Preschool Carpool

Dillipop

Well-known member
Dillon is going on his first preschool field trip that does not allow siblings due to space. This means I am unable to drive, since I have no one to watch the younger one. The school has enlisted 8 drivers with minivans to drive.

OK, so I am not sure if I am ok with this yet. It still hasn't totally sunk in that I have to trust my baby with someone else.

Good news is that I will be allowed to install his seat in the other parent's car and put him in when they are leaving. I just have to trust the other parent to harness him back in, which shouldn't be a problem if the parent doesn't loosen the harness.

I think I will put the marathon in, since it is sooooo easy to use. There's really no point to my rambling, just wanted to get this off my chest, since I am a bit apprehensive about tomorrow. Dh is fine with it and I won't get sympathy from him. I just can't believe Dillon is old enough for this!!!
 
ADS

Alicia-N-2SafeBugs

Senior Community Member
Ouch, I would be having such a hard time too!! I haven't run into that issue yet as I've been able to drive for all of ds' field trips, but I know it will probably happen sometime next year when he's in Kindergarten.

Do you know any of the moms that are driving well enough to talk to them beforehand and make sure they know enough about CPS for you to feel comfortable?
 

mamato2

New member
Really, why can't YOU be one of the drivers? Usually 'no sibs' comes about because they need every hand and eye for the school kids. Baby could be in a carrier and no trouble at all! Frequently babies don't count in the 'no sibs' rule anyway!!
C.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
I have to say that I agree with the no siblings rule. At ds' old preschool they had a day at the zoo with parents as chaperons and some of the parents actually took their other kids out of school so they could come along with us.:eek: I don't think its fair even if yours is just a baby because they need attention too and that takes away from the kids its actually supposed to be for.
 

groovymom2000

New member
Ouch--that is hard. Use your MA and try not to worry too much. Do you know any of the moms personally? I got to know two of the moms in DS's preschool class last year pretty well, and I would only let him ride in their cars, simply because I knew they would enforce good car seat/booster usage. BUT, I have also been known to simply *skip* a field trip when I couldn't drive and take younger sibling along. :eek: Then he and DS#2 and I would go and do something that was a lot of fun to make up for missing the trip. Now that he is in K5 I don't have that option so much---there's a lottery for parents that want to go along on field trips! :eek:
 

rachel3612

Senior Community Member
Could you drive him yourself and just not be on the feild trip? I have seen other parents take other kids on my daughters preschool feildtrip and the parents were putting in the car seats and one asked the 4 year old how it works. Ugh.

At least you can install it yourself before they leave.

Rachel
cpst
 

AdventureMom

Senior Community Member
Is there a way to put a locking clip on the MA's harness adjuster, so that it can't be loosened too much... :p Seriously, don't know if that would work but the idea popped into my head - just make it too hard/complicated to fiddle with adjusting the harness.
 

LuvBug

New member
eek! Id be freaked out!!

DS isnt allowed to go on the fieldtrip if Im not allowed, but since I dont have any other children then it isnt an issue.

Could you take him and Gilbey and yourself in your vehicle? I dont see how that could be a problem(unless there is a limited amount of tickets already set aside). Dont go along as one of the 8 but as a bystander?
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I would play the liability card -- fuss the school about whether or not they have a safety policy (such as Carpool safety checklist or even CPSafety practitioner training: not nearly the hours equal to certification, but it's a good start).... Just as an excuse to say "well, then I'll drive my own kid myself, thanks" ;)
 

SusanMae

Senior Community Member
As a teacher, I agree with the no siblings thing. Give the child going on the trip some quality time with you. Granted you'd probably have at least one other kid...but you'd be spending the day with your child and his/her friend. Kids need the chance to be with you--without the sibling.

Susan
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
I originally thought they would allow the baby. I wasn't considered as a driver since I have a sedan, so really only room for 1 extra seat. They were looking for vehicles that could hold 3 or more kids, so that they could have the fewest people possible. It is an indoor program, so with 24 kids and 8-10 adults (parents and teachers) I am guessing they are pretty full.

Now that I know I can install the seat myself, I am feeling better about the trip. Dillon is really good about telling his father "tighter, tighter" if the straps aren't as tight as I would have them. We will have a nice talk on the way to school about how tight the straps should be. I will also watch the other mother put her own kid in his/her seat and see how she does their straps. If she tightens them up, I'll be good to go. If not, I will just have to make sure she knows how tight I expect Dillon's to be.

If all else fails and I really don't feel comfortable with the other driver, I'll just drive him myself and the baby and I will wander the zoo in the freezing cold while the kids are in their program.

I never thought I'd feel this ambiguous about sending my kid somewhere. Before kids, I always thought I'd be really easy going about it...guess not.

AdventureMom- maybe I'll tuck the adjuster strap under the cover or under the base, so it won't be so obvious!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I never thought I'd feel this ambiguous about sending my kid somewhere. Before kids, I always thought I'd be really easy going about it...guess not.
Heheh, me too -- then Mama Bear Syndrome set in :rolleyes: ;) I'm still quite anxious about bus trips, but convince myself to calm down because the bus is just less likely to crash in the 1st place & Leila's legs are so dang long now that the bus belts actually do lay across her hips with her butt all the way back & knees bent at the edge :eek: STOP GROWING!!! (Their policy is to use the lap belts even though I'd rather they didn't, but it's still probably safer than letting her ride with another parent who might let the harness be insanely loose after I take care to install the seat itself tight *SIGH*)
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
Our child care takes kids on field trips beginning at the age of two (!) But they have their own school bus and their own driver, and are very safety conscious. Parents leave seats for their kids, but it's up to teachers, parents, and the bus driver to install them. On every single trip, either DH or I have installed lots of the seats. We're both good at it, and can do them fast, and we don't really trust anyone else to install our kids' seats. (Don't get me started on the types of seats parents send--expired, shield boosters, etc.)

Anyway, on the last trip, I was installing seats with one of other parents. I was working a lot faster than him and end up installing his daughter's seat. I saw him check it as he got off the bus (which I totally understand!) and saw the look of happy surprise on his face when he saw how tight I had gotten it. I think he felt a lot better about sending her on the bus that day. You never know where other carseat nuts are lurking!
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Anyway, on the last trip, I was installing seats with one of other parents. I was working a lot faster than him and end up installing his daughter's seat. I saw him check it as he got off the bus (which I totally understand!) and saw the look of happy surprise on his face when he saw how tight I had gotten it. I think he felt a lot better about sending her on the bus that day. You never know where other carseat nuts are lurking!

I love that! That is such a cute story! I'm always on the lookout for other car seat nuts and have yet to find any around here (our town's population is 500). Most of the kids here aren't in booster seats and I've seen way too many parents riding around with kids in the front seat, no seat belts, and babies on their laps. Sorry that this is kind of off topic of this thread... it just really bugs me!
I would feel very apprehensive about letting any of my kids ride with any other parents. I even feel apprehensive when it is my own family (my parents, brothers, IL's, etc...) because even when I have shown them how to do it all right, they might not remember everything. My dad and my FIL have been very insulted in the past because I won't them install my kids' car seats in their cars and I always use the excuse that I just feel better doing it myself (my dad is getting better though). My mom has been having a fit lately that the kids can't wear their coats in their seats. She knows they don't wear their coats when they are with me, but the other day she came in and said 'you have to come out and loosen these straps for me (on the car seat in her car the straps never get adjusted - they always stay the same because I feel better that way) and I realized that she was trying to get DD in with her coat on and that's why she thought the straps needed to be adjusted! :eek:
Dillipop - I think that sounds like a good plan. Have a good talk with DS about how tight his straps need to be, etc..., install his seat in the van yourself and then watch that parent strap in a couple of kids and see if it is done right. Be sure to give us an update!!!
 

twokidstwodogs

New member
We get a lot of parents who are upset that our child care enforces a "no booster seat" rule on the bus, which is appropriate since the bus has only lap belts. In fact, DH was on one field trip with a parent who was horrified that our daughter, (who has outgrown a Marathon), was on the bus with a lap belt alone. She was sure that she was unsafe that way. My husband had to laugh, given how much of a car seat geek I am. On the other hand, it was good that she was taking the issue seriously, and I'm also glad that she did speak up, even though she was wrong about how our daughter should ride on the bus. She has twins, and they are tiny for their age. I suspect she hasn't even really thought about what to do when a kid outgrows harnessed seats.

Actually, given how many four and five year olds we have riding in outgrown seats, I sort of wish we *could* put them in the lap belt rather than in those seats. I think they'd probably be safer.
 

drey

New member
This whole carpool thing has me prematurely worried! :p My son just started at a new school last September, and while his age group doesn't go on trips during the school year (yet!), they DO during the summer program. I'm already running scenarios through my head, and it's JANUARY!!! aargh!!! :rolleyes:
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Well, I dropped him off a little over an hour ago. He refused to go in another mother's car! He didn't want to ride with his friends! So, I was just going to drive him when his teacher offered to take him in her car with her and another teacher. He was excited to do that. I installed his seat and put him in. I have complete faith in his teacher to replicate how he's in the seat when they come back.

It really eases my mind that he is with his teacher and not another parent. She seems really on top of things and I watched her put the other little boy (in a backless booster!) in the car and she put him in and used the locking retracter.

I was shocked at how many backless boosters were brought for the kids. Dillon is in a mixed 3-4 class with most over 4, but still. It was made very clear at the beginning of the year that no child would be allowed on field trips without a carseat, since our law is 7 and 80. I know backless booster are technically ok for kids this age and I would guess most of the kids are heavier than 40 pounds, but it was sad to see.

Anyway, I am off to go pick him up in a few minutes. I can't wait to hear how his first trip went. I didn't cry on his first day of school, but had tears in my eyes today on his first fieldtrip. So sad that he is growing up!!!
 

stayinhomewithmy6

Senior Community Member
Oh, I know, it is so hard to see them growing up so fast, isn't it? It's wonderful and sad at the same time! :(
I think you definitely got lucky that he is riding with the teacher. It does sound like she knows what she's doing if she locked the seatbelt on the kid in the booster seat. I actually doubt that most of the kids in a 3-4 class are over 40 lbs. It is sad that there were so many of them in backless boosters, but at least it's something!
 

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