86 replies to this topic

[stonemonkey]

just a bit of fun, the car never moved nor was the lid closed

http://s123.photobuc.....y1/baby seat/

[AVV IT]

At the end of the day its only a car.

Utter Blasphemy !!

[mini1976]

she likes mini she has told me not to sell it but if i need to then i will

if you can afford to keep it as a project car, but i'd still buy a safer car too. you need to think of your childs safety, not what you want.

"This totaly goes against all my morals, but the mini is a car at the end of the day and ur guna have a gawjus little baby and a mini really isnt the safest place to have a baby in even the smallest shunt will fold minis up soo your going to have a new baby for life.. so id say time to sell the mini and get a safer car )

Thats just what i would do tho cause i know i would be over protective!!

Congratulations by the way!!"

I find it strange that so many people post saying that it is not a safe car, yet still drive one them selves, on I presume a reasonably regular basis.

When picking up friends do you always advise them of this high risk of getting hurt in a crash before they get in or do you just get in and drive away? As surely if the risk is unacceptable for a baby you should at least advise other passengers of the high risk?

Yes the mini is not as safe as a modern car, but equally if it was so unsafe surely none of us would be driving one. Advice like maybe keep the car as a second car is fine if the thinking is because a mini is really impracticable and will be a night mare to get a baby in and out of along with all the stuff they bring with them.
But if the reason is that the poster thinks the car is really unsafe in a crash or the people who have just said a mini is not a car to take a baby in, this just seams like scaremongering and anyway, surely it makes no odds weather the baby is in it or not as loosing its dad due to a car accident will still have a massive impact on the child. So should the advice be that anyone who has children or a wife or family shouldn't go in a mini as the car is unsafe and so they might end up killed? I for one would say that would be ridiculous, we all live with risk everyday and this is no different. They way you chose to drive probably has a far bigger bearing on the risk of you getting hurt than the car you drive.

My thoughts would be, yes a mini may not be as safe as a new car. But we all do loads of things that are unsafe, like crossing the road for example. But we don't hear people advising new parents not to cross the road and only to use subways as they are safer as you are less likely to be hit by a car. I think there should be a lot more rational thought about things like this and not just stating that something is unsafe and there for not suitable for children or anyone else for that matter. Children are tough, there bodies are still growing and so are probably far more likely to recover from an accident, after all you fall over loads as a kid (maybe cry a bit) and just get up and get on with it. Any cuts and breaks etc heal and probably far quicker than for adults, so maybe we should be worrying more about older people driving minis?

I would have thought a large proportion on injuries in car crashes involving minis result in injuries like trapped legs, broken ankles, cuts and grazes. As a baby will be in a car seat, surely most of these will be avoided? So again maybe it would be fair to say that the mini is actually more likely to injure the adults in an accident than the baby in the back?

All I am trying to say is that I think emotive advice like its your baby you should feel guilty if you put it at risk by putting it in anything other than a really modern car that is as safe as we can currently produce should be avoided and more facts should be put across to let the guy make an informed decision.

Will the buggy fit in the car easily?
Will you put you back out getting the child and seat in and out?
Will there be room in the car for all the stuff?

Yes mention that a new car will be safer, but don't advise not to let his child in the mini.

Sorry, I seam to have gone on some what :S

Edited by mini1976, 18 January 2011 - 08:07 PM.

[Broomer]

At the end of the day its only a car.

Utter Blasphemy !!

Ide never sell mine, but I'm not in that situation.

[minilee94]

i really like minidream94 aidea lol iv never looked at a mini clubman estate but now i have there quite nice lol

[monkey]

just a bit of fun, the car never moved nor was the lid closed

http://s123.photobuc.....y1/baby seat/

LOL cute!!

To mini1976: I dont think you can get away from the fact that mini's are not as safe as modern cars. Yes, LOADS of babies have been carried in mini's, but years ago there wasn't as much choice safety wise.

Also, yes, people on here may drive mini's but firstly babies are more delicate than adults, and also, it is MY choice to drive not such a safe car, but would it be fair for me to make that choice for a new born kid? I don't think so - I think it would be irresponsible to put a kid in ANY unnessasary danger.

To the OP:- First of all... CONGRATULATION!!!!

Second of all... I would assume that your girlfriend will be learning to drive soon? therefore will she be looking for her first car? In which case... get her to get a safe sensible car, and insure you both on it, and then keep your mini for the fun days

Steve.

[minilee94]

thank you and nar she is going to start driving yet lol

and iv been looking for about an hour for a mini estate and iv seen bout 4 lol there very rare

[sazal]

A much easier solution would be to keep the car and get the kid adopted

I was going to say this, but thought it was a bit below the belt!

You should have a look at keeping your Mini as a project and get a second car (4 door with a bab!). I personally wont allow any of my mates kids in my Mini due to the safety of it, but thats just my opinion (and also because they'd get snot everywhere! ) , just like to know there as safe as they can be

[AVV IT]

Children are tough, there bodies are still growing and so are probably far more likely to recover from an accident, after all you fall over loads as a kid (maybe cry a bit) and just get up and get on with it. Any cuts and breaks etc heal and probably far quicker than for adults, so maybe we should be worrying more about older people driving minis?

It is true that children do tend to recover from illness & injury more quickly than adults, partly because age, disease and medication has not compromised their bodies ability to heal, but also because they do not have the same psychological fear of pain & illness that adults have, they are not afraid of being ill or injured in the same way that we are and so they do generally "just get on with it".

But when you consider the kind of forces that can be encountered in a road traffic collison, then children certainly do not fare as well as adults to such potentially serious injuries, particularly in cases where the child is under 5 years old. The physiology of children is very different to that of adults, some of the major organs that are well protected by the adult rib cage, such as the liver & spleen, are not protected by the ribs in childhood, making them much more vulnerable to injury. Unlike an adult, a childs rib cage is also soft & pliable, it therefore gives far less protection to the organs that it does attempt to sheild from injury, such as the heart & the lungs. In young children the cranial bones in the skull are not fused together as they are in older children & adults, meaning the skull does a very poor job of protecting the brain beneath. The head is also proportionally much larger & heavier in children than in adults, making children more susceptible to serious neck & spinal injuries, particularly when they encounter the sudden deceleration forces often associated with a road accident. Finally despite having a higher blood volume per kilo than adults, children do have a much smaller total blood volume than adults. In the event of a major injury involving blood loss, children can afford to loose much less blood than an adult, before they become critically ill.

That said, I certainly don't agree that a mini is unsafe to transport children in, yes there are certainly safer vehicles out there, but how far do you take that notion, should all family cars therefore be Volvo's?

[cooperdan]

Really isnt cool putting a baby in mini...I personally wouldnt anyway..

even if you got a second car, Be lucky to get alot time on mini project with a kiddie lol

[mini_mad69]

Roofbox?







Congrats though buddy. We all love our minis, but im pretty sure that we'd all get tired of lifting kiddy / seats and assciated things in and out.

If I couldn't afford to buy a second car in the same postion, I'd have to have to seriously consider getting a 5 door.

[CMcB]

never fear Craig is here.

I have only one car - a classic Mini.

I have two kids, one is age 1 and the other is 3. They both have seats in the rear and we fit a foldable stroller in the boot no problems.

And we can go shopping and spend over £100 on groceries (no, not truffles!!) and still get everything in. Sure the kids might be surrounded by shopping bags, but it's a bit of fun.

We all know Minis aren't the safest cars, so just dont have an accident. And if that means concentrating a bit more on driving, then so be it.

[CMcB]

I managed to get three radio controlled aircraft each with a wing span of about 5' into a mini (the wings detach from the fuselage). I have also managed to get the majority of my stuff into a mini when I moved into university in the first year.

I transported a wooden cot in my Mini . I had to take passenger seat out, but still, it wasn't exactly small, but it went in.

[CMcB]

Just take out the passenger side seat, As she will be in the back with the baby, wont she?

Then have the pram where the seat used to be and just put bungie ties to hold it down when its folded?

Then it easy access for you and your girlfriend to get the baby in and out and also you can strap in the baby easier.

Plus, if worried about safety then fit in a small roll cage?

VERY good idea. I like. And not as a joke. This is very viable.

[Robert]

Roofbox?

No, not ideal for babies - better for small children

Definitely good advice on the four door car though - trying to continually get a baby into a two door is a nightmare!