Do you let LO ride school bus with no seatbelts?

Bride2bMO

DS has a fieldtrip Friday. I'm trouble by the thought of no seatbelts. He's 3.5. There's something about the huge mass of the bus absorbing crash forces, right? Hmm. He'll go either way, either with me or on the bus.

shouldbworkin

From what I understand, school busses are made like egg cartons.  No seatbelts needed in order for them to perform how they're supposed to. But, I won't say that I never worried when my kids were in PS too.  I was always grateful for field trips w/o busses.

anna7602

We skipped field trips this summer with DD's summer camp because there was no way to contain them on a school bus and I wasn't able to make separate arrangements to transport DD myself (no car, no time since I was working). It's not just the "in the event of an accident" that concerned me, it was the whole idea that there was no way to keep the kids from running around on the bus.

DD doesn't wear a seatbelt on public transportation, but I am sitting right there with her and making sure she stays in her seat. She could easily fall and hurt herself if she starts running around a moving bus or subway car. I didn't feel like the adult to child ratio was that great in a field trip situation to ensure that every kid stayed seated, especially kids as young as 2 or 3. (Older kids, I feel better that they would stay seated.)

 

UsedToBeGoldie

i woudln't send my kid on a field trip at 3.5 - seatbelts or not- that just doesn't sit well with me at that age.... NOBODY in my son's class at daycare wanted their kids to go on field trips this summer (kids just turned 4). 

They are going on their first fieldtrip this week to a pumpkin patch and i am letting him go (he's 4.5) and i have horrible anxiety about it.... at 3.5 - no freakin' way.

jsugrin

Not a chance in hell!  I've never heard the egg cartoon analogy but trying to think about it, that sounds like the bus would crumple and absorb impact to reduce loss of life, correct?  Doesn't mean your kid isn't going to be launched and bounce around the seats like a ball in a large crash and simply tossed off his seat, either to the floor or smacked into the back of the seat in front of him.  Personally for my own obsession with choosing his carseat, ect, no I couldn't do it.

penguingrrl

Yes I would. The crash dynamics in a bus are totally different than those of a car. In fact, I'd prefer no belt at all since usually the other option is lap belt only, which is far more dangerous than no belt in a bus (and not much safer than no belt in a car).

Mrs Manners

I would not. Our school still requires a 5 point harness on the bus until age 4 and a seatbelt or booster after that. I will keep ds in the 5 point harness even when he reaches age 4. They are going on their first field trip in two weeks on the bus. 

 

If we bring an extra carseat, they will actually leave it strapped into the bus at all times since they are going to start going to the library every other week.

 

TinyPinkBug

My son rides a bus to school.  State law required kids under 4 in a bus to be in a 5 pt harness.  4 yr olds must be in a seat belt.  My son is 4 but small, he is in a carseat.