible for their childs injuries or death if the worst ever happens, and i hope it never does

Re: idiot parents!
 

I have a 10 month old, the nurse carried him out of the hospital, and checked not only that we had a car seat, but that it was the correct type, and fitted correctly, that was at Bury (Fairfield).

Re: idiot parents!
 

As far as I knew the reason all babies were carried out by staff was something to do with insurance. We need our midwife on this thread to let us know the facts:)

Re: idiot parents!
 

Yes that is exactly what I was told too!! ;)

Where the bloody hell is Lettie??

Re: idiot parents!
 

One of my Spanish neighbours used to drive everywhere with her newborn son on her lap. It made my blood boil. I gave the little chap the nickname 'the survivor' when he reached the toddler stage. I watched her stand him on top of the car whilst she got her shopping out of the boot!

They've moved on now and I trust that he's still surviving.

Re: idiot parents!
 

Re: idiot parents!
 

senseless idiots!!
thats what they are.
when are they gonna learn....when the kids goes flying through the window!!?
bit late then, maybe they think "it wont happen to them"?

Re: idiot parents!
 

The midwives didn't leave the ward when we took our babies home. Our youngest is 4.

I thought that all that happened years ago. If they've re-introduced it it must be a fairly new initiative.

Re: idiot parents!
 

I dont understand why people dont use seat belts. One of my cousins her daughter was killed in a car accident - and she was wearing a seat belt.

Re: idiot parents!
 

It shouldnt matter whether its the law or not, as a parent you should want the safest possible environment for your child.

I hate driving through Blackpool illuminations and watching the kids in heavy 'stop/starting' traffic hanging out of sun roofs etc. All it takes is for one person to heavy brake a mile in front and thats the child with a broken spine.

Its now got to the point where I am wondering if it is just me being over protective tho, as the amount of things that I have seen regarding childrens safety (or lack of it) astounds me

Re: idiot parents!
 

If that had been the law when I was born, my parents probably would have done the happy dance and left me there:eek:

The law in Ontario is similar, children have to be in car seats, but the type is left up to the parents. Auto manufacturers also warn against putting kids in the front seat if there is a passenger side air bag installed. In Kingston, many taxis carry car seats and a customer can request such a car. I understand the need for such a law as the roads seem to be a lot more congested than they were, and the chance of having an accident have increased. For some strange reason kids riding on a school bus do not have seatbelts.

But I still think it ironic that Govts. are put in the position of having to legislate common sense.:confused: