To tell the school they don't use carseats?

[CapnSquirrel]

My DD started preschool in September. Since starting I've noticed that there are two mums who regularly don't have their children strapped in their car seats. They have the seats in the car and the DC are sometimes strapped but often the child just sits in the seat without the belt or even sits in the front seat unbelted.

These children are only three years old and I wince every time I see it. There are also two other families who I assume don't drive, and oftentimes they and their DC get lifts home with these mums and have their child on their lap in the front or just sitting in the backseat.

I know it's none of my business, I really do and I don't want to begrudge anyone a lift home in the rain but I'm just concerned for the DC. My best friend is an occupational therapist and has told me of some harrowing repercussions due to children not being restrained properly in cars, so it's just something I'm hyper aware of.

WIBU to mention it to the preschool? I'm not sure if it would be in their power to do anything but I was thinking perhaps they might send a generic email out to all parents or something? Or would that be a really busybody thing to do? Any thoughts appreciated!

[Lifeasweknow]

Snitches get stitches rather. So stupid, even my phone doesn't like it.

[SheChoseDown]

I once reported someone for this. I had their car reg but not their address so SS couldn't do anything. School weren't interested. Police are really busy and can't do much on hearsay.
But do try. Some people are fucking useless and don't think their kids are in danger jumping around the back of a car in rush hour

[GinDaddy]

It's a shame people are getting all worked up about this "safeguarding issue", insisting the parent is reported to the police...

... when parents regularly mount kerbs outside schools putting startled children and their parents in danger. When lines of sight and safe crossings are blocked by parents terrible parking on restricted areas of road.

I'm not doing "whataboutery" as what I'm talking about is irrelevant to the OP's issue.

I'm just suggesting that there's a lot of righteous indignation and caring about these kids and their lives, and yet when someone has to get to work on time because they didn't allow enough time to safely park somewhere and walk? Then caring for young lives goes out of the window and is replaced by risk taking and self-justification.

[JoyceDivision]

Righteous indignation? Yeaaahhhhh..... Kids not being fastened in a moving vehicle.... totally smacks of righteous indignation being concerned about their safety and the parent / carer either disregard or lack of education regarding safety....

[noitsachicken]

I used to see this almost daily from a parent who parked on my rias near the school, she had four children in a Ford Fiesta, not enough room for car seats for them all anyway, and the were never strapped in.
I called 111 who took it seriously as a child welfare concern, I reported it every time I saw them.
Eventually they got a bigger car, not sure if they are properly strapped in, but at least they made a change

[GinDaddy]

@JoyceDivision

Why do you and others care so much about correcting one individual's dangerous and reckless behaviour with their child's lives?

And yet so little is done about issues where hundreds of children at a school could be at grave risk due to idiot parking?

If I ran the probability stuff, I would say it's more likely/dangerous that a child could be hit by a badly sighted reversing car or someone suddenly pulling out right in front of a school crossing (I have seen both so please don't tell me otherwise).

Yet no one effectively deals with such things because

• quite simply people think it's too hard to police
• people don't want to lose their "perceived advantage" of parking near a school
• There's greater satisfaction and resolution in reporting one named individual who isn't strapping in their kids properly. and getting that resolved. Wider issues such as poor school parking take longer to resolve and don't involve one person.

My point is, reporting people who don't strap in their kids is low hanging fruit.

The real issue is why so many folk are comfortable with crazy and dangerous parking outside our schools. I've seen insane behaviour, parents reversing at a decent lick of speed, onto a pavement, with children walking to school.

[Durgasarrow]

I think it's okay to report it to anyone who will listen!

[WhereShallWeMoveTo]

Report them to the police. If they dont stop after a visit then report them to the schol, the health visitor, SS and the police AGAIN. Keep reporting them until the get it.

[GinDaddy]

@WhereShallWeMoveTo

I wish people were exactly as zealous about parking offenders... can you imagine how much better our schools would be at drop off time?

[WhereShallWeMoveTo]

Well you can report someone parking illegally to the police, but I doubt anyone else would be interested or have the power to do anything.

[Nonameslob]

@GinDaddy why don't you report them then? I'm surprised you class the safety of two children as 'low hanging fruit'. So because parents parking/driving irresponsibly is an issue we should ignore other situations where a child is at risk? The OP is asking about a situation she has seen, feel free to start a thread about your much more important problem!

[GinDaddy]

@Nonameslob

No I don't think we should ignore this most pressing issue that a kid isn't being belted up properly in a car.

I'm just questioning the fervency of some of the responses here, and wondering where that urgency is when there are equally, if not more pressing issues for child safety.

My reasoning is that quite a few people love the opportunity to give someone a good kicking telling

[hagsrus0]

"Sally habitually rode standing on her head in the back seat..."

Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson

[EL8888]

I'm confused about why the school? Teachers have more than enough to do. I also work in a line of work where everyone thinks it is your job to sort out all of the ills of the world, when we have more than enough to do already. How about you contact the police or social services?

[Tinkerbell456]

Really hard one! Probably the police are the way to go, rather than the school? After all, the police enforce the law not the school. Someone mentioned maybe a reminder in the newsletter first might be the way to go, so that they take the hint. Hopefully. If it’s a private school, certainly here in Oz, the police would not be able to do much as it’s private property and the laws around appropriate restraints don’t apply.

[bananaskinsnomnom]

School can deal with it to an extent.

We had similar issues. A couple of families were driving their children home on their laps in the front. One of them caused a a staff member to crash into the fence because the child grabbed the wheel and the car swerved to the staff member had to swerve on the nursery driveway.

A warning was sent out that the parents (it was generally one parent of the two who was doing it) involved would be barred from collecting their children and would have to make alternative arrangements. Plus safeguarding forms were filled out and the parents knew. It’s putting a child in danger at the end of the day.

Nursery also have the right to hold a child at the premises if they know they are not going in a car seat until adequate transportation is provided.

[Thewheelsarefallingoff]

Report to the police. It is your business and it completely unacceptable.

[olivehater]

Regularly using no car seats isn’t ok. Short impromptu journeys, such a a lift are perfectly legal though.

[olivehater]

What does The Law say? The law states that a child over the age of 3 may travel without a child restraint, on short journeys of unexpected necessity. The child must use the adult seat belt.

[joffreyscoffees]

Are you sure that they're not just sat in the front whilst waiting to go in? We always let DD out of the seat if we're waiting to go in somewhere. Having the seats in the car suggests that they use them for something.

[AudacityOfHope]

Morally you can only snitch if you're ok with someone snitching on you?

Are you under the impression you're in The Wire or something? Get a grip.

[Notso]

When I worked in a nursery I told the head about a family who brought their three year old in the back of a van everyday.

[GinDaddy]

@Notso

And that's their choice.

[namechangingtime]

@gindaddy I'm confused on whether you believe it's okay for a child to not be safely strapped into a car/car seat or if you're trying to play devils advocate? There's a lot of things we could ignore, or excuse, but don't because it's putting people at risk. It's bob down the roads choice to drink drive every night, but we'd all report him, or jimmy the unstable teens choice to carry a knife everywhere but we'd report him as he's a danger to people around him. So why if it's a parent who isn't taking all the safety precautions necessary to reduce risk of harm in a crash it's fine for them to just get on with it because it's their choice?

[formerbabe]

I wouldn't report this. We don't live in a police state.