This is a pretty much nuts’n’bolts question. My niece is 2 yrs. old and I am the only one in the family who has not as yet met her. My brother has arranged a stopover day on my niece’s and sister-in-law’s journey back from a visit to Grandma. So I’ll pick’em up at the airport at an ungodly hour in the A.M. and spend the day with’em before I fly them off in the evening. My question is, do I need to provide for a child seat in my car for that day?
Can you rent’em?
Yes and Yes. Here’s another option. Check to see if they’re bringing their own child seat. Sometimes folks use them in the airplanes.
I don’t know what state you live in, and it may vary from state to state, but in CA (and in most states, I believe) by law a child must ride in a car seat until they are either 4 years old or 40 pounds, whichever comes later.
so, yes - you’ll need a car seat. I don’t have a clue if you can rent them or not though, sorry =)
A couple of years ago we rented a car in Montana, and we dragged our car seat along on the trip. But, you can buy a $20 booster seat from Wal Mart etc.Better than no seat.
Yes. Get a car seat (or talk to the parents to see if they’re bringing one.) Don’t take the risk of not having the child protected. A minor fender-bender can jerk or toss a small child from the seat, and could be fatal or severely damanging. The minor annoyance of having to find/rent a car seat is small insurance against that risk.
Yes and put the kid in the back seat.
Some police stations give out free loaner seats.
As a father of a two-year-old, I say: Don’t ever take that kid with you in your car without a proper seat, no matter what the law says.
If you should do it anyway, do not let one of the parents (or whoever) take the girl under their own safety belt, i.e. one belt for both, with the kid sitting on the parent’s lap. I’ve actully seen several people do this. In case of a crash, the parent will crush the child in the belt!!
Holger
Beatle,
Of course, the child will need to be in a car seat, but I think it’s the parent’s responsibility to provide it. Granted, this is your family and you may not mind going to the trouble of finding a rental for that day, which would be very nice of you. But I bring this up only because no-one else has—as if it is your responsibility to have the car seat. Maybe this wasn’t everyone’s intent, but I felt compelled to point out that it is the child’s parents who are obliged to provide whatever equipement is necessary for their child.
“I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization
I see that animals can be left to roam around inside. Shouldn’t they also be seat belted?
I see people [usually woman] with a canine in their lap driving down the street [the woman not the canine].
Oh, that’s funny.
Handy, I’d really love to see you try to belt my cat into my car. I’ll be standing by with the bandages for after.
Larger dogs are fine in cars, because in the event of an accident, they wouldn’t “fly” very far. Owners of small dogs should just accept traffic accidents as God’s way of saying “rat dogs have no place on this planet.” 
And let’s face it - living with a brain-damaged dog, ninety nine times out of a hundred, will be a damn sight less traumatic than living with a brain-damaged child.
I work for a state health department that gives out loaner car seats until new parents can buy them. But you don’t need a car seat designed for a new infant. I think your question raises an interesting point. Shouldn’t car rental companies provide rental car seats for babies and young children, too? Ask em to be sure.
Jill
I see that I read incorrectly that you were renting a car. Anyway, you might call a few places that rent all kindsa stuff, and see if they have kids’car seats. There are also stores that sell second-hand kids’ stuff, and cheap used ones in good shape are easy to find.
Jill
I’m not sure I’d be able to tell if my dogs were brain-damaged.
President of the Vernon Dent fan club.