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

But it seemed to have a top speed of about 20mph and was built like a tank.

Sorry - got sidetracked by new dining table,chairs and sideboard getting delivered - had to phone company as both table and sideboard are scratched/badly polished. .

Will email parent now and ask for company name to ring and check seatbelt siutation.

Quadrophenia - sorry, but I would still have wanted a seatbelt for my ds in a bus (double decker or not).....it is purely the safety issue for me I can assure you. I don't care what he travels in, as long as it is safe.

we get lots around here, they are a nightmare coming up the school road. The kids all drool over them, then we see them going up the main road, normally with lots of excited girls shrieking out the windows - not wearing seatbelts.

The are incredibly slow and heavy, so i suppose it's liek a bus if there was an accident, they aren't going to be going at a very fast speed and aren't going to come to a stop very quickly. I don't think I'd be worried unless I knew they were going on faster roads,

I think your son would be mortified to have to sit in a carseat while everyone is playing and I'd take him to the venue myself rather than sit him in a carseat.

No quad, I don't know the child or the parents and you are probably right about the vulgarity of a limo. I stand by excessive though - is a soft play party no longer enough for a 5 year old?

Limos are definitely not the place for 5 and 6 year olds. How odd to have booked one for a party.

Smoggie I would meet everyone at the soft play place if I were you.

Smoggie your posts do suggest that there is more to it than safety, but I do agree safety is foremost and should be and I can completely understand your point regarding this. As regards to soft play being enough i remmeber when good old parties at home were enough...things change, like i said this child could be absolutely car bonkers, although as i said earlier i'd be tempted to skip soft play and just go on a long drive in a big car

There was a limo crash test on Fifth Gear a while back and they are lethal in a crash situation as the passengers are not restrained. Passengers would fly about like peas in a jar on impact. Children more so.

Drive him yourself and dont mention it too your LO.

I saw an Oprah show a while back - they were talking about a crash that happened with a limo (although it was on a freeway, so going 55 mph, and they were hit by a drunk driver)

Anyways, one child was killed because the bench seats that ran along the side of the car were not safe with the seatbelt.

side facing seats are rarely safe it is very difficult to get insurance for side facing seated vehicles, my brother once bought an old ambulance for his band and the cost to insure it was astronomical for this reason.

We once took our daughter to a soft play place and there was a pink limo in the car park outisde ...... parked fully across the 4 or 5 disabled parking spaces (presumably waiting for the kids it had taken there).

DP some sarky remark about it being in the disabled spaces as we walked in, and the driver shouted out "well, how many disabled kids do you see coming to soft play !!"

boobalina and purpleduck.
ds1 knows about the limo as the boy has been talking about it in his class....however, I would have no hesitation in explaining to him that we as his parents didn't feel it was safe enough to drive there without seatbelts.
once I can clarify the seatbelt situation I can make a decision then start the PR with ds1 !!!!!!

I'm certain though that if there aren't seatbelts he aint going in it.

Apart from the fact that limos are the ultimate in tastelessness, I am surprised the mother organising this did not think to check about seatbelts.

It would be the first thing I would think of and a non-started if they did not. I don't offer lifts to other children in my car unless I have sufficient seatbelts available.

read seatbelts to include carseats

oohhh blimey cringe

with there be adults in the back supervising the little ones?

Decline the party invite

fifth gear crash test here
dailycarvideos.com/2007/06/28/limo-crash-test/

The OP's ds is only 5. At this age, a lot of parents still stay for birthday parties (at least in my area). I don't think they get embarassed either about being in a carseat.

DS1 aged 9 now has had limo parties for the last 2 years (well this year was a Scooby Doo Mystery machine, last year was some hideous stretch hummer). He's severely autistic, and loved it don't really give a shit what anyone else thinks. Unless they can come up with a better idea for a non-verbal 9 year old child.

Anyway point being that ds2 and ds3 came too. DS2 is 3 years younger than ds1 and ds3 6 years younger. Both years we've strapped in ds3's car seat for him to sit in but ds2 just sat in the seats. All seats had lap belts but there's weren't many standard seat belts. Both the stretch hummer and Scooby Doo van drove pretty slowly. Think bus rather than car. If you're happy for your child to go in a bus without a car seat then it should be fine (better because you have lap belts), if not then maybe you'll have a problem.

Both had a limit on the numbers they could carry too. The hummer -which was huge and could have fitted more had a maximum of 8 (so we took me, dh, ds1, ds2, ds3, my mum and dad).

My goodness, this is birthday parties gone mad!
What are they going to do for his 15th birthday? Hire a jet to the maldives?

I did a lot of research at work into limos a few years back, due to the fact a lot weren't licenced
As far as I remember most limos don't have seatbelts on the seats which go down the sides of the car, by law there doesn't have to be on side facing seats. Apart from that only a 5 point harness would actually stop you going anywhere as a lap belt or 3 point belt would only stop you going forward.
HTH

As the owner of a limo am happy to confirm that we are chauffeured about quite safely and all wear our seatbelts. Friends have been happy to be given a lift to school or the local soft play and equally, no problems when we take people out in our helicopter.

Or maybe that's just in my dreams???!!

Seriously, I probably wouldn't put a child without a seatbelt into the limo.

The safety issue is one thing but JimJams has a point about it'll be similar to being on a bus actually.

But have to say re the 'ohh how tacky' comments and 'it'll be a helicopter for his 10th' etc - the kids will LOVE it, it's just a fun mode of transport, something a bit different etc etc. And why not? Why shouldn't a 6 year olds party have something fun, tacky etc etc?

Chavtastic ! - limos for 5 year olds.

Yes they'll love it, they're 5 year olds aren't they ?