No Car Seats In Daycare?

[happymom]

What car seat do you have and how tall is your child?

I would simply tell your daycare you have upgraded to a convertible child safety seat and no longer use the infant carrier.

I would also be concerned that the daycare provider is using the car seat inappropriately (perhaps for feedings or naps, etc). I interviewed more than one daycare who was using car seats for feedings and quickly crossed them off the list.

[LysesKids]

I never really thought about this. I have a parent who will occasionally leave the car seat for her husband. It's seriously gross, so I make her leave it outside :-\ Maybe I should add that to my contract too! Sheesh! This thing is gonna be like 40 pages eventually haha.

I put my policy in place in AR (2010) when a few centers near me had bed bug outbreaks (creepy)... I don't want to deal with more than already needed; And yes, it's also why no diaper bags. Spare clothes are brought in a gallon ziplock that's labeled. I also explain to parents that it's that much less stuff they have to haul back & forth

[Thriftylady]

I never really thought about this. I have a parent who will occasionally leave the car seat for her husband. It's seriously gross, so I make her leave it outside :-\ Maybe I should add that to my contract too! Sheesh! This thing is gonna be like 40 pages eventually haha.

I seriously don't understand why parents don't get car seats for both vehicles. It is such a hassle to move them and they are not that expensive. We only had one car when DS was little. When DD was a baby and I finally got my own car (my abusive ex finally gave in to try to keep me, he made it easier to leave I knew that he didn't), but I had two car seats then. I just can't imagine switching back and forth all the time. Heck I even got one for mom's car because she had DD often.

[happymom]

When DD was a baby and I finally got my own car (my abusive ex finally gave in to try to keep me, he made it easier to leave I knew that he didn't), but I had two car seats then. I just can't imagine switching back and forth all the time. Heck I even got one for mom's car because she had DD often.

For real. The daycare my sons go to has an area near the entrance for parents to leave their car seats if they wish. It always has huge car seats in it. Some of them are there every day (and they are like $300 seats, too, WHY when you could just get two $100 seats and remove that hassle from your lives). I think some parents just don't know...

[Ariana]

Also, car seats aren't meant to removed and re-installed daily. They are meant to be installed and left in place.

I think she meant just the bucket part was coming in so the base was staying in the car.

This rule makes zero sense :confused:

[Unregistered]

So--I'm a mom and was trying to do a little research. My day care REQUIRES that mom's and dad's leave the bucket seat at the day care. We are in Michigan, just for reference. The reasoning, the director states, is that it's part of the day care licensing requirements. And the reasoning behind that, is because if there is ever an emergency and child needs to be transported by ambulance, child can be safely transported in the bucket seat. They have quite a large infant room, they are almost at capacity and have about 19 infants. So yes, there are 19 car seats in front of the door on a busy day.

I've just never heard of this, and it logistically doesn't make much sense to me. How possibly could the state require that many car seats to be left at the day care? Are all 19 infants going to need to be transported by ambulance at the same time? Sounds like not enough ambulances.

It just irks me because my child is 20 pounds now, and I have repeatedly asked the director what the cut off is as far as car seats being left at the day care (how big does my kid have to be that I can stop bringing in the car seat?), but she never has a straight answer for me. So I've been online looking for an answer, but I can't find this licensing requirement anywhere. Can someone send me the link, if they know of it?

Maybe it's a township code, rather than state. I don't know. Anyway, I hate lugging that thing in every day and it literally especially when the sense behind it doesn't make sense at all.

Thanks!

OK no..I would do some drop in check ups if i were u. If a kid is in a true emergent situationally, ambulances use their already approved gurney that latches into the ambulance. There are no seats back there equipped for carseats and no time if 911emergency

[morgan24]

So--I'm a mom and was trying to do a little research. My day care REQUIRES that mom's and dad's leave the bucket seat at the day care. We are in Michigan, just for reference. The reasoning, the director states, is that it's part of the day care licensing requirements. And the reasoning behind that, is because if there is ever an emergency and child needs to be transported by ambulance, child can be safely transported in the bucket seat. They have quite a large infant room, they are almost at capacity and have about 19 infants. So yes, there are 19 car seats in front of the door on a busy day.

I've just never heard of this, and it logistically doesn't make much sense to me. How possibly could the state require that many car seats to be left at the day care? Are all 19 infants going to need to be transported by ambulance at the same time? Sounds like not enough ambulances.

It just irks me because my child is 20 pounds now, and I have repeatedly asked the director what the cut off is as far as car seats being left at the day care (how big does my kid have to be that I can stop bringing in the car seat?), but she never has a straight answer for me. So I've been online looking for an answer, but I can't find this licensing requirement anywhere. Can someone send me the link, if they know of it?

Maybe it's a township code, rather than state. I don't know. Anyway, I hate lugging that thing in every day and it literally especially when the sense behind it doesn't make sense at all.

Thanks!

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/la...6_509884_7.pdf This is the link to the State of MI technical assistance manual for centers. I read the transportation section and did not see where it cited that rule. It sounds like it is your centers rules and they are claiming its a state rule. I would ask them if they can show you where it says that and if your child has outgrown that seat you don't want them using it anyway.

[Unregistered]

When my son was in a center we had to bring a bucket seat as well. I don't know if this was center specific or state. He was in an infant room and each child had a full size dedicated crib that no other children could use while enrolled. We used to have to place the bucket seats under the cribs so they would have them if needed in emergency as well. My son stopped using the bucket seat at 4 months so I just left it at daycare under his crib during the week and tossed it in the trunk during weekends until he moved up to the toddler room. My son doesn't have a father so we didn't have a second car to put a second seat into.

[Thriftylady]

For those of you who question if the centers are telling you something is a regulation that isn't, remember that you CAN call licensing at any time with your questions. They will be happy to let you know what the rules are. I am legally unlicensed, but tell my parents if they have a question they can ask me and if I don't know we can call, even though I don't have to follow most of the regs, I do try to stay in best practice.

[DaveA]

I go all over the place with DCKs, so parents are required to provide a carseat or a base for an infant with a bucket seat. I've had a couple DCFs as me to buy the seat and reimbursed me before the child started. It is just for daycare- not for if Grandma picks up or something like that. If they want to leave a carseat at daycare for someone getting DCK it stays in the garage till pickup.

I'm thinking about next policy revision changing the policy to charging a $10/ week fee the first 3 months and just buying a carseat myself for each new DCK.

[Cat Herder]

This original topic was discussed back in 2011. Since then there have been too many deaths from providers leaving kids to sleep in their car seats to make it a viable option.

[CalCare]

True, but a parent just bumped this the other day because she is having the issue of her childcare provider asking her to leave the seat. So she wants to know if this is legit.

[Hunni Bee]

OK no..I would do some drop in check ups if i were u. If a kid is in a true emergent situationally, ambulances use their already approved gurney that latches into the ambulance. There are no seats back there equipped for carseats and no time if 911emergency

Exactly. I call bs. I have never heard of someone running around to find a car seat in an emergency. The only time I've even heard of anything similar, is when my nephew was transported by ambulance from one hospital to another and they strapped his car seat to the gurney, but it was not an emergency situation and if they didn't have access to his seat they wouldve just strapped him to the gurney.

Sounds like they just want the seats around to hold the infants. Either that or there's some super strange regs where you live.

[Cat Herder]

True, but a parent just bumped this the other day because she is having the issue of her childcare provider asking her to leave the seat. So she wants to know if this is legit.

Understood. I was updating my change of thought process. Cleanliness and storage liability issues seem too trivial now and that was all my previous (old) posts seemed concerned with.

Also, I work EMS; We have our own approved car seats on board.

[daycarediva]

Most of my rules are because someone once did "something stupid"

Liability:

1. Once my neighbors cat sprayed it and the Mom felt I should replace it. I never gave her permission to leave it and did not know it was outside.

2. One Mother was in a wreck, minor fender bender, and was cited for not having an infant restrained. Baby was bucked into seat, but not car.She blamed it on the fact that she was in such a hurry to get out of my driveway for other parents since I "WONT stagger pick-ups". (my closing time is 6, so everyone waits until then, and this is my fault how?)

Space:

1. My Foyer is only 35 sq feet, my front deck is open to neighbor dogs/cats, and I am not a storage company.

Odor:

1. Ever had that 5 day old dried Urine/Diarrhea smell in your living room?

Filth:

1. Ever had someone Else's month old French fries, goldfish, cheerios, cigarette butts or something I pray was smooshed up fig newtons all over your entranceway?

I just chalk it up to Parent Responsibility. I knew when I had kids there may be an emergency situation where I may need someone to get my kids. DH, my Mom and I all had carseats in our vehicles at all times. I was invested in my children.....before they were born.

plus car seat safety installation!

Exactly. I call bs. I have never heard of someone running around to find a car seat in an emergency. The only time I've even heard of anything similar, is when my nephew was transported by ambulance from one hospital to another and they strapped his car seat to the gurney, but it was not an emergency situation and if they didn't have access to his seat they wouldve just strapped him to the gurney.

Sounds like they just want the seats around to hold the infants. Either that or there's some super strange regs where you live.

Sounds like utter bs to me. I would be questioning this policy, asking for verification and doing pop in visits to see if any infants were in the seats for sleeping/eating. If they were, I would pull immediately and report the center. That's too dangerous to risk!