Is it ever ok to give another child a lift without the appropriate car seat?

A mum has sparked a parenting debate about whether or not it’s ok to give other children a lift without the correct child’s car seat.

Taking to Mumsnet, the anonymous poster explained that she’s often asked to give other children lifts and other parents often take her children places in their car, but she feels a bit silly asking to borrow a car seat or offering to loan hers.

“I’m often met with a surprised reaction,” she explains. “I just don’t feel comfortable with my child not being properly restrained in someone else’s car or driving an unrestrained child in my car.”

“Not to mention, you can get fined for it. I feel really anxious when a situation like this comes up as I feel like the car seat police,” she continued.

The mum ended her post by asking other parents if she was the only one who felt this way, and they were quick to step in and offer their own opinions on the often thorny subject,

“I am also part of the car seat police brigade,” one mum wrote.

“Nope, I am the same,” added another. “I’m lucky in that I have two full sized boosters in my car, in case we have guests. A friend once took DD out in a b***dy small booster polystyrene crappy thing, I nearly had heart failure.”

Other parents shared experiences of when they had been faced with a car seat dilemma.

“A mum I’m really friendly with asked at the end of a party if I could take her and her DD home,” one user explained.

“I said I’d happily do so but couldn’t as I had no extra seat. She replied “oh that’s fine, she can go in the back with a seatbelt”. And I was really annoyed at myself because I went along with it even though I didn’t want to as I couldn’t bring myself to say it’s unsafe and illegal. I think it’s because by saying that, it’s like I’m making a judgement of the other person’s parenting.”

But other parents thought the car seat issue depended on a number of factors.

“It depends on whether the booster your friend used got your daughter to the required height for the seat belt to sit properly or not,” one user commented. “If it did, it was probably perfectly legal. I’m all for following the rules but you do get over it a bit when children grow and don’t need a seat at all.”

“Apparently if a child is over the age of 3 they can travel in a car without a car seat but wearing a seatbelt for an unexpected or short journey…don’t quote me though but it’s something like that,” another user offered.

“Mine is 8 and over 135, are you sure the others weren’t? At 7/8 a low booster is perfectly fine for occasional journeys (hence we have one for taking friends.),” another mum wrote.

It seems the parents on the Mumsnet forum aren’t the only ones who aren’t sure about the car seat rules. Research by consumer website Confused.com revealed that 66% of parents don’t fully understand the right height, age and weight regulations when it comes to their children’s car seats.

Experts believe that the confusion parents are feeling stems from the increased focus on children’s car seat-safety, which has lead to parents feeling overwhelmed with information.

Previous research from Halfords’ Parent Panel reveals that 65 per cent of parents think that the current rules on car seat use are confusing.

But there are some key points that can help families stay car-seat safe.

According to the government’s safety regulations children needs to stay in a car seat of some form until they’re 12 years old or 135cm tall.

You can choose a child car seat based on your child’s height or weight.

“Height-based seats are known as ‘i-Size’ seats. They must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old. Your child can use a forward-facing child car seat when they’re over 15 months old,” the site reads.

“The seat your child can use (and the way they must be restrained in it) depends on their weight,” the government site says of weight-based seats.

If you’re confused about any aspect of car seat safety it is recommended you seek expert advice.

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