traveling with baby in sling in car - is this ok?

[kookiegoddess]

friend giving me a lift and want to avoid hassle iwht car seat

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, never. The impact of the seat belt on you would crush the baby horribly and lead to all sorts of injuries.

It is very very dangerous but also illegal. If seen, you would be arrested as there is no exemptions for transporting children under 3 without their car seats.

absolutely not. Can't believe you would even consider it tbh.

NOOOOOOOOO! Why would you even ask such a question?

Nooooooooooo of course it isnt.

H is telling me its illegal fines of £60 - £5000 with 3 points on licence

No

no it isn't, you could crush the baby in an accident

Do you really not care that much about your baby that you are considering doing this to save the hassle?

No. If seatbelt goes round you and the baby the baby's back would be broken in an accident; if seatbelt goes between you and the baby with sling over the top then the sling wouldn't hold the baby in the event of an accident.

What?surely this is a wind-up?

I interviewed a road safety expert about holiday safety once, and something similar came up. He said that if you are abroad without access to a car seat for some reason, or need to take a taxi unexpectedly, it is best to put the seatbelt around just yourself, and then hold the baby firmly on your lap without a seatbelt on him or her, otherwise you would crush the baby to death between your body and the seatbelt, even in a relatively minor crash.

But please use a car seat if you have one.

Check out Of Advanced Motorists/Migrated Resources/Documents/L/01022004looseinthecar.pdf this AA Motoring Trust leaflet

Bother. That link again

Why on earth would anyone do this to save a bit of hassle with a carseat? I suggest you speak to your local fire station and ask them what they think of this idea. They are the ones that pick up the pieces after accidents.

That's a great leaflet, very helpful. I tend to be quite fussy about car seats anyway but this has further refined my understanding of the main issues.

Is this a troll?

Hope this is a troll Can't understand why anyone would place their baby in such danger to avoid a bit of 'hassle'

I don't think kookiegoddess is a troll she's been posting for a while and had a baby in October last year. She's asking if it's OK, not assuming it is OK, so we all know it isn't safe but not everyone does. If it was obvious there wouldn't need to be the publicity campaigns about it. And if anyone who ever asks for advice is jumped on as a troll no one will ask for advice.

No it is not okay to do this, why on earth would you even consider it. Please, please do not put your child at risk like that.

Use a car seat or walk.

How old is your baby?

Kookiegoddess - well done for asking. As you can see from the responses, it's not a safe thing to do. I've seen people carrying babies in slings in a car, and I'm very glad you were sensible enough to ask first.

argh sorry thanks for telling me