This morning as I stopped for my regular morning coffee I noticed in the car beside me a child, probably not more than 12 to 15 months old, strapped in her car seat. I took a second look because I then realized there was no one else in the car, only the child. I made my way in to get my coffee and couldn't help but wonder who it was who left the child out there.
There have been so many times that I am so tempted to do just this. You know, just grabbing a gallon of milk or running in to pick up a pizza. When my kids were this age I was never able to do it. It probably wasn't until they were about 10 that I finally felt comfortable, and even then the temperature and location had to be just right.
There are many people who don't have a problem leaving their kids in the car when they are running in somewhere quick, especially a place where they feel they can see the car from inside the store.
Okay, yes I am a worry-wart but just think about what could happen, not to mention people have seriously been arrested for doing this!
What do you think? Do you think it is okay to leave children in the car if you are running in for a quick errand?
Leaving children in a car - is this okay?
Posted by Dalia (Generation X Mom) Labels: kids, parenting
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
22 opinions:
Believe me...I have been tempted to do this but I never, ever would. I think that although it might be a bit inconvenient to get your baby or toddler in and out of the carseat just think about the consequences, right? So many reasons to not be lazy and to NEVER leave your children alone!!
This is my opinion… If I wouldn't leave my child alone in the house to go around the corner to pick up the mail then I wouldn't leave my child alone in the car.
This person who left their toddler in the car - what if while they were inside the shop they had a brain aneurism or a stroke or a seizure and had to be rushed to the hospital? No one would know that there was a child left behind.
You may think you're just running in and out of somewhere, but it takes just a split second for something to go wrong either where you are or in the car where your child is. So if your child cannot communicate clearly or defend him/herself, for goodness sake don't leave him or her in a situation where they might need to however slight the possibility.
You know, probably nothing will ever happen, but sometimes it does. I would never want to put my kids in danger just because of laziness. There are times when I will push my comfort level with the kids when I feel like it will be good for them etc. but this isn't one of those times.
This is illegal, right?
I didn't do it with my kids but I remember when I was growing up my Mom would leave my siblings and I in the car. We weren't infants though.
I think every mother in a hurry with a fussy child or even sleeping baby considers the idea - but most wouldn't actually do it.
Not only is it dangerous to leave your baby in the car but in many areas, like here in Chicago it's illegal.
It's possible the parent actually forgot the child was there. It happens more frequently than you'd think - I just wrote a blog post on devices to remind you that baby is in the backseat http://budurl.com/te7e
I never leave her even for a moment to return the cart. I see people doing all kinds of things while the kids are in the car waiting. I even had a couple of friends that left their children to run in and pick up the dry cleaning. I'd never say anything to them, but I think it's lazy. Something could happen and the extra time wouldn't be worth it. It's all fine until your bad habits make the evening news.
I absolutely understand the urge, but no, I never do and never would - there's always that chance that something could happen.
And yes, it is illegal, at least here in Wa, and I do know of someone who came back to her car with the police and a ticket awaiting her...
(D - meaning to call you...)
I leave my 9 year old in the car, but never with the car running and always with the doors locked. I'll only do it when I can see him from inside and I know it'll be a quick run.
If I'm running in to grab something and my 9 year old is in the car, I will leave the 3 year old as well. I always make a big deal about it to people (e.g., "I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry - my kids are right there" while pointing through the glass). I'd do it to pay for gas but not to order food, if that makes sense.
I understand why people wouldn't want to do it, but with a child who has ADHD, sometimes "running" into a store is a joke. It'd be meltdown on the way in, meltdown on the way out.
To be honest, I do lots of scheduling and juggling and planning to NEVER have kids with me when I need to run errands/shop/buy gas/etc. It's just easier that way.
A baby?!?! Never!
There has been 1 and only 1 situation where I've ever left Kate in a car. When I was pregnant with Maddie (Kate was 2+ years old) and had to drop packages at the UPS stores. The one I went to was in a strip mall and had a couple dedicated parking spots directly in front of the door. My packages had prepaid labels, and all I had to do was walk across the threshold and drop the box under the sign. No waiting in line or anything.
Why wouldn't the Mom or Dad in question just go instead to a drive-through coffee shop? I know how difficult it is to grapple with a child, car seat and everything else but there are other options.
My kids are 13 and 10 and I never leave them alone in the car. Even to "just" run in and run out. It takes less than a minute for someone to steal a car or kidnap a child. I'm not willing to take that risk with my children.
Eeehh I must be the only lazy mother in the world. Or the only one willing to admit that she sometimes leaves her kids in the car e.g. to run in and pay for petrol. Get out the pram, strap the kid in walk to the til and pay....? when i can see them the whole time??? Sorry i am not a hoverer. Call me lazy, call me neglectful, but I would disagree. I'm a mother of three, and my kids are safe, happy, confident, well-adjusted, friendly, outgoing and healthy. They play well with others. They adapt well in new situations. They have been left in the car (with doors locked and windows cracked) for up to five minutes while I dash in to pick up milk.
I would NEVER leave them there while I went to get a coffee (oh yes, I can be judgmental too) or anything that would take longer than a few minutes.
I wouldn't leave them in the car if i couldn't see them at all times from where I am in the shop.
Just thought I'd speak up on this one, because I think there's LOTS of (good) mothers who do it, but they wouldn't say because they'll get ragged on.
PS I am in New Zealand and we don't have guns or carjackers here. Maybe that helps.
Like the mother above, I do leave my kids (one baby, one toddler) in the car to pay for petrol, but that is all. I make sure the car is in view of where I am at all times. I try to have the right cash ready, go and hand it to the attendant and straight back out.
I wouldn't leave them in the car to go anywhere that I couldn't see them, though I understand how tempting it could be, especially for preschool drop-offs/ pick-ups.
I'm not comfortable leaving toddlers/babies in the car, and I live in a small town. I don't even like to leave my 17 month-old in the car with her 10 year-old brother, although I've done it a few times -- but only if she's sleeping and only if I'm going in to buy 1 item and can park right in front of the store and still see the LOCKED car. Paranoid? Maybe.
A child that young, I wouldn't leave them in the car anywhere no matter how quick I thought I could be. I think my mom started letting me stay in the car by myself when I was 11 or 12. That's also the age I was when I started staying home by myself. She got me a cell phone in case I needed to call her for anything.
i agree with many of the gals- it could save, what, five minutes? ten, tops? now think of all the awful things that COULD happen.
i consider the extra time it takes to haul my kiddo around to be a bit of insurance against the terrible things that occur 1% of the time.
not that an extra five minutes is something to scoff at...sigh...
It is not okay. And the law thinks so too. I think in most states this is a crime. That person was just lazy, in my opinion.
Hugs and Mocha,
Stesha
This may sound horribly judgemental, but I don't think it's ever okay to do this. I can say this as someone who walks the talk. I forgot to pay for something at the store the other day (got out to the van just to realize it had been tucked under the baby's seat.) I had already buckled all four kids in the van and was ready to go, but I got everyone out and we went back in to pay. You just NEVER know what could happen. When I see something like this (and sadly, I do often) I wait for the parent to return before doing whatever it is I'm doing. I would never forgive myself if I found out later that something happened that I could have prevented by waiting.
When I was a kid in the 1970s, my mom often left my older sisters and me in the car while she ran in for the gallon of milk, etc. The same rules applied - don't talk to strangers, don't open the door for anyone. Nothing ever happened to us.
With my own kids - I've thought about it, but then figured someone would report me! Even though my kids were well past the toddler stage of life. Maybe when they're teenagers and won't WANT to be seen with me, it will be ok to leave them in the car?
I'm torn on the issue. Part of me wants to raise "free range" kids (check the site FreeRangeKids.wordspot.com) and part of me is still in overprotection mode.
At a busy day at the post office, I witnessed a toddler, alone in the car. I waited in my own vehicle, alongside - it was a 20 minute wait. The line at the post office was long. I did call the police, who said they would chat with the owner of the vehicle - she was an older woman, probably a grandma, who saw nothing wrong with leaving the child unattended.
Probably nothing would have happened - but with a child that young, who knows? They get into things we'd never even begin to think of! And despite our best efforts at supervision, accidents still happen.
I would say - leaving a child unattended in the car depends on the age and maturity of the child, and of course, the area you're parked in plus the temperature, etc.
I am following from MBC!
Jeanette Huston
http://www.mommyblessingsinsmallbundles.com/
I never leave my kids in the car alone for any reason.
i'd never leave my youngest in the car alone. However if my 15yr old is in the car too I will because she's old enough to watch them. temperture, location really matters. If it's too hot I wouldn't leave neither.
Post a Comment