To ask what the position is with taking babies home from hospital?

[scoopingthewater]

Do you need a car seat? What if you don’t drive?

I work with vulnerable families and our local hospital insists on babies leaving in a car seat. Most of the families I work with don't have a car. They usually borrow a car seat seat as it's hard to get them second hand. Most couldn't afford a new one. It's often a big stress for them when their baby is due as they sometimes have to prioritise a car seat over other essentials.

@brimfullofasha

I work with vulnerable families and our local hospital insists on babies leaving in a car seat. Most of the families I work with don't have a car. They usually borrow a car seat seat as it's hard to get them second hand. Most couldn't afford a new one. It's often a big stress for them when their baby is due as they sometimes have to prioritise a car seat over other essentials.

Why don't you tell the families that if they aren't going to be going in a car ever then they don't need a car seat?

I work with vulnerable families and our local hospital insists on babies leaving in a car seat

Why not tell those vulnerable families that the local hospital has no right to insist any such thing and there is no need for them to waste their money?
That would be helpful to them

I have always wondered this too. I’m sure I was told you had to have a car seat. And someone who lived opposite the hospital had an argument with the staff about it as they were trying to prevent her leaving. She lived in the middle of town, didn’t drive, was actually quicker to walk to get house than it was to some of the hospital car parks too

"not everyone has a spare £100 for a car seat"

A Joie Juva infant seat is £40 (sometimes less if you can find an offer online) and is a perfectly decent seat.

It’s still a bit like me spending £40 on a dog lead though, isn’t it, when I don’t have a dog.

@scoopingthewater

It’s still a bit like me spending £40 on a dog lead though, isn’t it, when I don’t have a dog.

So you will never get in a car with your baby?

So no friend might pick you up for a day out to the seaside?
No family member might pick you up for a day at the zoo?
No friend might pick you up for a day out somewhere else?

I would rather have it, not need it and sell it on, rather than find out I needed it and didn’t have it.

If I still lived in London, probably not.

Why would I be going to the seaside in a car? I’m not being goady. The zoo would be London zoo, tube to Camden lock IIRC.

I would rather have it, not need it and sell it on, rather than find out I needed it and didn’t have it.

This seems like a waste of money for any item unless you live in some remote land without shops or next day delivery, but particularly so for car seats - since you're not supposed to buy them second-hand I can't imagine it would keep value well, even if you said it was unused?

I guess it’s because it’s normal for us to go to the sea side in the car....

I don’t drive, and until 3 years ago didn’t have access to someone who lived with us who drived.

We still had a car seat though because my Nan would take us for days out somewhere, usually the local sea side.

If I wanted to get there without a car, I would have had to take a bus to the next city (about an hour long) in order to get a train to the sea side (another half an hour), whereas it would take about 45 mins in the car to get there instead.

@Hardbackwriter

I would rather have it, not need it and sell it on, rather than find out I needed it and didn’t have it.

This seems like a waste of money for any item unless you live in some remote land without shops or next day delivery, but particularly so for car seats - since you're not supposed to buy them second-hand I can't imagine it would keep value well, even if you said it was unused?

New in box I think people would buy.

I guess it’s because it’s normal for us to go to the sea side in the car....

Whereas everyone I know who lives in central London would only go to the seaside for the day a) rarely and b) by train. I don't know why some people find it so hard to believe that not everyone's life is exactly like theirs!

Normal for me to go to the seaside on a train.

We are all different.

I would rather have it, not need it and sell it on, rather than find out I needed it and didn’t have it.

And I bet some folks would rather the money for food or electricity over a car seat they’ll never use

I think London is probably the only place you could that

Any where else and there’s a higher chance you would need a car seat even if you didn’t have a car

New in box I think people would buy

Buying second hand car seats is not uncommon, despite it not being advised

New in box I think people would buy.

But you've said that it should be used at the hospital - the whole point of this is that you've said that you can't see any reason why someone wouldn't have a car seat to take a baby out of a hospital - so it wouldn't be in new in box, would it? And even then you might as well just burn a £20 note because clearly no one is going to pay store price, so you've just paid money to store a bulky item that you didn't want for the year it takes to determine that no, you never did need it.

@Soubriquet

I think London is probably the only place you could that

Any where else and there’s a higher chance you would need a car seat even if you didn’t have a car

But London isn't fictional, so I don't really get your point? Again, do you mean that no one you know lives in London so you simply cannot imagine that it is possible that people do?

London is not the only place in the world that people don’t drive.

Anyone who uses walking, buses, trains and even taxis to get around as their regular transport, rather than lifts, could very feasibly not need a car seat.

And many don’t have the luxury of having £40 to essentially sit on top of a wardrobe or in a corner

@andtheHossyourodeinon

I work with vulnerable families and our local hospital insists on babies leaving in a car seat

Why not tell those vulnerable families that the local hospital has no right to insist any such thing and there is no need for them to waste their money?
That would be helpful to them

100% this

I’m laughing at the fictitious London.

Actually though yes, some people will not be routinely travelling to zoos, seaside and other trips in friends cars. It’s all fine.

I think it is helpful to have a car seat even if you don't own a car, for the occasions when you might get a lift or taxi with the baby - I realise some people might never do this but I think most people probably will.

Especially at the moment when a lot of people are avoiding public transport if they can, because of Covid.

I think "is it useful to own a car seat even if you don't drive" is a different question from "is it reasonable to insist on a car seat to let parents take babies off the maternity ward" though. Yes it's probably useful, no it's still daft for hospitals to insist.

Even if they don't own a car, at some point in the following year that baby is going to end up on someone's lap in A car, cos there isn't the habit of a car seat. I've been there as we didn't drive, and the amount of times people would query the need for a car seat, we cannot fit it in, he will be fine on your lap, it is just a short journey.
It is a public information issue, just as babies falling asleep on sofas and SIDS is. Over the top may be, but otherwise how would the info filter down???

If you don't get the message through at that point where else is anyone going to find out???
Just stand on a pavement watch cars go by, see the babes in arms. Not many, but you would be surprised. Esp Sundays.