Another thing to consider in the OP's situation is that the caretaker of the friend was a grandparent. I was recently at the shore with my kids, my MIL, and 3 nieces/nephews, for whom MIL had primary responsibility on this trip. There were things I was comfortable letting all the kids (my 3 and my niece/nephews) that my MIL didn't allow the kids to do because, in her own words, she was more worried about what could happen to her grandkids than she would have been with her own kids, 30+ years ago. So just another thing to consider.
Lucy
I'll buy that. There were risks people took a generation ago that few would take today. We were shockingly ignorant.
For example, back in the days of bench seats, I remember when my little brother was a toddler, he'd stand up in the front seat of the car, between my parents. If the driver had to make a sudden stop, they'd both throw an arm out in front of him. If you'd have told them that it would be physically impossible for two grown adults to restrain this little guy under the force of a real accident, they'd have laughed.
