to be hesitant about letting my 5 yr old ds1 go in a limo for a party?

[smoggie]

Very briefly, he's had an invitation to a party at a soft play for his classmate (who will be 6) and they're going by limo from the friend's house.
OK so I have very strong views on why I don't think this is an appropriate thing to do at this age, but leaving that aside....

I'm hesitant about it and have just emailed the mum to ask if it has seatbelts inside or should we take our own carseats for them. She's emailed back to say she's not sure...feel free to bring the car seat along or meet them there.
So, if I turn up with his car seat and if there aren't any seatbelts to attach it to, do I refuse to let him go in?
Do I just take him directly to the soft play......and just accept he's going to think I'm the worst mum in the world for not letting him go in the limo?
Or am I being too over-protective.....I'm willing to be told that I am.(however, I just think that a limo full of over-excited 5/6 yr olds without seatbelts is not a great idea)
Your thoughts please?
TIA

Gosh, that's a very grown up thing to organise for 5/6 yr olds isn't it? Limos?

Um, I think I'm with you. Limo or not, if you can't seat him safely, don't sat him at all.

Perhaps find out who the limo company are and see if they can tell you if his booster seat will fit in? That way you don't have to tantalise him with the Limo if you choose for him to go in your car.

Why Why Why would you hire a limo to take 5/6 year olds to a soft play for a party - unless they own a limo hire, how crass, tacky and vulgar.

I do not think YABU - I think I would meet them there, or turn up with my own booster seat and but him in that. I think all vehicles have to legally have seatbelts don't they?

I would not be happy for a load of 5/6 year olds to be in a limo unrestrained, but surely a limo has to be fitted out with seatbelts? I don't know - but if there were no seatbelts, I probably would take the flack and take ds myself.
P.S a limo for a 6 years old's party????!!

YANBU. I wouldn't let my child travel without a car seat. Can you ring the limo company to find out if it does have seatbelts?

TBH I think it's a bit irresponsible of the mum holding the party not to have found this out.

I know, I know, I know.
Can't say too mcuh just in case....but......!!!!!!!

tacky as feck

just say no

all the shock and snobbery on this thread almost makes me want to hire a limo for my car loving ds'party you bunch of miseries

You what?!!! They're nuts, right? (or they own a limo hire company, but then she would know if there were seatbelts)

Invent an excuse if you need to but I would definitely take him straight to the soft play place.

Snobbery?
No, just safety.

do limos not have seatbelts?

Sounds bizarre for 6 year olds, but at the end of the day it's a car, and cars legally have to have seatbelts, so there shouldn't be a problem from that point of view.

no lizzylou definate snobbery although i do concede the safety issues.

'how crass tacky and vulgar'

children love a bit of tackyness do they not?

I did see a limo hire offered as a raffle prize in a draw recently, so perhaps the same had happened here and they won it and couldn't think of anything else more suitable to do it?

No snobbery from me (although our budgets for parties do not include money for Limos, far rather buy balloon ), it just seems so excessive for children that young tbh.

I would scrap the soft play and let my ds just drive around in a big car, some kids just love them. My twins recently had a bowling party and accordin to the mum the best bit was having a ride in my campervan on the way there, although to be fait that didn't cost me a bean!!

God, my dd 7yrs would think she'd died and gone to heaven if she got to go in a limo
As said, limo is a car and so legally has to have seatbelts, would just take along booster

the law on seatbelts in limos www.rospa.com/RoadSafety/info/seatbelt_law.pdf

From this, I gather that unless a limo has a special licence allowing it to carry more than 8 passengers then it is classed as a private hire vehicle and therefore all passengers must wear seatbelts.

THanks thrgirlwiththecurl.
Not sure how many passnegers it carries though. THink I'll have to bite the bullet and ask her for the company name so I can ring and check.

Phone the limo company and check if they have seat belts and also if the driver will enforce their use. If he won't I can't really see your son being happy to sit in his booster seat with the seat belt on if his friends are moving around getting drinks from the on board fridge and fiddling with the TV.

Not sure I'm being snobbish about it I just think a limo for five year olds is excessive

Limos are ugly.

I actually think it's alot to do with pre concieved ideas about limos actually with people admit to it or not. if someone came on and said a big old double decker bus had been hired for transport bet there would be diffrent responses. You don't know the child or the parents so to judge as excessive is based on what? It is the apparent vulgarity that gets up peoples noses.

I was in a limo the other week for a friend's 40th birthday and tere were definetly no seatbelts.

Most of the seating was a bench type arrangment that ran down the length of one sode of the limo. You would have struggled to fit a kiddy seat on the seats even if there had been belts.

Oh love it, it'll probably be a helicopter then for the 10th birthday, a private plane for 18th, and a cruise liner for 21st? LOL, I think the issue of safety is a very important one that can't be ignored, surely at the booking the company will know that it's for children who will need boosters and will have had to say no if the couldn't fit that. Also is it possible that a lino is classified similar to a public transport bus which doesn't have seat belts anyway? ( I clearly have no idea what the inside of one looks like)