Paranoid about safety?

[noxibox]

I'm not comfortable with this at all, and have asked if I can atleast provide my child's booster seat so that they can use the full seatbelt on her, and the teacher reckons I am beyond paranoid.

There is no safe way to use an adult seatbelt on a small child. Booster seats don't change that.

But I'm also of the opinion adult seatbelts are not designed for 3yo's no matter how you wangle them to fit.

Correct, there is no way to use them on a child.

Also 3 years, isn't that a little young for a field trip?

No.

This suggestion was not met favourably as it will then take them an hour to get all the kids seated and strapped in, their solution however is to rather cancel future outings if parents are going to be 'difficult'

I agree with them on this. Parents need to decide if outings are worth a little risk. In this case parents could volunteer to pay any additional fees for the transport arriving earlier and undertake to put the car seats in themselves, then return to remove them and pay any additional fees for the vehicle remaining later. If it were an absolute priority to have the seats in then you and others who feel the same way will happily do this.

I countered with the fact that safety should be priority, not an afterthought or inconvenience.

You're wrong, it should be balanced against other factors. Just as some parents won't allow their children to climb, skate, ride bicycles, walk to school or use public transport. Look at the ridiculous fuss that was made over Lenore Skenazy allowing her son to travel the New York subway on his own or her suggestion of allowing children to play in the park together without adults hovering over them.

Busses dont have seat belts.

No, they don't. Nor do trains.

 

[Bobbin]

had a chat with the school this morning, they're not impressed with me. Apparently I am the only person/parent EVER to question their judgement on travel arrangements. I suggested that they disclose the travel arrangements to the parents and request that the parents provide car seats. This suggestion was not met favourably as it will then take them an hour to get all the kids seated and strapped in, their solution however is to rather cancel future outings if parents are going to be 'difficult' I countered with the fact that safety should be priority, not an afterthought or inconvenience.

However, my child will not be attending this outing, or any other outing unless they make some changes in their transport, or if they inform us about the outing well in advance and I can arrange leave for the morning to drive her myself.

They are not impressed with you? To hell with that. They should be ashamed.

What is more important here is you are not impressed with them! And rightly so.

 

[Bobbin]

No.

You think? I don't imagine a 3 year old having the level of situational awareness required to appreciate the experience? Certainly not the discipline required to stay with the group. Even if all the safety aspects are met.

Again I've no experience with kids so I could be wrong.

 

[ryu]

you are not paranoid, i would be the same and the wife would be crazy angry if the creche replied to her like that.

You need to change the creche, they dont seem to phased about safety.

 

[naturegirl]

There is no safe way to use an adult seatbelt on a small child. Booster seats don't change that.


Correct, there is no way to use them on a child.

Here's a pic of a boosterseat. This is the kind of seat I would happily provide.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71azAJXR4XL._SL1500_.jpg

You quote Lenore Skenazy, which is understandable, however I'm pretty sure her son was already 8yrs old at the time??
We're talking about 3yr olds. They are not old enough yet to be responsible for their own safety. So it should DEFINITELY
be a priority when considering the means of transport. If the school had provided adequate seating and invited parents to come and
install their seats, then I would say we're talking about balancing the risk of having her in a car with a stranger at the wheel vs the value of the outing,

Just a note, I'm not an over protective or hovering parent. My child climbs jungle gyms all the way to the top without me standing like a jibbering wreck at the bottom saying 'hold tight' 'be careful' 'watch out' etc etc. She uses proper scissors to cut paper and fabric, helps me chop and grate veg using
sharp utensils) etc. and yes she has cut herself, and no I didn't freak out, I talked her through it and showed her how to clean a cut and to put a patch
on. When she paints I cover the entire floor with news paper so that she can paint without worrying about a mess. It makes for easy clean up, and it is
usually necessary to put her in the bath afterwards as there will be paint al over her. So I supervise in such a way that she has the freedom to explore
but I am close had if need be. I like to guide instead of instruct. She needs to experiment and learn for herself else she'll never grow in independence.