My husband risks our kids' lives with this illegal act in the car

"I always assumed he was more responsible and never expected this from him."

A mum has made a horrifying discovery about the illegal act her husband does when he drives their small children without her.

And she only busted him because their young daughter complained.

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"He was endangering their lives"

In a post that would terrify most parents, the distraught mum wrote:

"As I was buckling up my daughter today, she started to complain that she doesn’t want to be buckled up and that her dad doesn’t make her buckle up on short trips.

"I confronted my husband and he admitted that he doesn’t always buckle up the kids on short trips and even short trips driving on highways."

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She continues:

"I literally had no idea that he does this until now and he apologized and said what he did was wrong and it won’t happen again. I honestly always assumed he was more responsible and never expected this from him.

"I know I can’t change the past and thank god nothing happened but I’m just so mad that he was endangering their lives and I had no idea in the years he’s been driving them.

"Whenever we drive in the family car together, I always make sure they’re buckled up and had no idea he wasn’t taking the same precautions when he was driving them in his car.

"I’m so mad at myself that I assumed he was buckling them up, but the thought never crossed my mind that he wouldn’t do so."

Do you kids tantrum about wearing a seatbelt? Image: iStock

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"You didn't do anything wrong"

All of the commenters were empathetic with the mum.

"You have no reason to be mad at yourself, you didn't do anything wrong," one wrote. "Normal people buckle up their kids, they don't need to be told to do so. Short trip, long trip, it doesn't matter, he endangered them multiple times and apologized only because he got caught."

This mum said (somewhat unhelpfully): "I would have so much anxiety wondering what else he was / wasn’t doing relating to safety. My mind would be reeling!"

Others agreed with the sentiment, though, with this parent writing, "I would have a VERY hard time trusting his judgement after this."

This commenter shared her experience in a different country during her childhood: "I was raised in a country where really no one uses seatbelts and even I know better. My son complains and doesn’t like being buckled sometimes, but I’d rather listen to him complain than put him in danger."

Lastly, there was this helpful suggestion about what the dad should do next: "He needs to tell your daughter that he was wrong and that it's against the law to not wear a seatbelt. Daddy made a big mistake. So many kids and people got hurt and dead that they made it a law."

For more information about car safety, see the official government transport page in your state, and the Raising Children Network.

Originally published as My husband risks our kids' lives with this illegal act in the car