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Fitting car seats with a seatbelt is easy enough, just a pain to move the big ones from car to car. We have a work van with just three seats so can't fit in other kids but other parents take my 6 year old easily enough - a booster seat is enough though to be honest no-one seems to use them past 5 or so where I live.
Is that reflective of the law in your area? When we went to Germany, our hosts told us that it was the law for children to be in boosters up to age 12. I assumed all/most of Europe had similar laws. Five years old and not in a booster would be considered extremely lax here... many states say 8 years old or 80 lbs. For safety purposes, children should be 4'9" (about 144 cm) and able to sit all the way back on the seat with their knees bent at the edge of the seat, and the seatbelt not on their neck.
Actually, it looks like SC is only concerned about kids 1 - 5 or 6 (seems low). Anyway, this may be a moot point and good to know.
There have been many times when I have seen someone out in a storm waiting for a bus and getting drenched - with a child. I'd thought about offering them a lift and then I thought - no car seat.
I violated this law once when I saw a woman walking up a 45 MPH road pulling a wagon. I was after dusk and you needed your lights on to see. She had two kids in the wagon and one in her arms. The wagon was straddling the grass/asphalt line within a foot of the white line. Cars were whizzing by within feet of the whole show. I was shocked that no one stopped to see what was what. I put on the blinkers, pulled over on the grass and piled them all into the car.
I think that if car seat laws are going to be this strict, then manufacturers have to find a way to make the back seats more flexible for non-parents.
DH did and he says "haul" also. I tell him, "You haul hawgs. With people you give them a ride."
Just today I saw an add in our local Craig's List looking for someone to get the person's kids to all their summer appointments and programs. For a moment it sounded like a good opportunity to get a little interaction with young people (no grandkids.)
But then I started thinking about Momzillas and people who sue at the drop of a hat. . .
DH did and he says "haul" also. I tell him, "You haul hawgs. With people you give them a ride."
Just today I saw an add in our local Craig's List looking for someone to get the person's kids to all their summer appointments and programs. For a moment it sounded like a good opportunity to get a little interaction with young people (no grandkids.)
But then I started thinking about Momzillas and people who sue at the drop of a hat. . .
No. Middle of the city. I just like colorful language.
As for these kids, they are just neighborhood kids that like to hang with me. I am searching the net now and it seems that there are augmentations to seat belts you can buy for kids aged out of car seats. Looking for something sturdy - yet can be folded up.
Anyone know of a specific website devoted to such things?
When I was younger - early 80's - although I didn't, I had friends in the neighborhood with children. And since I have always enjoyed being around children, on occasion, I would take the friends kids on trips with me. Sometimes to the mall, sometime just for a ride, but often I would take to the Philadelphia Museum of Art or other museums, or get $0.50 bleacher tickets and take them to a Phillies game, off to Valley Forge park, a movie, the zoo or other places.
The parents got a break from watching their kids, while they worked, or had time for themselves. The kids got a "little" adventure away from their home. If their parents were working, the kids were probably "stuck" in the house because it might be too hot, or rainy to play outside. I think one of the best benefits for the kids was that they had a friend, someone who did not treat them like they were brain dead adults, someone who would explain things to them and answer their questions. Maybe from a different viewpoint than their parents. Children have A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
As for me, I have always enjoyed being around kids because I get to see the world fresh though their eyes.
But the last time I adopted kids, it was a trio - 2 girls (8 and 10) and a boy (11). We would go places and have great outings while their parents worked in their Deli all day. Most days I was going somewhere, I would just go to the Deli or the apartment and pick them up, stop by the Deli to tell the parent's I had the kids, (sometimes also picking up a cousin or two and off we would go.
What really made this possible was that back then I could almost literally grab the kids, throw them into my 71 Pinto - two or three in the back, and one up front, strap them in and go. These days if I were to try that, I would have to find the parents, get access to the car seats, spend the time shifting the seats from one car to another, try to make room in a car for three or four car seats - which in a Pinto sized car, I think would be impossible. Even in my BMW X5, it would be a tough task given that you can't(?) put a car seat in the front passenger position. Can car seats be strapped into a rear facing position in the cargo area? Do the car seats scratch up or otherwise damage the leather? Do you really need a family van to tote kids?
How hard is it for a non parent these days - who does not have all the accouterments - to haul kids around occasionally?
I can't imagine a situation where I'd randomly be taking other people's kids out without advanced planning, but yeah, they need to be in the appropriate seat for their age and proportions. What with the risk of ejection or internal decapitation, it's not a risk worth taking.
You can buy cheap backless boosters at places like Walmart for $15. Just throw one or two in your trunk. Those are only for children over the age of 5 or so, though. And again, their parents might not want young kids in backless boosters at all, so you definitely need to check with someone before using them. We used the high-back type until the children were maybe 8 or so, then switched to backless until they were big enough to sit on the regular seat.
Is that reflective of the law in your area? When we went to Germany, our hosts told us that it was the law for children to be in boosters up to age 12. I assumed all/most of Europe had similar laws. Five years old and not in a booster would be considered extremely lax here... many states say 8 years old or 80 lbs. For safety purposes, children should be 4'9" (about 144 cm) and able to sit all the way back on the seat with their knees bent at the edge of the seat, and the seatbelt not on their neck.
No, the laws here are the standard EU laws like in Germany. I think people in my town just don't bother with some laws, and it being a small quiet town with little traffic probably makes people feel that its OK and not so dangerous. We don't use a booster because its no benefit in our van (just a lap belt) but when we get our new van with seats in the back we'll get the booster out again.
How hard is it for a non parent these days - who does not have all the accouterments - to haul kids around occasionally?
I babysat a 7-year old and part of the job was to pick him up at school and take him home. The parents had a spare booster seat, and I just kept it in my car. So it was not difficult for me at all.
Of course, the size of your vehicle will limit how many children you can have riding with you. I have a 4-door sedan. If I had to, I could squeeze (it would be tight) three booster seats in the backseat (middle seat has a shoulder/lap belt) and a child 12+ years-old in the front seat.
No, the laws here are the standard EU laws like in Germany. I think people in my town just don't bother with some laws, and it being a small quiet town with little traffic probably makes people feel that its OK and not so dangerous. We don't use a booster because its no benefit in our van (just a lap belt) but when we get our new van with seats in the back we'll get the booster out again.
The truth is a lot of parents ignore the laws once their kids turn about 5. My daughter got made fun of for staying in a booster but she was too small for just a regular seat belt as it hit her in the neck. At car line at her school most kids her age could be seen getting in and out of cars with no booster seats.
A lot of people here ignore the laws, too... I thought that Natsku was saying that that was the law where she was.
I will say that I was once in a severe rollover accident less than one mile from my home in a quiet residential neighborhood on a clear, sunny day at about 10:00 in the morning (so not at night, in the rain, during rush hour, or on the highway). A teenager blew through a stop sign and hit my van, which rolled several times because it went into a storm drain. Thankfully, the kids were restrained properly (they were 4 and 2, so they were in 5-point harness carseats), so the worst injuries they had were bruising on their chests from the harness clips and a few scratches from flying glass. My purse, my cellphone, and their sippy cups were scattered around on the road. Our stroller was in the back and the handlebar cracked. I think people don't realize the extreme force that is exerted on little people (and big people) during a car accident. It's just not worth the risk.
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