Would you let your 4 year old ride like this?

EssentialClarity

Member

• May 31, 2011

• #1

Hello Everyone!

I need some opinions.

My daughter is going on a field trip with her preschool in a few days. Her whole class in riding on a school bus for about 30 min to and from a theater. I am not sure if there will be seat belts on the bus--most likely there won't be.

She is always in her Radian, and I cannot see how it would be a good idea to have her sliding along a bench seat on a big bus completely unsecured. Her father feels the same because he was on a school bus at 4 or 5 that hit a telephone pole and he went flying.

I don't want to be "that parent." Am I being paranoid? I feel like I should drive her to and from. What is the seatbelt situation these days on the school buses? Should I get a high back booster and strap her in that way if there is a 3-point seat belt available so she can ride with her friends?

I am at a loss?

Any comments/suggestions are appreciated!!

Thank you

 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter

• May 31, 2011

• #2

Buses are very safe. They have compartmentalization, instead of seat belts, plus, well, there are big. Ever heard "most lug nuts win"? Yeah, bus wins. I would be totally ok with it.

 

C

casey_446

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #3

Yeah, I would be okay with it too...school busses are actually one of the safest ways to travel because they are so big and their accident rate is almost none....I would be totally fine with a bus but a passenger van would be a no go without every single child secured in a child restraint

 

Pixels

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #4

NHTSA recommends that all preschool age children ride in properly secured child restraint systems.

 

S

Stelvis

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #5

Out of curiosity, what is the cutoff for "preschool age"? 4 or younger?

 

V

Vdavis

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #6

I have always chosen to drive my children. Some of their friends moms and I are all stay at home moms or have flexible jobs and we take turns doing field trips. We have it set up with the school so we can take each others kids with us. I have had bad experiences with the bus service here so this was what we came up with so they arent excluded. Good luck whatever you decide will be best for you

 

rxmommy

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #7

Busses are very safe. My 4-year-old rode in one twice a week to school last year. Granted it was not very far. On a couple of very snowy days, I contemplated driving her. My hubby said she was probably safer on a bus than in my van anyway, so let the bus take her.

 

M

mykidsmylife

Well-known member

• May 31, 2011

• #8

If I remember correctly compartmentalization is safe for kids 5 and 50lbs. I have to search for the info on that.
I would have no issues installing the Radian for her. You probably already are "that mom" for having her harnessed still.

 

EssentialClarity

Member

• May 31, 2011

• #9

mykidsmylife said:

If I remember correctly compartmentalization is safe for kids 5 and 50lbs. I have to search for the info on that.
I would have no issues installing the Radian for her. You probably already are "that mom" for having her harnessed still.

Click to expand...

I did a little research on that. Yes, the NHTSA does recommend that pre-school children (under 5 and under 50 lbs.) should always be properly restrained in Child Safety Restraint Systems (CSRS).

I did not know this. I know my 4 year old is still a little squirmy and wobbly to be floating around on a bus. Some districts have used Special Needs buses to transport children five and under, and they use safety-vest-type harnesses called cam-wraps on large school buses.

I think I am going to ask her teacher what kind of bus they will be transporting the kids in, and if it does not provide the recommended restraint for her age, I think I will be driving her to the theater.

 

MaggieQ

Senior Community Member

• May 31, 2011

• #10

I always drive for field trips. My 5 yr old is tiny, lol.

Sent from my EVO using Car-Seat.Org

 

luvsviola

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #11

If there aren't harnesses on the bus, I'd feel more comfortable driving her myself.

 

macmomma

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #12

My four yr old is still in a car seat on his school bus and will be for at least another year. I really do not car what other folks think- they can not bring my child back if something happens

 

BeautifulChaos

New member

• May 31, 2011

• #13

mykidsmylife said:

If I remember correctly compartmentalization is safe for kids 5 and 50lbs. I have to search for the info on that.
I would have no issues installing the Radian for her. You probably already are "that mom" for having her harnessed still.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hijack, but does this mean my 5(on Saturday)yo shouldt ride the bus to Kindergarten in the Fall? Right now she is sitting at a consistant 45lbs.

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Jun 1, 2011

• #14

From what I was taught it has to do with height, age, AND weight. I was taught that compartmentalization on schoolbuses was designed to protect kids the size and age of the average 1st grader- hence the recommendation that preschoolers not ride them unrestrained.

 

C

ConnorsMommy

New member

• Jun 1, 2011

• #15

I made my own parental decision in April to allow my 4 year old son to ride on a bus for a school field trip 15 minutes away from the school. I only was okay with it because I was with him to make sure he stayed seated correctly. I was in charge of another little girl too and I sat near the aisle so they couldn't get out of the seat. Almost all of the kids on the bus had an adult sitting in the same row with them (it was pretty much a 2:1 ratio for kids vs adults). My reasoning was that buses are statistically much safer than cars. As a PP mentioned, bus wins.
On the other hand, if I hadn't been able to ride on the bus and sit next to him, I would have driven him myself. Busing isn't an option to his school right now, but even if it was, I prefer to drive him myself unless the bus had an appropriate restraint for him.