Daycare and car safety - tell me I'm not crazy...

Miranda goes to daycare on Monday and Friday. She's in a fabulous daycare center on Fridays, and we're on the waiting list to get in there Mondays as well. In the meantime, she's at a home based daycare on Mondays.

She has been twice, and it has been fine. However, the daycare provider (DCP) emailed me last week to let me know that she will now be taking care of twin five-year-olds who she will need to pick up from kindergarten at 11:45 each morning.

So, she will be transporting the following kids: two five-year-olds, her own four-year-old, my two-year-old DD, and her own one-year-old.

Her vehicle is one of those enormous pickup trucks. Technically it seats six (as in, it has six seatbelts) so she says she can safely transport the five children.

There's no way, right? Is she planning on putting the five year olds in the front seat? Including the middle seat which I'm assuming is a lap belt?

Anyway, I'm most concerned about my own daughter, of course. She will need to be RFing, I'm pretty set on that. I realized that even if I could puzzle a RFing carseat in the backseat, she'll be facing a glass window. So I would need a RFing seat that tethers. I can't afford to buy a Britax or Radian for a two mile trip once a week.

So I'm going to tell her we'll be finding other daycare arrangements. It sucks, but I really can't think of a way around it. Miranda's been there twice, if she had been going there a long time and was bonded with DCP, I might work on the issue a little harder.

Anyway, I feel a little silly throwing away a perfectly good care provider over a two mile trip, but it would really, really be hard for me to put Miranda in that situation. Please tell me I'm not being ridiculous!

You're absolutely not being ridiculous. I would try to talk to the DCP provider first, explaining to her the legalities and necessities involved in transporting those children in that vehicle. Technically, it could probably be done fine with the right restraints. If she isn't willing to learn more and do it properly, though, I think you're right to find another DCP.

Don't feel silly at all! I WISH my daycare parents would question me! LOL!

Have you addressed this with her? I think you need to at least discuss this with her and give her a chance. Is there a reason why you can't put your BV in the truck on Mondays? Then she could be RF Tethered. I think that would be a solution until you got into the dc center on Mondays.

i'd check what type of truck she has. my husband just got a new chevy silverado (the full 4 dr huge ones) and i was reading the manual....i know i'm a dork. and it states that a child restraint CANNOT be put in the middle seat in the front. i'm not sure on other makes but i'd check because at that point she would only be able to transport 4 kids anyway. isn't their a kindergarden bus that could bring the twins to her house...unless it is a private school i would guess there is.
oh and your right that middle front seat is probably a lap belt only so its not really safe for anyone.

marchofemily said:

Have you addressed this with her? I think you need to at least discuss this with her and give her a chance. Is there a reason why you can't put your BV in the truck on Mondays? Then she could be RF Tethered. I think that would be a solution until you got into the dc center on Mondays.

Click to expand...

I haven't talked to her yet, I'm just feeling so uncomfortable about it, but I don't want to make her feel put down or anything. I know she's trying to do the right thing, she assured me that she has a carseat for DD (I'm sure it is FFing though) and she really thinks that she can safely transport these kids since there are enough seatbelts.

I'm not wild about moving my Boulevard every Monday - it would be my DH who would have to do it, before work, in a suit, rain or shine (or ice, or snow)...

Now that I think about it, if I pull DD out, she really CAN safely transport all those kids, so I would be helping them, too.

But, yes, you're right, I need to talk to her. I've put it off for a few days now and she will need to start transporting the twins in a week, so there isn't much time to figure out a solution.

In the meantime, I am meeting with two potential alternative DCPs on Tuesday. I really hope that one of them is awesome, that would solve all my problems.

Just be sure to let her know why you are leaving and give her a chance to fix the issue. Maybe 1 of the dck can come a bit later or get picked up earlier on Monday's? She doesn't know there is a problem unless you tell her.

You can come to my dc! I rf kids to the limits! I do suppose with gas and all, it wouldn't be worth it to trek from Oregon to Wisconsin every Monday though.....lol

mommyto2angelgirls said:

isn't their a kindergarden bus that could bring the twins to her house...unless it is a private school i would guess there is.
oh and your right that middle front seat is probably a lap belt only so its not really safe for anyone.

Click to expand...

They are one mile from the school, and you can only get the bus if you're more than 1.5 miles from the school.

And that is my concern - that there is no way to safely transport five kids in this truck, regardless of which carseats are used.

As long as the middle seat isn't prohibited for carseat use, a FF harnessed seat can go there.

wow that 1.5 mile rule apply to your elementary schools. here in ct where i live they onlly apply that at the high schol level. everyone else gets the bus. i drove a bus and had a kid wholived directly across from the school driveway and i had to pick her up and bring her home. let me know if you find out what kind of truck it is...i'll help you search the 900 page manual.

I would definitely find out exactly which seats she is planning on using to try to problem solve..and your first clue as to how well versed she is in car seat safety might be if she is FF her own one year old and whether she understands the importance of ERF....personally I can't imagine having to load all those kids..install at least a few seats for her daycare kids all for a 1.5 mile trip...it's too bad you didn't know these twins were a part of the mix...am sure daycare providers don't have to tell you who they are taking on before you started (and I know that the # of children often changes very frequently)...but it certainly makes a difference in this case. So sorry you have to go through all this finding childcare is such a major headache but so important!

marchofemily said:

. Is there a reason why you can't put your BV in the truck on Mondays? Then she could be RF Tethered. I think that would be a solution until you got into the dc center on Mondays.

Click to expand...

I agree. If she was 5 days per week then it would be a pain and in that case I would buy a seat just for daycare, but for Mondays only, I would just take the BV and install it in her truck for her in the morning with strict instructions not to touch it! lol

I am sorry you're going through this! I hope that things all work out for you!

I really just wanted to say that your DD is absolutly adorable!

Well, unless one of the 5yos or the 4yo are in a 5pt harness, and assuming the back center seat belt is lap-only, as well as the front center, either your DD or the DCPs 1yo DD will have to go ffing in the front center seat to provide L/S belts for the older kids. It's a no-win situation in that case.

What a sticky situation. I would ask her how she is planning to fit the kids in the truck, tell her that you spend a lot of time on a car seat board and you aren't sure it can be done safely.

Is her 4 year old in a harness? Is her 1 year old rear-facing or forward facing?

It could be done safely IF the truck allows a car seat in the middle front, which it might not since the driver's air bag could spill over to that middle spot and IF there is a forward facing child in a harness that can use that middle lap belt.

I'm thinking 4 year old in a harness in the front middle lap belt, 5 year old in a booster in the front (of course harnessed would be better but we all know that isn't likely), in the back the other 5 year old in a booster, and 1 and 2 year olds (again 1 year old should be rear-facing but I'm betting he is forward).

If her 1 year old is already forward facing she also could put him in the middle front, and the 4 and 5 year olds could all use boosters, and have your dd in the middle back which I'm assuming is a lap belt.

It also wouldn't hurt to have her call the school district, you never know they might let the 5 year olds ride the bus if she explains that she does home child care and she can't safely go get them. It totally depends on the district. In my district everyone can ride the bus no matter how close they are to the school, next district over kids over a mile get to ride the bus but kids who are closer can ride if there is room on the bus, in my old district in Omaha there was no bus unless you lived 2 miles from school!

HUGS!

in my husbands the back middle is a lap/shoulder so hers might be. but i'm thinking if she really wants to make it work then i would stick with telling her your dd needs to be in the back seat rf. she can compromise her own 1 yr and put that child ff next to her in the front seat(if even allowed)

Is there any reason she can't just walk down to the school and walk them back home? If she had a double (or triple) stroller that is. :thumbsup: At least until the weather breaks, then there would be an issue. Your dd is only there on Mondays and then she could drive on the other days, at least until dd can get into another daycare. Just a thought.