car seat problem (or more correctly bad mother alert)

[bee3]

I took my car to be MOT'd today. It's not ancient (R reg), so I was hoping it would be ok. Got a phone call to say that it had failed on one point - a faulty seatbelt catch, and to my horror it turned out to be the belt holding my ds's car seat in . The casing has cracked, which they think is just because it permanently has the seat in, pulled at high tension. I know that you are supposed to check carseats every time they are used, and I do periodically, but most of the time I have to admit to just plonking ds in, tightening his straps, and off I go, without actually checking the belt.

I feel like the worst mother in the world, and my blood ran cold when they told me.

So, when was the last time you checked the seatbelt? You probably all do it every time, but just in case you are as slack as me.....have a look next time

This is why I love Isofix - no seat belt to worry about. Have to admit that I would never think to check the seat belts for wear. Don't think you are alone at all.

i once checked, and found that the belt had been taken out of the casing , probly by one of the boys. so even though i had baby strapped in, didnt make a flying f*s difference as the seat wasnt strapped in.
must have been driving around like that for days.

O dear dont feel too bad hun am sure a lot of people do that. The only reason my sons is checked often is because i tend to move it around in the car. To be honest if it wasnt for that i dont know if i would think about it.

I'm still mortified, but thankyou for the reassurance that I'm probably not alone.
Stitch ! You definately made me feel better. What a horrible discovery (but I completely understand how it could happen).
Hulababy - Isofix will be a requirement for my next, newer car.

And everyone, do still check.