Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Mothers and fathers at Qurm City Centre mall have told Times of Oman whether they use car seats and their reasons.
Mother of four children
Business owner and mother of four Clare Al Aufi believes it should not only be compulsory for parents to have their children in car seats, but for the staff also to be properly trained. “If you were to go into the shop I do not think there is anybody who would come out to your car and make sure it is placed properly. When you go to the car wash, for example, you have to remove the baby seat and put it back in. That was something I was really struggling with, especially with all the children.
We are not trained to do that so we have to read the instructions. For me, it is not about the affordability but having the thing (booster seat) and putting it in use.”
Mother of three children
Medical professional and mother of three, Rani Cyril does not use a booster seat or a car seat with any of her kids despite knowing the dangers. Her youngest child is around two years old, and she told the Times of Oman that the child is strapped in during the entire ride.
“I am not comfortable with taking the children with me when I am the only adult in the car.
“When I have someone with me to take care of them then they ride in the car. Even when they are sitting in the back, I ask them to wear seatbelts. I am very aware of the dangers.”
Mother of two children
Stay at home mother of two Nadiya Ramadhani has always buckled up her three-year-old and two-year-old. “The roads in Oman are too fast so it is important for the children to be safe in the booster seat. I bought the car seat five years ago for the youngest and just bought a new one for the six-year-old recently. The bigger booster seat is much cheaper. It is difficult to make children stay in the seat but if you have toys and entertain them then it is easier to have them sit.”
Mother of two children
Janine Sleight works at PDO, is a mother of two, and has taught her two children, aged seven and five, the importance of car safety.
Sleight believes that the safety campaigns should be more obvious, and in different languages.
“It is not safe if they are just sitting in the cars with just a seat belt. They have had car seats since they were born.
“Even my children cannot understand why children are standing up in the cars; they say ‘Mummy that is really not safe.’ Sometimes we see children standing outside of the sun roof and they scream ‘Mummy that is really dangerous!’ They think it is very silly. They will not let me set off unless they have got their seatbelts on.”
Mother of three children
Um Khalid is an Omani mother of three. Although her generation did not have the option of car seats when they were younger, she has used them for her children over the last nine years. Um Khalid believes that play areas in malls and shopping centres are the best places to target children and their parents.
“It is just the right thing to do. Using the seats makes it easier on both the children and the parents. Carrying the child makes me tired and it makes them tired too. It also makes them more comfortable in the car, let alone safety, and is very convenient. We are just used to it. If none of my children are restrained, it makes me very nervous. I just got my licence a year back so I want everybody to wear seatbelts. Sometimes they refuse, but they know it is a must.”
Father of two children
Abu Hamid is the father of a 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy. He has been using car seats since the birth of his daughter.
“We use it for their safety. It is for their comfort and for ours. We learned about the importance of car seats from the campaigns and understood the dangers of not having one through our jobs. We were exposed to information on safety and how to protect them in the vehicle.
“Even when we travelled to other countries, it was a law there to have them in car seats. I suggest every person that has a child to buy the proper car seats today, not tomorrow, to protect their children. A simple push of the breaks could affect the children.”
