No Child Carseat = Child Endangerment = Call to Police?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was reading the thread "Vent: I absolutely HATE stupidity! Not ignorance.....STUPIDITY!!" and it got me thinking about a potential topic for one of my nursing classes:

Should there be more encouragement for nurses to contact police if they feel a parent may be transporting a child from the hospital/clinic unsafely?

What are your thoughts on the subject? I'm just brainstorming ideas in my head right now, and would like to hear what you think are the pros and cons of collaborating with your local police department to encourage this practice.

This post has strayed from original topic. Not interested in what anyones perception of freedom is or if police meet quotas and someone makes money off tickets. I have a difficult time actually believing that a nurse feels that a child in a car seat should be parental choice. There are plenty of posts on other sites that politics, freedom, war and municipal policy on tickets and quotas to debate. I think that responding to any of the debates off topic is unproductive for this situation. By finding out exactly what other hospitals do or make suggestions can be helpful for making suggestions to our own hospitals that may lack a good plan.I am interested in ideas so that our children can be safe. without traumas like this, we will still be in business as plenty of adults display stupidity with their own safety every day!

Here, parents are fined unless they go to our fitting station and get a car seat...they have ten days to get a seat before they are fined. Some of the guys from our fitting station will even go to the parent's house because we had a few use the excuse that their car broke down or something so they couldn'g make it to the fitting station.

We request a donation for seats, but if they simply can't afford it, they are free. We take payments or let the parents help out at check up events if they want to.

Specializes in med/surg, geri, ortho, telemetry, psych.
What do corificeats have to do with foreign policy?

:yeah:

Specializes in med/surg, geri, ortho, telemetry, psych.
safer than getting us into an illegal war, that threatens my children over there. I see now what you mean that the government makes better choices than we do.

:nono::banghead:

:banghead:

Here's some Advil, Heart.........

i swear i hear tom laughing whenever he gets someone riled up. :chuckle

leslie

Motorcycle Mama - I don't want it to seem as if you're being picked on here, because I know that's not my intent. I'm not sure of all your nursing experience, so I don't know if you've ever seen an unrestrained child that has been thrown from a car. I have. We don't usually have to spend much time with them in the ER because almost all of them come in dead. Horrific injuries and dead. And these kids had parents that weren't "bad people". Parents that may have been distracted, tired, or just plain lazy. But not "bad people". Those kids are still dead. Kids that depended on their parents to protect them. It's a very small inconvenience for parents to make sure their kids are restrained. And while they're at it, to buckle themselves in also, if not for themselves, then for their kids.

I don't think you'll find anybody that's ever done any Trauma in disagreement with me.

Now, wait a minute, here. It doesn't take someone who works in the ER to understand that a car wreck turns children into torpedos and naturally, their little bodies can't take the trauma.

No, those weren't bad people, and I didn't say that as a way to excuse them from not having their children in restraints (the kids were wild, BTW, more like they needed straight jacket restraints) but anyway, I get the impression that people tend to think all people who may not happen to have their child restrained properly deserve the worst kind of fate and that they are neglectful and evil. It seems like people are more like GET THEM!!! than how can we help them (without "going after" them).

No, I'm not ignorant about the need for children to be in restraints (I believe adults are different, if they want their guts splattered all over the road I believe they should have that right) but what I'm objecting to is calling the law.

No, I'm not ignorant about the need for children to be in restraints (I believe adults are different, if they want their guts splattered all over the road I believe they should have that right) but what I'm objecting to is calling the law.

With all the education out there about the need for child restraints, if someone still doesn't get it, calling the law is what needs to be done.

Why

Isnt it easier to respect their choice

We do still alledgedly have Freedom of Choice

You mean Freedom from Choice.

I remember when I was little (back in the 70's) riding in the family car sitting on that fold down armrest in the front seat.

But things were a slower pace back then, and the cars were larger and safer, I guess.

I believe in children being restrained, but what's with this gestapo business?

Reminds me of this song: we'll be watching you, no matter what you do, and you can do your part by watching others, too.

I believe in children being restrained, but what's with this gestapo business?

because of all the in-your-face ignorance and resistance out there, causing too many untimely and torturous deaths.

leslie

Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.
Here, parents are fined unless they go to our fitting station and get a car seat...they have ten days to get a seat before they are fined. Some of the guys from our fitting station will even go to the parent's house because we had a few use the excuse that their car broke down or something so they couldn'g make it to the fitting station.

We request a donation for seats, but if they simply can't afford it, they are free. We take payments or let the parents help out at check up events if they want to.

That sounds like a wonderful program. Don't think I would call the police on someone unless they continued to unrestrain their children after education, offers of help, etc.. I also am a big believer in freedom of personal choice and limited government, BUT this is a different matter. Children have the right to grow up safe and healthy, and that trumps anything else.

You mean Freedom from Choice.

I remember when I was little (back in the 70's) riding in the family car sitting on that fold down armrest in the front seat.

But things were a slower pace back then, and the cars were larger and safer, I guess.

I believe in children being restrained, but what's with this gestapo business?

Reminds me of this song: we'll be watching you, no matter what you do, and you can do your part by watching others, too.

I can remember living in a house with lead paint on the walls and asbestos in the furnace. I can remember when no one wore bicycle helmets. I remember sneking into the bathroom and sneaking baby aspirin to eat and doctors thinking it was OK to for women to smoke when they were pregnant. But...experience and reasearch has shown us that none of those things are safe. Experience and research have also shown us that car seats save lives...and since so many parents fail to protect their children, the legal system is going to do it for them. I know you aren't saying we should just let children roam about a car all willy nilly. :)

I have been on a lot of car crashes that everyone died except the child who was properly restrained...and many of them wouldn't have been properly restrained if someone hadn't made their parents do it.

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