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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my 11 month old shd be strapped into his buggy?

57 replies

smeraldina · 12/06/2010 10:05

My DH keeps going off with him with the straps undone. I re-strapped him before they headed off, pointing out that the babe could slip out/under/bang his head and was greeted with a sarcastic 'Thanks for the horror story' before they went out of the door. I am being too fussy? Too health-and-safety conscious? Looking on the dark side? Possible, as am knackered. But hate sarcasm.

OP posts:
MarthaQuest · 12/06/2010 12:50

The toddler was unstrapped and wriggling I should say.

diddl · 12/06/2010 12:56

YANBU.

I would have thought at that age there´s a chance of them trying to climb out.

GormlessHeart · 12/06/2010 13:04

Altinkum I know what you mean about the Loola straps, why are they so short??! We have unclippled the side ones, which lengthens things a bit, you end up with the unclipped bits at the side of the buckle, it is then a 3 point fastening rather than 5 (but better than nothing, whilst you wait for your new straps)

Sorry for hijack!

lindsell · 12/06/2010 13:04

yanbu the other day I saw a baby about the same age fall out the bottom of his pushchair (not sure how!) as his mum was pushing him along luckily didn't look as if there were any injuries and he looked bemused more than anything to find himself on the pavement but could have been a nasty accident

HotSprocket · 12/06/2010 14:54

Of course YANBU.
What is the benefit of him not being strapped in?

mixedraceparents · 12/06/2010 15:09

YANBU. I put my 16 month old WITH HARNESS on in the front seat of a mothercare pram,(recommended for 6 months and above). The harness was on the tightest setting as he is a little bit tiny, he managed to wriggle out, stood up, fell out and ended up in hospital. I can only thank my lucky stars he wasn't hurt any worse. I'm actually thinking of contacting mothercare as their harnesses appear to be far too big and loose for kids who happen to be slim and small.

If there is any chance at all that you child could be hurt, then it's up to you to ensure that they aren't, and if that means giving your DH a bollocking then go for it.

Much easier to tell him off than explain yourself at hossie, and I bet they wouldn't be too impressed with the "forgot to put the harness on" excuse

diddl · 12/06/2010 15:14

I also assume that your husband is such a perfect "driver" that´s he´s never going to bang into anything or misjudge a kerb, for example.

ShinyAndNew · 12/06/2010 15:15

Dd2 decided a few months ago, that she would no longer needed be strapped into her buggy. She would just 'sit in like a good girl'.

Every time I strapped her in, she undid them (she is Houdini reincarnate).

She fell out before we even got out of the door. She now straps herself and refuses to let you push the buggy, until she is strapped.

YANBU.

TruthSweet · 12/06/2010 16:02

GormlessHeart/Altinkum - I've spoken to Dorel about the short straps (I've got a Loola Up). Apparently there was a manufacturing error and some of the pushchairs were fitted with straps that were shorter than normal.

I went in to Mothercare who gave me a set of replacement straps even though I bought my pushchair off Ebay. The only trouble is Dorel had made cock up no.2 and sent out a batch of replacement straps to Mothercare that were SHORTER then the short straps were in the first place!

Luckily Dorel customer services sent me out another set of straps which were the right length - finally!

Meglet · 12/06/2010 16:13

YANBU. They can wriggle fast at that age.

When DS was 17 months and unusually not strapped in he managed to wriggle out under the bar and onto the path while me and P were merrily chatting during a visit to a zoo. Nearly ran him over

BertieBotts · 12/06/2010 16:19

I've got a Loola Up and I just do the straps up around DS' waist so it's like a 3-point harness by his waist and between his crotch. Stops him slipping downwards, he can climb out if he really wants to, but he wouldn't slip out by accident.

XboxWidow30 · 12/06/2010 16:23

Hi,

Yep show him this thread. I forgot to strap my son in when he was approx. 2 years old. We went down a kerb and he fell into the road, I didn't forget to restrain him again!

Plus, I agree with not using the bumper bar as restraint. Kids are like escape artists! My daughter had a tantrum in her pram which had a bumper bar across the front. She wasn't strapped in and arched her back, flipped herself forward and slid under the bumper bar, however her head didn't fit through so she was stuck. Again, not something I want any child to repeat, it was horrible but all my own fault!

StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 12/06/2010 18:24

I remember a story from about the time when my dses were young enough to need buggies - a baby wasn't strapped into the buggy, and the wheels got caught (possibly in a lift or train door - unfortunately I can't remember the details), and the baby fell out on its head, suffered severe head injuries and died in hospital.

Yes, it is a horror story, and thankfully rare - but better safe than sorry. Tell your dh that I think he is a complete idiot to be taking chances with his child's safety!

OTTMummA · 12/06/2010 21:41

I saw a woman walking along the main rd with a old mothercare system not long ago, she had a baby in the travel system seat and her toddler, around 2 ish underneath in the basket!
I had one of those buggies of a friend but decided to give it back when the basket underneath ( huge btw ) kept falling ( some weird mechanisim ) and my shopping ending up all over the road i hit a bump.

Well i rushed over to her and told her that the baskets on that buggy are quite shoddy etc and she just quipped, he likes it, doesn't do him no harm etc 10 seconds later she hits a kerb and toddler is face down on the road and she trips over him
luckily there were no cars racing down like normal.

DianeAdores · 12/06/2010 21:44

YANBU squared. Your DH is wrong, wrong, wrong.

I hate seeing children not strapped in. I feel like doing it for their ignorant parents!

Firawla · 12/06/2010 22:32

YANBU quite shocked at your dh lack of caring about it. It takes less than 1 min to strap them in, why on earth would you not??!
So reckless

hogshead · 12/06/2010 22:40

my DS has ants in his pants constantly to the point he has been renamed `Wrigglous Wormus'. Not strapping him in would lead to an escape attempt in minutes.

YANBU

GormlessHeart · 13/06/2010 08:08

Good to know, TruthSweet, interesting how that error has been completely unpublicised!

TruthSweet · 13/06/2010 10:29

GormlessHeart - after struggling for about 30 minutes to change the straps over and finally achieving it I tried to strap DD2 in. Not possible even with the straps let all the way out. Peculiarly she fitted in to the old straps . Cue phone call to Dorel who promised to send out new longer replacement straps and explained about the 'error'. Didn't ask which Mothercare I got the short replacement straps from though so I imagine there are quite a lot of short-changed Loola owners about

DianeAdores · 13/06/2010 12:53

MarthaQuest, I am quite happy for my children to fall out of trees and so on, so I'm not overly anxious about them. However, I found something very distasteful about your "I let my child stand up in the buggy" post - it came across as you gloating about how very relaxed you are as opposed to the rest of us uptight fuss-pots who think that children should be strapped in because they are otherwise accidents waiting to happen.

MarthaQuest · 13/06/2010 19:18

It was meant in a light hearted way,Diana Adores, I don't claim to be a perfect parent ,and in fact this thread has made me rethink the way I let DD out unharnessed.

Having said that, we live in a rural area with very few cars and I am actually quite happy with the personal risk assessments conduct internally every time I take DD out.

Have a and don't waste your on me.

Altinkum · 13/06/2010 19:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

libelulle · 13/06/2010 19:50

When DD was about that age, I managed to tip my 3-wheeler on its side while going round a corner (running for a bus ). She was strapped in. She didn't even wake up!! Would likely have been a very different story if she hadn't been.

starkadder · 13/06/2010 20:50

Definitely needs to be strapped in. I hit the kerb/potholes a couple of times when DS was small and it would have been ugly if he hadn't been strapped in.

leeloo1 · 13/06/2010 21:28

Altinkum I had this issue with the Loola - be warned, when the straps finally came (I had to keep chasing them) they were around 3-4 inches longer than the original ones and my (then 10 month old) still couldn't fit in them (esp with the footmuff on).

For a while I fashioned new straps out of the old ones and the new ones joined together, but it wasn't ideal, so I got Boots to take it back and refund it as it wasn't 'fit for purpose'.

HTHs.