Booster seat on coach for reception school trip?

[Maybeitsok]

My just turned 5 year old is going on a school trip soon via busy dual carriageway to another city, journey time approx 45 min each way. They are still in a rear facing car seat with me, which is all they know, and how they will continue until they outgrow it at 36kg or 125cm tall. They’re currently only 16kg and 107cm!

Anyway, I was reluctant to let them go on the coach but have decided to do so but with a booster seat, so I’ve bought a carry on portable one that’ll be easy enough to use.

Thing is, they’ve asked if it’s just them that’ll have this kind of seat, and it probably will be, since people aren’t that clued up on car seat safety it seems.

Has anyone else sent their 4/5 year old with a booster before? I’m fearful they’ll be ridiculed but then again not sure considering their age. Safety first in my opinion, but want them
happy too.

Front passenger safety? I’d rather my head smashed into the dashboard (if that’s a risk) thank my child break their neck in a FF seat too soon tbh

That second article says that rear facing is "the safest way to ride". We aren't disputing that. We are disputing that, as op claims, "forward facing is dangerous".

The problem is that op, like many others, think in a binary way when hearing a comparison.

If X is better than Y, it doesn't follow that X is good and Y is bad. They could both be good or both bad.

In this case, forward facing child car seats are pretty good for reducing the likelihood of severe injury. Rear facing is even better but any incremental improvements must be weighed against cost and inconvenience.

In the case of making your dd take a booster on the coach, the inconvenience-cost is considerable

Question. If you accept then, that rear facing is the safest way to ride, why on earth wouldn’t you do that for your child?

Well you'll be a lot of use to your child if you end up with a brain injury.

People need to look at the whole picture when it comes to car safety.

No, people just need to follow the science and data.

I've never said how my children ride. But I've already said, every incremental improvement is weighed against cost and inconvenience.

As it happens, in my dd's case she forward faces because rear facing made her vomit every car ride. My toddler son rear faces and will probably continue to do so longer than dd did because he doesn't seem to get car sick.

I don't think in absolutes. I weigh up pros and cons by looking at the big picture.

I also don't allow myself to get unduly terrified by high-severity, low-likelihood risks.

My children could wake up in the night, climb out of the window and fall to their death. If I'm out with them they could run away from me and get kidnapped. If we're walking by the riverside they could let go of my hand and rush into the river and drown. If we're in town we could run into an armed gunman and get shot.

It would make it safer if I kept all our windows locked at all times. Keep my 4yo on a leash. Never go into central London. Never walk by the river. That would be much safer.

"If you know it's safer, why wouldn't you do that?"

That's the issue there is very very unbiased science or data surrounding this stuff.

It's very good to say Sweden is safer but you then have to take into account, bigger cars. Winter tyres instead of all-season tyres. Different road conditions to the UK.

Then consider how many children are hurt in accidents, the size of the vehicles involved.
The roads, country roads, normal A roads, motorways.
How do any of them compare to roads in Sweden?

This reminds me now of Covid threads now as long as we follow the science and data it will be ok.

@Maybeitsok what do you want from this thread? Reassurance that this won’t cause your DD to feel different from her peers, that she won’t be teased etc because we can’t give that. The school environment and friendships etc is tricky and there is just as much chance that this will be noticed by her peers as it isnt

I wouldn't worry about your daughter being teased. I'd worry that you are going to make your daughter frightened of being in an accident by your fixation on these things.

She will be sitting there on her booster thinking "if we are in a crash [which my mother insists is not a rare event], I might be fine but all my friends will die as they don't have their own boosters".

Take it you didn’t get your vaccine then 😂 (joking)

I did because I wanted to go abroad and needed it for that - had Covid before and after the vaccine. I took it because for me the end result of being able to travel and to go to the theatre was worth it. My 16 year old did as well but my 12 year old hasn’t had it.

And it is relevant because what do you want the end result to me?

to be fair though haven’t had any form of car seats for my two for 4/5 years or so!

Who are you expecting to carry the booster seat to the coach (along with all the other paraphernalia) staff will have charge if? Who are you expecting to position it in place? What if the coach is not intending to remain at the venue and there will be a different vehicle for the return journey (not uncommon).
You said you had consulted the school and it is a “non-issue.” That’s not quite true. You said you’d asked about the seat belts and why you wanted to know. That’s not quite the same thing.
My school will absolutely not allow parents to drive their own kids to a venue when there is a coach booked. There are issues with lateness, requiring a member of staff to have around at the entrance for late-comers and ditto for the return journey, making the whole class late in leaving for home.
Sorrt, but I think you’re being ridiculous about this whole thing. Withdraw your child from the trip if you’re that worried.

(450 million journeys per year, 40 people average per coach, maybe two deaths on average?)

I just realised that 450 million journeys per year is the number of passenger journeys, not the number of times a coach leaves the depot. So I underestimate the risk by a factor of 40. But it's still small (0.0000002%, if my other handwaving numbers are right). Apologies for the confusion. 🙏

I agree with you there. Hopefully OP will feel better about coaches and buses from the discussions on this post.

But it’s impossible to find any science or data that looks at the whole picture.

eg. If you’ve got £500 to spend on car safety do you spend it on winter tyres or a rear facing seat.

How does front RF compare to rear FF.

How does RF seat with obstructed driver view compare to FF. etc.

Umm in this instance it does seem to fit the definition.

Constant anxiety and worry about your child's safety and health. Parental neuroses over the common risks children take can result in “helicopter parenting.” Although they may be well-intentioned, the extreme worry these parents exhibit may not be creating the conditions for a normal childhood.

The key there is “constant” 🙄

Exactly. As someone who has had a brain injury and is still living with the effects of it a decade later, it's definitely impacted upon my parenting. I've actually felt left behind at times, and missed out on being connected emotionally with my two youngest, thanks to my post concussion syndrome.

It's all very well being blasé about things like head injuries but you bloody wouldn't be if it had happened to you.😒🙄

Exactly 💯 this.

I can’t believe there are people on here suggesting that a reason not to rear face is parental brain injury! And you lot are calling me neurotic? 😂

Someone please find me when this has ever happened.

This!
Ive been teaching for twenty years. Almost always reception age children and NEVER had a child use a booster seat.
they are fine without, it’s not an issue

I am a huge advocate for car seat safety and my five year old daughter will be rear facing for a while yet. I wouldn’t, however, worry at all about her going in a coach without a car seat. She is, in fact, doing that next Tuesday. She’s also been on the school mini bus a number of times and hasn’t had a seat. I figure the risk is so very low and I don’t want her to be the odd one out.

My son is 3 and a half and is on the nursery mini bus most Fridays for a trip somewhere. Sometimes 20 minutes away, sometimes an hour away. He’s rear facing with me but I wouldn’t have even thought about this. They can’t have all the children in car seats all the time.

The worry I would have is that other parents may feel that they should ‘protect’ their children. What on earth would the staff do with 30,60,90 car seats all day? Very often the coach has to run on different jobs so won’t be able to store them.

Take a deep breath and let your child go on the trip without a booster.

I took a high back booster on a coach for my daughter she was maybe 4, wasn't an issue, she sat it it on the way there, we left it in the coach while we were on the trip, she sat in it in the way back and slept very nicely 😊 with out her head lolling all over the place