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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU or is this normal?

24 replies

Wigglesworth · 05/07/2009 15:56

Not sure if this is the norm or not TBH. My DS is nearly 1 and his nursery have an annual trip to an aquarium in August. It's about 50 miles from us and they are travelling there by coach. I have agreed to come along and help and when I asked if I should bring his car seat the nursery manager replied "no he can just sit on your knee and the seat belt will go round you both."
I have never been on a coach with DS and I am not sure if this is safe or not, it doesn't sound great to me. What do others think? Should I be questioning it or am I being stupid?

OP posts:

HuffwardlyRudge · 05/07/2009 15:58

I think it is the norm.

Not a chance in hell I'd do it.

Don't know if you can use a car seat in a coach.

MerlinsBeard · 05/07/2009 16:00

I wouldn't go if that was what was expected of me!

Not sure you can have car seats on a coach but i wouldn't be happy with that seating arrangement!

CharlieandLolasMum · 05/07/2009 16:01

Def not the norm - what the hell will a baby get out of a trip to a sealife centre, how will he be fed, how/where will he sleep.

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 05/07/2009 16:02

Coaches should all be fitted with seat belts. This isn't normal, if the coach were to coach were to crash (heaven forbid), the force would mean your child would be crushed by the weight of you against the seat belt. It's an absolute no-no. It's really not safe!

Owls · 05/07/2009 16:04

Well apart from anything else, the thought of a 50 mile trip with a one year old strapped in on my knees sounds like a pain. Hot and uncomfortable.

I'd be tempted just to take the car seat tbh. The manager was probably just thinking "oh you don't need to go to the bother of bringing that" iykwim.

Yurtgirl · 05/07/2009 16:04

I wouldnt want to do this either
Partly cos I wouldnt want to sit in a coach for 50 miles with a 1yo on my lap

And partly cos surely the kids would have more fun at a park or soft play centre

I dont know what the law is though re the coach

annh · 05/07/2009 16:05

Why on EARTH are nursery doing a trip to an aquarium which is 50 miles away?! With 1 year olds?! Surely the nursery children would be equally happy to go a couple of miles to the nearest farm/softplay/park? And the seatbelt thing is a big no-no!

ilovesprouts · 05/07/2009 16:07

you are not allowed to use car seats on a coach ,me dh ds2 whent to somerset and we had to sit him on our lap whith the seat belt round him ,500 miles round trip i was not keen at all but they was a few seats spare so we layed him down next spare seats he was ok ,but each to there own

Jbck · 05/07/2009 16:12

We did park and ride when DD1 was 20 months to the airport. The coach driver said he would either put our own car seat in the coach and then back in the car for us or he'd use one of their own. It was only 6 miles or so to the airport but we used ours.

I wouldn't do it and wouldn't be happy letting little one go that far for no real need.

We took DD2 to SeaLife Centre a couple of weekends ago and she lost interest pretty quickly. She's 20 months and I reckon an under 1 wouldn't last as long as she did.

Does he have to go?

Original poster

Wigglesworth · 05/07/2009 16:21

Jbck- nursery is closed that day for the trip. I have booked the day off work partly to go and help out but I am little precious with DS too. When I found out about the travel arrangements I was quite concerned and not very happy about it TBH. I am now thinking not going, not sure if I have the balls to tell them why maybe I will make a feeble excuse and me and DS can have a nice together just the two of us.

OP posts:

Original poster

Wigglesworth · 05/07/2009 16:23

Holy Jesus how many typos were in my last post, ooops .

OP posts:

Sassybeast · 05/07/2009 16:24

YANBU - and I'd be questioning why they need to travel 100 miles for a nursery trip. Madness!

FluffyBunnyGoneBad · 05/07/2009 16:24

I wouldn't go or let my child go to be honest. It's so far to go, by the time they get there it won't be very long before they have to come back. The children won't even remember it! Pointless!! Risking their safety for what??

Go to a softplay thing instead.

KingCanuteIAm · 05/07/2009 16:30

ILove, why are you not "allowed" car seats on coaches? When our nursery did day trips (twice a year) we all had to bring car seats in, no car seat = no trip = no childcare that day. They were very strict on it!

StealthPolarBear · 05/07/2009 16:35

Agree that it's not on and that 50 miles is a long way to go. However, just wanted to disagree with the "what would a baby get out of a trip to an aquarium" question. We tool DS to the sea life ctr when he was about 18m so a bit older I realise but I thought it was ideal for tiny ones - all the wriggling, floating, colourful things, and a particular area where we were in darkness to admire the luminous jellyfish. All like a live Baby Einstein DVD! The whole thing was very baby friendly - I fed DS while we watched the sharks (Ok, rays, but that doesn't sound as impressive) and there was a clean and big toilet to change him. PLus it was free for him to go in as he was under 2(? or maybe older).

zeke · 05/07/2009 16:37

There is NO WAY I would allow a 1 year old to travel on a coach like that, especially for such a long distance.

My Son's nursery only started taking them on an annual coachtrip (3 miles away!) when they turned three. I know they only had lap belts then (and I wasn't happy about it). I went along with it for my son's sake but I was highly irritated by it, I never expected nursery to start doing trips!

ilovesprouts · 05/07/2009 22:43

kingcanuteiam ,think it was to do whith the belts not been safe enough to go round carseats ,maybe im wrong ??

ilovesprouts · 05/07/2009 22:46

also my dh used to get national express from bristol - hudds and never saw a baby in a car seat

Qally · 06/07/2009 01:53

It's incredibly dangerous for an adult and infant to share a seatbelt. As has been mentioned, the adult would be propelled forward and the baby would be crushed between the belt and the adult. Appalling idea. YANBU in the very slightest.

I don't think many coaches have anything but lapbelts, though, and my car seat for one needs a shoulder version?

EachPeachPearMum · 06/07/2009 02:11

Our nursery hired a coach for their trip that had proper seatblts, and we all put our own car seats in. Yes it was a pain and took a long time to load/unload but what price your child's safety on the motorway?

CyradisTheSeer · 06/07/2009 07:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LittleMissBliss · 06/07/2009 08:04

I go to a baby group and they want to arrange a trip to a farm for the kids on a coach. I asked if we should bring car seats and they said no, a coach can take a booster but to a full car seat. I think it's to do with the lap straps as apposed to the full body straps.

cory · 06/07/2009 08:06

I have travelled on coaches with babies a lot; it is far safer than a car even without a seat belt; but what you absolutely must not do is to put them same seatbelt round you and baby, for the reasons mentioned by FluffyBunny

insertwittynicknameHERE · 06/07/2009 11:43

DH and I booked ours and DD's (now 19mo) places on the local sure start trip to the Deep in Hull (about 30ish miles from us) I asked before we booked we asked if the coaches had 3 point seatbelts so that we could bring the car seat.

We were told yes, I also rand the coach company to make doubly sure and to check if a group 0 car seat would fit and again was told yes.

When the day of the trip arrived we found that the car seats would not only no fit but that they only had lap belts.
We were then told quiet snottily that it isn't a legal requirement to have DC in a car seat on a coach and DD could just sit on mine or DH's knee. To which I replied that I couldn't care less weather it was a legal requirement or not, we were not going on the coach unless DD was in her car seat and strapped to the seat.

Luckily we don't live too far from Hull so my mum and dad took us and went shopping and then collected us.

You are not being stupid at all and yes you should be questioning it.
Not a chance in hell I would do it TBH.

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