No car seat - v. concerned

[bootsmonkey]

This morning as I was coming in to work I saw a nursery nurse from my DD's nursery in the passenger seat with her toddler son sitting on her lap - no car seat. They were in a garage and, I presume her dad, got back in and they all happily drove off.

This shocked me as - a. being a nursery nurse you think she would know better and , b. if she does this with her own son, how careful is she with other peoples children!!

She isn't directly responsible for my DD, but do you think I should report her at least to the nursery??? Presuming I can find out her name etc.

is it possible they would have put him in his seat before they left garage - if not perhaps mention your concern to the nursery manager,

No, I saw them drive off with him held in her lap. I just can't get my head around why you would do that. I wouldn't let my daughter in a car if there wasn't a car seat.

No i don;t understand it either - think you should mention it at the nursery as it is a concern and she is in a position to know better - if there is a valid reason fine but it would concern me

Isn't that illegal now in any case? I would report her.

This is the law (from the RoSPA website)

Cars - Children under 3 years old
If carried in the front seat, an appropriate child restraint MUST be used (the adult seat belt is not sufficient). Children under 3 years old may not travel in the front unless they are in a child restraint.

If carried in the rear seat, an appropriate child restraint MUST be used, IF AVAILABLE.

If an appropriate restraint is fitted in the front of the car, but not the rear, children under 3 years old MUST sit in the front and use that restraint. Remember, you could move the restraint from the front to the rear if you wish. Rearward-facing seats are designed to be used in the rear as well as the front. You should always put a rearward-facing baby seat in the rear if is a front passenger airbag fitted.

It would appear that she was breaking the law, as the child was sitting in the front without an appropriate restraint, albeit held by his mother.
I would have a quiet word with her, not her manager, along the lines of..." I saw you in the garage the other day...did you know it's illegal for a toddler to travel in the front seat of a car?". There may have been a one-off reason why they had to travel in her father's car that day, and it would be a shame to get her into trouble with her managers if there was. What she does with her own child isn't really their responsibility, and it might cause some bad feeling. If she regularly travels like this with her father, you could suggest that they at least get a booster seat, which would mean that the child was at least restrained in the back during the journey.

Also, if you get that far, you could point out to her that it will be her father who will be prosecuted if they are caught by the police. You can get a booster seat for arouned a tenner.

Thanks Tissy, shame I'm such a wimp about face to face things, but if I see her I will mention it to her first. I still feel she should know better in her line of work!

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Galaxy - dh is a firefighter and could sadly tell you just what does happen I completely agree its downright irresponsible and there are no excuses good enough!