to refuse a lift...

[Hollybrolly]

What would you do?

We were visiting pil's and ended up staying overnight. In the morning we (dp, dh, me) went a walk to boot sale near by.
Dp's mum called after an hour or so asking where we were because she wanted to see ds before she went out. She suggested she come pick us up. Dh agrees and she comes, without a carseat. So i say i'd rather walk back, i'd rather not travel without a seat. She starts saying i don't trust her driving and it's only ten minutes away, early morning, no traffic blabla.
She started bringing my mum up, saying if it was my mum i wouldnt mind. I said my mum has a carseat in the car always, she never takes it out ever, its on a base fitted in.

Anyway, i didnt take the lift and she put it down to me not wanting her to see, spent time with ds. But we started walking straight away, and it only took us half an hour to get back.

Was i being ungreatful and selfish as she says, by not accepting her lift after she had made the effort to come and get us?

missmama, that is horrible! I am glad you all got out quickly. Where were you? I was on holiday in Turkey a few years and noticed the roads were crazy!

I have never been involved in an accident, and don't even know anyone who had, but i know i wouldn't like to risk anything!

We were back at her house half an hour later and stayed untill she went out, so it wasn't like she really missed much time with ds.

YANBU

I would NEVER let my son get in a car without a carseat!

In fact, once, when we were completely caught out and DESPERATLY needed a lift home I actully RAN to argos and bought a £25 seat just to get DS home!

kimi, She sounds great, makes things much easier.
My mum also bought my ds one, she bought one for my neice 2 years ago but donated that after she grew out of it then replaced it with the bigger size. It annoys me more that it was me who bought the carseat for pil to use and it's sitting in the cupboard.

hah argos is great eh! We had to run out and get a £15 stroller because mines was too big to take on a day out once all the seats (7 seater) were in.

go argos!

Holly we were in the south of France at the time but were supposed to have been travelling through europe.

I do not drive neither does DH. We have never owned a car, but we have owned over the years about 6 car seats. And we even have one for flump when it arrives.

YANBU if it didn't feel right for you.

HOwever, if it were me, I'd probably have just got in the car.

I was under the impression that the law permitted children to travel without car seats in short unplanned journeys only where the journey was of a emergency or urgent nature. So this situation would not be covered as it was not an emergency of any kind. I doubt it would even count as unplanned, either. I'm not, on the whole, in favour of laws that are intended "for our own good" but I support the law on children in car seats. I am old enough (imo) to decide if I want to take the risk of not wearing a seatbelt (I don't) but children are not.

I agree with those posters who point out that your MIL would have broken the law (not to mention placing your child at unnecessary risk) if you had accepted the lift. YANBU.