Would you be comfortable with this?

kidnurse

Active member
When I picked up my son from daycare this morning I was told by my provider that she has used our car seat to transport other people's children. God forbid something should happen, can I be liable for anything given that the other child is in my car seat?
 
ADS

Maedze

New member
No, you aren't liable.

However, no, I would not be ok with it. Car seats are expensive, and I'm self-absorbed enough that I don't want to clean some other kid's bodily fluids out of MY car seat (or worse, have the day care provider tell me, "Little Johnnie puked in your seat, but don't worry, I machine washed the harness!")

The day care provider needs to require that parents provide seats, or she needs to get some herself :twocents:
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Unless you provided a car seat that you knew was unsafe, or taught your DCP to misuse the seat when you provided it, you can not be held liable for any injuries to other children she uses the seat to transport. You have no control over her actions.
 

Mom2FiveGirls

Active member
I wouldn't be okay with it. If she has talked to me before hand and explained the situation and said she may need to use the seat, I still wouldn't be thrilled with the idea, but it wouldn't bother me as much.
 

kidnurse

Active member
If she had asked me first, I think it would make a big difference in how I feel about this. Also, I have considered the possibility of another child's body fluids on our car seat. :( YUCK! What I hadn't thought about was the possibility of her throwing the straps in the wash....she is not very car seat savy as it is. Hmm.....:thumbsdown:
 

BABYGIRLLYNDSEY

Well-known member
We bought a Radian 65 champagne for our nanny. Right before our DD was done having a nanny and was going to start preschool I found out that she had used the seat for her grandson. Ok, no problem, except that he ripped out a huge chunk of the eps foam on the side of the seat. I was upset. I had planned on taking the seat back and using it as a spare. No can do, it was ruined. I didn't have the heart to to ask her to replace it.
 
I don't know about liability but it looks like others seem to have answered that. I would not be happy about someone else using my seat (if I had a child of course) UNLESS it meant the daycare provider uninstalling/reinstalling my seat in order to install another child's.... in that case I think I'd be more comfortable if they left it alone after I installed it/checked it/had it checked and just made an agreement that it is okay for her to use for another child (granted it's only minimal use and the child was the same size- didn't require adjusting straps etc. and potty trained :rolleyes:) but to please not let them eat/drink in it etc. It's still a risk I guess but I'd rather have my child sit in a not so cosmetically perfect seat than one that was reinstalled in a hurry and incorrectly... Just my thoughts. I think this depends on the situation, the children, the seat and the amount of use.

This is why I just own my own seats... saves all these issues and I know the children are safer in my seats ERF and boostered than in their usually filthy, expired ill fitting FF seats (or none at all!) I know of course most sitters know little to nothing outside of this board and that none of the parents I work for know much about car seats either sadly... Isn't it sad that I would never let a parent install a seat for their child in my car and that every time I drive one of their cars I have to adjust the kids straps, tether and tighten installs before pulling out of the driveway! Sure some may say I should touch the seats but the kids are so unsafe :( I couldn't drive around knowing that FF 15 month old in the MA leans 3 inches to the side each time I take a corner...:eek: Don't get me started- he's been FF since 8 months because he hit 20lbs :mad: but he is "Safe" because he's in a Britax according to mom :rolleyes:

I know this probably isn't an option but I'm throwing it out there... maybe you could offer to sell your seat to the daycare provider at a reasonable price or in exchange for x amount of hours childcare? May sound silly but it's worth a thought and that way you don't have to worry- your son is in a good seat that you selected, if it gets ruined it's not your expense and to be honest- if the lady owns it she'll take better care of it :twocents: I don't know what type of seat he has for her car and what the value of it is but she may really appreciate the offer (she'll see it as you doing her a favor) and it kind of solves the problem...
 

natysr

New member
I wouldn't care. I provide a seat to our DCP because she picks my son up at Kindy at Noon and takes him to her house.

She has another kid in her kindy that goes to the p.m. kindy. Normally the child's mom picks her up everyday, but if for some reason the other mom couldn't make it and DCP needed to take the child to school on the way to picking up my son, I wouldn't care. In fact I would be glad that she did that rather than ride with the child without a carseat.

As far a bodily fluids. Meh! The odds of that being a factor I think are quite slim. My child probably gets more bodily fluids on him every day just from playing with the other, younger kids that DCP keeps.

He doesn't have any type of immune deficiency, so it doesn't concern me. I'm not a germaphobe.
 

kattale

New member
A point of view of a daycare provider -

I absolutely think she should have checked with you first before doing it. But regardless of if you own the seat or the provider owns it - chances are, seats in her car will be used by other children. We can't all have happy 5-full-time-child daycares - most of us have shared part-time spaces, and play car-seat tetris with the kids, moving the youngest on any given day to the rear-facing seats, putting kids in the seat that fits best.

I would be far more concerned with her un-installing and swapping out seats daily, than with swapping out the kids. (I bought True-Fits so that I could size the seat to fit the kid without un-installing.)

As for bodily fluids - the kids exchange that just by putting toys in their mouths, or sticking their hands in each other's diapers (ewww!). I would not worry about germ transfer on a car-seat, compared to as the toddlers interact with each other in real life.

My advice would be to gently suggest that she ought to clear it with parents before sharing their equipment (playpens, bedding, anything) with another child - but to give her your okay for sharing the seat, and also give her any stipulations that you have, such as no food, and to replace it if another child damages it.

I, too, was horrified by the beat-up used expired OHS seats that daycare parents offered to me for their child. As soon as I could afford it, I bought all new seats of my own choosing that fit my car (and I know the history of), and I explain my reasoning to parents when I interview them. Sadly, not one single parent has ever examined my seats, or checked the install or the harness fit. :(
 
Last edited:

Kat_Shoshin

New member
As a daycare provider, I can say that I would be fine with the provider using my seat for another child, provided, as you say that the alternative was her A) uninstalling a seat you don't have the confidence in her re-installing. B) the other kid going without a seat or c) she owned the seat herself. If it is your primary seat and not one you bought specifically for Daycare, maybe let her know how you feel and that if she wants an additional seat for other children, that she could buy if from you for a set price over a period of months off your bill perhaps.

As a licensed family daycare home, we have a LOT of regulations I have to follow concerning sharing. Each child must sleep on a waterproof mat with a sheet that I wash regularly. I have to bleach the change table and potties and highchairs. Children cannot share cutlery or plates and all dishes must be bleached (or sanitized) between meals. Then you turn around and they are licking each other :rolleyes:. That being said, the centre I work at has seats we can borrow out when we need them, and they are used with different kids. No regs. on that one. We all sign saying that they haven't been damaged and a tech looks them over too.

I bought my own seats for the kids I transport. I have told the parents what seats , but not that I never "upgraded" them to boosters now that they are 3 years old. I regularly pop my son out of his own seat (and move him forward facing) on days I transport the 18 month old - even though she is forward facing when she leaves here.

The only time I ever had a parent angry over how I used the seats was when I drove the 20 month old home rear facing and was told off (she was LIVID) for how unsafe that was for his legs. This was 2 years ago and so I bought a FF chase for him.
 

kidnurse

Active member
Thank you all for your opinions. I don't mind a little drool, but the thought of an exploded diaper or another baby puking in our seat just isn't appealing. And to use this seat for my son, and the other children, adjustments do need to be made. Straps need to change slots, and I am the only crazy that is still rearfacing her over 1yr old child, so it is being flipped back and forth, I hope. DCP would not be okay with me checking on how she installs the seat, I just know that would not go over well if I asked. She expects that I should just trust her to do it well, this from a mother who eagerly moved her tiny 1yr old to a GN. (I seriously doubt he is even 20 lbs) And actually I am in the process of looking for a new provider, over this issue and another safety related issue. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't too neurotic to be upset about my seat being used without my knowledge. I am typically pretty laid back, except where safety is concerned, then I am OCD.

Maybe I should add CPST to my list of criteria for dcp's. (JK, kinda)
 

Kat_Shoshin

New member
I know I would have a hard time trusting someone else to install a seat for my child. I don't trust the grandparents, my sister or really any other parent I know other than my BFF (Also a tech :D) I have had another parent friend refuse help and tell me she was confident her seat was in, but couldn't get it tight, a few years later I realize she didn't know to lock the seatbelt.

That said, my Daycare parents don't trust me to know better (even after I became a tech) than the guy at the fire dept. who showed them how to use a locking clip wrong and declined my offer to look at their seat that they said kept coming loose and wasn't safe and so switched their 3 year old to a no backed booster.:(

To have her change the strap heights and flip it around for another child and re-install would be too much for me. Maybe it's time to find a DCP who you can trust and train to put his seat in and ask that they not change any of the settings without you doing so? For me the "sanitaryness" of it wouldn't faze me, just the possibility of the seat being unsafe later. :twocents:
 

vonfirmath

New member
I chose to allow my son to be transported in the DCP's seat, rather than one I provided, realizing this was the seat she'd transported her own kid in and she was more familiar with the install, etc. properties of it. I DID go over there and check the expiration date, have her install and checked I was comfortable with both install and my son's fit at the current harness level. And I asked her questions so I was comfortable she knew not to reuse a seat after an accident and not to wash harnesses, etc.

If she had not been comfortable letting me check it, I would have stuck with our original agreement that she not transport him by car. Or found another childcare provider (though I'd have been really sad. we really like Leah and her daughter Amy)
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,656
Messages
2,196,896
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top