Page 2 | To think it's weird to allow babies in arms in cabs

anonacfr · 2023-02-21T12:50:21+00:00

Typical celeb clickbait article this morning online. Chloe Madeley apparently got abuse for posting a picture of her, her partner and their young baby in a black cab. They're both wearing a seatbelt but he's holding the baby- no baby carrier or restraints. She was lashing out at people criticising her by telling them it is a perfectly legal thing to do. Isn't that mega dangerous though? Looking back we always brought our carriers in cabs, or at least (in black cabs) strapped the babies in their buggy and secured said buggy so it couldn't really move. In these days of health and safety I am just surprised. Am I a hindsight PFB?

flutterbyebaby · 21/02/2023 17:17

Are people making as much fuss about babies in arms on a bus?

MrNook · 21/02/2023 17:13

@bussteward MrNook
A baby that small can go in one of those travel system car seats with handles so no idea why you wouldn't do that!

I don’t own one.

Ok but this thread isn't about you? The instagrammer this is about does have a travel system which a car seat attaches to so I don't know why you wouldn't use it if you had one or just put the car seat under the pram

MrNook · 21/02/2023 17:12

Dinoboymama · 21/02/2023 16:06

We went into hospital in an ambulance when our child was 4 months old. When discharged we had no car seat the nurses said to just go in a taxi with him but not to use a car seat around him. It was 5.30am in the morning.

I wouldn't do it routinely but it is legal to use a taxi with no car seats.

Definitely think it's different in an emergency/urgent situation that can't be helped

I had to take my toddler to A&E on my lap in a taxi before as I didn't have her car seat at my house

Winter41 · 21/02/2023 17:09

Once they were beyond the infant carrier stage we got the trunki back pack things for ours when we knew we would be using cabs, holidays etc. Not the best car seats obviously but under the circumstances they felt like a decent practical option.

Oblomov23 · 21/02/2023 17:09

Not a problem to me.

Ireallydohope · 21/02/2023 17:06

It's legal to have too many people in car and some without seatbelts if there's no other option

MrNook · 21/02/2023 17:02

@Sugarfree23 But babies aren't supposed to spend more than 2hrs in a carseat. Newborns 20mins I think is the guidance.

So how does that work for a day out?

Already said in my previous message, I used the car seat in taxis then would put her in the sling when walking around and push the car seat clipped onto the pram

TaskmasterAssistant · 21/02/2023 16:59

AGoldenNarwhal · 21/02/2023 16:23

Now the thing which I could really "lash out" about is cyclists who put their little children in those shitty bike trailers and tow them on public roads. Beneath a motorist's line of sight with only a tiny little flag to show that they're actually there.

They're not shitty, they've got roll bars and full harnesses in them so if you do tip over the kids are super protected. And if you're close enough to a cyclist that you can't see they are towing something then you need more driving lessons.

Original poster

anonacfr · 21/02/2023 16:55

Ithinkimthebfg · 21/02/2023 16:15

If you saw the insta post then you know full well it’s legal . I’m not a fan of the faux naivety. Your wording alone in your op shows this was a bitchy thread. From saying she was lashing out, when she was not, through to “apparently “ got abuse when she clearly did and calling it typical celeb click bait . At least own it. We would all have more respect.

And there is nothing scary about a baby being held in a black cab which is built like a tank, crawling along a London st,for most people. Particularly not a baby being held securely by their 6 foot 4 , 19 stone rugby playing father, on what is likely a short ride.

Christ the teacups at the carnival are more risky.

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Not seen any Insta, just a vague link through my Twitter feed.
Thanks for pointing out my bitchiness.

I will refrain from ever commenting on random news stories ever again.

I beg to differ on London cabs crawling along, it very much depends where and what you use them.

OP posts:

Moonshore4 · 21/02/2023 16:36

It’s not ideal but sometimes it’s the only option. Same with the bus - no one has a seatbelt! I’d be getting annoyed if I was Chloe Madeley - she’d clearly done her research and knew what she was doing, people need to just leave it.

EverySporkIsSacred · 21/02/2023 16:32

If the laws changed so you can't hold a baby in the back of a taxi, how do you think people who don't drive will get home from the hospital after giving birth? Not everyone is lucky enough to have someone else who can pick them up.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 21/02/2023 16:32

AGoldenNarwhal · 21/02/2023 13:41

I agree. Lap babies on planes should be banned. Airlines should be required to provide backward facing car seats for infants as part of the ticket price or parents can bring their own.

When we travelled by plane when DC1 was a baby, we took our car seat and paid for a seat for it. We then got into a massive fucking row with the flight attendant, who was insisting that we secure the car seat forward-facing. She gave in eventually but much more education is needed on this issue.

On the cabs issue, I can't get too upset. Life is an exercise in balancing risks, which we do in different ways. Co-sleeping is risky so I don't do it, but go figure I almost fell down the stairs carrying my baby this morning because I'm so sleep-deprived atm. Yes, it's riskier having an unsecured baby in a black cab, but black cabs don't tend to be involved in accidents at high speed so probably much less risky than having an unsecured baby in a normal car and with much better reason for it. You can't lug around a car seat all day and babies aren't intended to be in car seats as part of a travel system for more than a couple of hours.

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Is it just me thinking that if you are involved in any sort of emergency stop when a plane is travelling, there isn't really much in it whether they are facing forwards or backwards?

AGoldenNarwhal · 21/02/2023 16:23

Now the thing which I could really "lash out" about is cyclists who put their little children in those shitty bike trailers and tow them on public roads. Beneath a motorist's line of sight with only a tiny little flag to show that they're actually there.

Ithinkimthebfg · 21/02/2023 16:15

anonacfr · 21/02/2023 14:01

That's a bizarre answer- she does what she wants, I was commenting on her correct response that it was legal.

I hadn't realised and find it quite scary. Am I not allowed to have opinions- why is commenting on an article I saw on my twitter feed seen as disingenuous and an attack on a random celeb.

I didn't even realise she had a baby (or was in a relationship with Haskell for that matter) until I saw the article.

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If you saw the insta post then you know full well it’s legal . I’m not a fan of the faux naivety. Your wording alone in your op shows this was a bitchy thread. From saying she was lashing out, when she was not, through to “apparently “ got abuse when she clearly did and calling it typical celeb click bait . At least own it. We would all have more respect.

And there is nothing scary about a baby being held in a black cab which is built like a tank, crawling along a London st,for most people. Particularly not a baby being held securely by their 6 foot 4 , 19 stone rugby playing father, on what is likely a short ride.

Christ the teacups at the carnival are more risky.

Dinkleberg · 21/02/2023 16:11

Licensed taxi drivers have to undergo further training and testing to become licensed, so they are objectively much safer drivers than the average motorist. Also, taxis tend to be large and well-built so unlikely to be seriously damaged in an accident. Yes there's still some risk present but there's always risk no matter what you do.

Bippetyboppityboob · 21/02/2023 16:06

Its not ideal but there isn't really a viable, reasonable alternative, and there simply aren't huge numbers of infants being killed by this. Like many things in parenting it's making a calculated risk based on several factors. Probably safer to be honest than children in shitty car seats in tin cans with nervous or generally bad drivers carting them around.

Dinoboymama · 21/02/2023 16:06

We went into hospital in an ambulance when our child was 4 months old. When discharged we had no car seat the nurses said to just go in a taxi with him but not to use a car seat around him. It was 5.30am in the morning.

I wouldn't do it routinely but it is legal to use a taxi with no car seats.

Littlegoth · 21/02/2023 16:04

@Fullyhuman It’s not legal to give a lift to a friend with a babe in arms. It’s only legal in a taxi.

Children 3 and over can go in a taxi without a booster as long as they use the seatbelt. Under 3 and they travel held by a parent.

GingerKombucha · 21/02/2023 16:01

RichardHeed · 21/02/2023 14:20

Legal yes but legal doesn’t equal safe, half the shitty car seats on the market prove that. I cringe when I see those Disney or Spider-Man seats, they need banning.

Unless it’s a true emergency it’s a really stupid idea. Dismissing real safety concerns as anxiety is fucking stupid though, any sane person who did a second of research into this would be horrified.

Can you please point me to the research showing death rates of babies in black cabs without car seats being higher than babies in black cabs with car seats? I would be interested to see this.

GloomyDarkness · 21/02/2023 15:48

Sugarfree23 · 21/02/2023 15:31

But babies aren't supposed to spend more than 2hrs in a carseat. Newborns 20mins I think is the guidance.

So how does that work for a day out?

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he'd be in the car seat for the taxi ride and then used the sling when walking around

^^She had sling and some sort of travel system.

I've done mixes of transport - slings, buggy boards, attachable side cars, double pushchairs, backpack reins depending on situation- I had three to get about so managed as best we could.

There may well be more options out there now than we had access to - someone mentioned there's a lie flat car seat - so depending on price if I was looking now not driving - I'd see if they did a travel system.

However you can't assume everyone would have access to such equipment thus can't make laws based on everyone having this access - so there's still a need to allow more flexibility for taxis.

bussteward · 21/02/2023 15:38

MrNook · 21/02/2023 13:50

A baby that small can go in one of those travel system car seats with handles so no idea why you wouldn't do that!

I don’t own one.

Sugarfree23 · 21/02/2023 15:35

Even going on a train journey, taxi to local station, 5mins in taxi, change trains twice, before being met at the other end.

Sometimes you just do what you have to do.

Sugarfree23 · 21/02/2023 15:31

MrNook · 21/02/2023 15:22

And what did you do with the car seat? Lug that around too? They're heavy!

No I just clipped it onto the pram

But babies aren't supposed to spend more than 2hrs in a carseat. Newborns 20mins I think is the guidance.

So how does that work for a day out?

daffodilday · 21/02/2023 15:27

How else are you meant to travel with a baby if you’re in London with baby in sling and then need a cab/bus ? Traffic moves at snails pace anyway so seems quite safe.

GloomyDarkness · 21/02/2023 15:25

Sugarfree23 · 21/02/2023 14:48

@GloomyDarkness
That's making a journey not having a day out.

I'd agree that lugging a carseat on a day out say to a zoo or theme park would be a complete pain in the arse!

Depends how many willing hands you meet up with I suppose.

It was suggested to us as possible way of doing it on trip back to where we once lived but in end we decided it would be too much extra carriage with baby and two toddlers and I'm glad because it did mean we were able to get about by ourselves.

My IL once insisted we leave buggy at home for one holiday as they said they'd be four adults capable of carrying youngest. We'd taken a buggy on a long day out with them and she'd only used it at very end - so wasn't completely mad idea. However it took a day before we hired a buggy and IL agreed it was a great idea as she wanted carrying all the time due to late nights as it was too much even with four of us.