Leaving Infant in the car.....

[CandleontheWater]

I logically don't see a problem with quickly popping in and out of a pizza store, but I don't think I'd ever do it because I'm worried that nosey people might call the police or something.

I get worried in the Target parking lot, when I lock DS in the car and put the cart away. I try to always park close to the cart returns, but I still worry that someone will see me leave him for a second and then alert the police. People have too much time on their hands now a days.

 

[dis-happy]

In certain circumstances I've done it, and I'd do it again.

Me too.

 

[Colleen27]

I guess I just don't see how watching them from the window is any safer...Are you going to be able to do anything if someone steals your car or another car plows into yours? It's just not a risk I'm willing to take, so DS2 comes in everywhere with me, even if it is only for a quick second.

As far as a car plowing into yours, that's one of those unlikely and uncontrollable things that I just don't worry about. But yes, if you can see the car you can see if someone unfamiliar approaches it long before it gets to a grand theft auto situation. It isn't as though a car thief simply materializes inside of a locked car and drives off - getting the door open and the engine started takes a bit of time even for a pro, and isn't something thieves are particularly likely to do in a setting where they're in clear view of a small store's patrons and staff.

Aside from the risk of a car being stolen or someone kidnapping your kid, there is also the little matter of the damage your kid could do when they are loose in your car.

About 10 years ago, the front end of a parked car in the church parking lot sustained quite a bit of damage because a 5 year old left alone in her mother's car decided to get out of her car seat and "pretend to drive". She successfully got it out of PARK. Because her car was at the church door, which is on an incline above the rest of the property, the car went downhill, picking up speed and hit a car.

It is important to know your kids, of course, but most modern cars can't accidentally be put into gear like that. You need a foot on the brake and/or the key in the on position. I've heard a lot of stories like that about older cars, the worst one being about a friend of the family who injured her young child because she knocked the car out of park while grabbing her purse and it rolled back through where the kids were playing. But with newer cars it is all but impossible.

 

[ctinct]

Personally, I would NOT do it. In many places it is, in fact, illegal to do so. It is illegal here in CT to leave a child unattended in a car. Last Friday, in Hartford CT, a Dad left his two year old son in the car with the car running while Dad ran into the convenience store. He was out of the car less than two minutes, when the car was stolen with the child in it. An amber alert was issued and the child was found safe several hours later. The guy who stole the car was high at the time, and left the child with a friend of his in a not-so nearby town and then went to the Civic Center for a holiday concert, where he was apprehended. Since then, the guy has told the police he stole the car to teach the parents a lesson that they shouldn't leave the baby in the car. Nobody knows if he really thought that or not, but it's an interesting defense argument (LOL). But can you imagine being the parent of the child while they were searching for him? I would NEVER want to be in that position of having that worry and fear, not knowing where your child was.

I'd be willing to bet the dad will never, ever do that again. Channel 3 must have had a camera in the area, because they had a few seconds of footage of the dad being comforted by someone. The look of anguish on that man's face was unforgettable.

 

[twinboysmom]

I have left my boys in a locked car in their car seats quite a few times but only in a couple of situations. I use a mom and pop drug store that I pull right up to the front door and I can see the car at all times, literally 10 feet away, maybe less. Also, the dry cleaner, similar situation as the drugstore. Also, I walk into the vet when I bring my 3 large dogs in for boarding and ask someone to come out and help me. I lock my car and have an automatic start that I use for climate control if needed.

I wouldn't do it to go into a grocery store, etc.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It is important to know your kids, of course, but most modern cars can't accidentally be put into gear like that. You need a foot on the brake and/or the key in the on position. I've heard a lot of stories like that about older cars, the worst one being about a friend of the family who injured her young child because she knocked the car out of park while grabbing her purse and it rolled back through where the kids were playing. But with newer cars it is all but impossible.

^^^True *if* you have an automatic transmission.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

The not leaving (or only leaving for a moment in the driveway) like 10-, 12-year-olds - and UP! - in parked cars alone I cannot begin to fathom.

Yeah, but if you think about it, a 10-year-old could get into a LOT more trouble in a car than an infant could. The babies can't even unbuckle themselves

 

[goofyintoronto]

Yeah, but if you think about it, a 10-year-old could get into a LOT more trouble in a car than an infant could. The babies can't even unbuckle themselves

Ya but most kids that age know better and are able to sit there and not cause trouble.

Sent from my Galaxy SII

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Ya but most kids that age know better and are able to sit there and not cause trouble.

Depending on the kid, I'd say that's kind of on the edge. My daughters, definitely. My oldest nephew, sure. My youngest nephew? Yikes! 10 was the WORST time to leave him out of your sight

 

[Colleen27]

^^^True *if* you have an automatic transmission.

You mean they still make stick shifts?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You mean they still make stick shifts?

Yup - we've been car shopping & I bet 1/3 of the ones we've looked into ended up being sticks. DW won't let me have one though

 

[Feralpeg]

This morning, in Orlando, a woman left her sleeping baby in the car while she went into the convenience store at a gas station. She was parked directly in front of the store. A man entering the store held the door open for the woman. He followed her into the store, but immediately exited. He got into her car and left with the baby still in the back.

He apparently realized a bit later that the stolen car contained the baby. He abandoned the car. The car was found and the baby was okay. The mother now faces possible charges for leaving the baby unattended in the car.

Although my daughter is grown, I was never comfortable with leaving her alone in a car even for a couple of minutes.

 

[JVL1018]

This morning, in Orlando, a woman left her sleeping baby in the car while she went into the convenience store at a gas station. She was parked directly in front of the store. A man entering the store held the door open for the woman. He followed her into the store, but immediately exited. He got into her car and left with the baby still in the back.

He apparently realized a bit later that the stolen car contained the baby. He abandoned the car. The car was found and the baby was okay. The mother now faces possible charges for leaving the baby unattended in the car.

Although my daughter is grown, I was never comfortable with leaving her alone in a car even for a couple of minutes.

All of these instances you hear about when someone drives away with the baby have one thing in common-the person leaves the keys in the car.
I never left my babies in the car, i hauled them out even for the 30 seconds it took to return a movie to Blockbuster.
I did leave my grade schoolers in the car if i could see them, would only be a minute and was only steps away(I can actually only remember doing that twice)..but honestly if you turn the car off, take the keys and lock it, no one is going to jump in and take off.

Now I leave my kids if they don't feel like running in with me, even if I'll be gone a while-heck sometimes *I* sit in the car and make them go in. they're 11 and 13.

 

[cornflake]

Yeah, but if you think about it, a 10-year-old could get into a LOT more trouble in a car than an infant could. The babies can't even unbuckle themselves

I... what trouble? I mean presuming you take the keys, so the kid can't start it and drive off - though if your 10-year-old would try that I think there are larger issues than whether to leave him in the car - what trouble can a kid get into in a parked car?

People were also talking about 12, someone even said 16 at some point. These are kids who manage, here, to get to and from school themselves and etc. The idea they can't be alone in a car is just foreign to me.

 

[mom2boys]

I never left my kids in the car - before I ever had kids a co-worker shared a story with several us.

She left her 4 year old in the car while she ran into the bank. When she came out, her entire car was engulfed in flames. It took her a few moments to realize that a by-stander had rescued her son from the car.

Needless to say, I never forgot that story and never left my kids in the car.

 

[mom2boys]

Ya but most kids that age know better and are able to sit there and not cause trouble.

Sent from my Galaxy SII

Seriously, you never pretended to drive the car?
Who doesn't getting in the driver's seat, steering & making engine noises? I did it when I had to wait in the car (with a parent). My kids did it while we waited in the car with DH.

 

[cornflake]

Seriously, you never pretended to drive the car?
Who doesn't getting in the driver's seat, steering & making engine noises? I did it when I had to wait in the car (with a parent). My kids did it while we waited in the car with DH.

At 10?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

At 10?

I still do it at 45!


At 10, my biggest thrill was turning everything on so when Mom started the car the radio was on full blast and the wipers flopping around LOL.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I... what trouble? I mean presuming you take the keys, so the kid can't start it and drive off - though if your 10-year-old would try that I think there are larger issues than whether to leave him in the car - what trouble can a kid get into in a parked car?

People were also talking about 12, someone even said 16 at some point. These are kids who manage, here, to get to and from school themselves and etc. The idea they can't be alone in a car is just foreign to me.

If you haven't left the keys in it or the engine running (as I see all too often) the biggest trouble one could get into would involve getting out of the car.

 

[Ginny Favers]

It can sometimes be a HUGE hassle to get the kids out, especially when they're sleeping and comfortable and you're going to take less time to just pop in than you would struggling to get them out of the car. I remember not wanting to stop at places for that reason. But I've always taken them out.

The way I see it, some people choose to run through that light that just turned red, and others will stop and wait. It all depends on what you're willing to risk. I choose not to risk it. If others do, then they must bear whatever consequences might follow. Likely everything will be fine, but in that one instance that it's not, they have no one to blame but themselves.