Mom on Trial - Leaves child in Car for minutes

[jodifla]

The child was unattended. It was in a locked vehicle some distance away from the mother's attention.

If it had started to choke on something, the mother could not even have known so as to attend to it. If the mother was attending to the other children pouring change into a SA kettle, her sight wasn't on the child. If she was busy snapping photos, her sight wasn't on the child. We don't actually know how long the child was unattended, we only have one newspaper's accounting of how long someone guesses the mother was gone.

But the child was unattended in this circumstance.

Oh, please. Then EVERY 2-year-old is "unattended" while you go to the bathroom, vacuum your house, wash your dishes, etc.


LET"S ROUND UP THOSE HOUSE-CLEANING MOMS AND PUT THEM IN THE POKEY!

 

[mickeyboat]

The child was unattended. It was in a locked vehicle some distance away from the mother's attention.

If it had started to choke on something, the mother could not even have known so as to attend to it. If the mother was attending to the other children pouring change into a SA kettle, her sight wasn't on the child. If she was busy snapping photos, her sight wasn't on the child. We don't actually know how long the child was unattended, we only have one newspaper's accounting of how long someone guesses the mother was gone.

But the child was unattended in this circumstance.

Back to another poster's comments. So we can't EVER leave the room our child is in because he might choke?

Reports are that the mother was gone 2-3 minutes. "Within sight" is different than looking at the car the entire time. As long as her view is not obstructed, the car was still within sight. And 30 feet is nothing!

Denae

 

[happygirl]

Oh, please. Then EVERY 2-year-old is "unattended" while you go to the bathroom, vacuum your house, wash your dishes, etc.


LET"S ROUND UP THOSE HOUSE-CLEANING MOMS AND PUT THEM IN THE POKEY!

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

 

[dcgrumpy]

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

For a few minutes in a carseat, yes.

 

[mickeyboat]

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

In some circumstances, yes, some no. Depends on temperature, lock, keys, neighborhood, weather, etc.

Denae

 

[jodifla]

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

Yes.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Back to another poster's comments. So we can't EVER leave the room our child is in because he might choke?

Reports are that the mother was gone 2-3 minutes. "Within sight" is different than looking at the car the entire time. As long as her view is not obstructed, the car was still within sight. And 30 feet is nothing!

Denae

My 3 and 4yo are playing in their room right now. I guess I should be tarred and feathered.

 

[happygirl]

Back to another poster's comments. So we can't EVER leave the room our child is in because he might choke?

Reports are that the mother was gone 2-3 minutes. "Within sight" is different than looking at the car the entire time. As long as her view is not obstructed, the car was still within sight. And 30 feet is nothing!

Denae

Great I don't need a babysitter next time I run errands I can just park so I can see the car and make sure my view not obstructed and not take more then a few minutes I should be good to go you have saved me a small fortune in childcare

 

[jodifla]

Great I don't need a babysitter next time I run errands I can just park so I can see the car and make sure my view not obstructed and not take more then a few minutes I should be good to go you have saved me a small fortune in childcare

Seriously, how do you expect us to respond to this? If you can't use good judgment about when it's appropriate to leave your child in the car and when it's not, then perhaps it is best you use childcare.

For the rest of us, we prefer to make those calls for OUR OWN FAMILY without the Nanny State taking over.

 

[TwinsinCA]

According to the facts as I read them, there was no endangerment present - the child was warm and safe; and unless there was something blocking her view, the child was not "unattended."

I'm wondering how well she was really watching that vehicle if she was busy taking pictures. To me it sounds like she was busy attending to her OTHER children and not really watching the car. If she was, would she not SEE that a police officer was looking in her car enough to notice a child was in there? The way the article is written it sounds like she was walking back to the car when she was finished -- not because she saw someone checking out her car.


I leave my kids alone in the car long enough to put the cart back, walk the 5 steps to the DVD slot at Hollywood video, etc. But these things take 15- 30 seconds. But I would never go inside anywhere or be gone for a length of time that could be measured in minutes. If the woman was really right there watching the car, I'd have no problem with this. But I don't believe she was paying that close of attention or she would have gone running over as soon as she saw the officer peek in her window.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Back to another poster's comments. So we can't EVER leave the room our child is in because he might choke?

Reports are that the mother was gone 2-3 minutes. "Within sight" is different than looking at the car the entire time. As long as her view is not obstructed, the car was still within sight. And 30 feet is nothing!

Denae

The point you're missing is the reality of the situation that occurred at that particular time. This isn't about what you would do or whether you can let your children out of your sight for more than a minute. This is about this specific instance and this specific law with this specific woman and what unfolded on the scene.

The officer responds to call about a child in a locked car unattended. He/she arrives on the scene and finds a child in a locked car and begins to interview witnesses, many of which appear to be credible and factual. The parent of the unattended child refuses to co-operate in interview process. The officer now must make a decision based on a narrow range of identifiers and hope he doesn't get sued for whatever decision he is forced to make.

Based on the laws on the books (enacted by the public), and the witnesses statements, the officer has no choice but to arrest the mother. These aren't his laws; these are the laws created by the people. Even if he thinks it's stupid, ridiculous or outright wrong, he must follow the people's edict that he arrest a parent for leaving their child unattended in a locked vehicle.

It's got absolutely nothing to do with how you feel about leaving your 2 y/o to go to the bathroom, vacuum your house, wash your dishes, etc. No need to ROUND UP THOSE HOUSE-CLEANING MOMS AND PUT THEM IN THE POKEY! No need, also, to castrate the officer who is merely doing his job enforcing the laws that you stupidly put into effect while amidst the throes of, God help us all, "SAVING THE CHILDREN" and patting yourselves on the back because you think you've done your part to protect the unprotected.

 

[mickeyboat]

Great I don't need a babysitter next time I run errands I can just park so I can see the car and make sure my view not obstructed and not take more then a few minutes I should be good to go you have saved me a small fortune in childcare

Please.

Great, well I hve to go because my child walked out of the room and I need to make sure I am not outside of arm's reach of her.

There is a middle ground you know when there might be circumstances where such a thing would be reasonable.

Denae

 

[HelenePA]

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

Yep also for a minute or two if I can't see em. I'm NOT dragging 3 kids back into the house to turn on the porch light no way no how, or to grab a sippy cup of milk, a diaper (when we used em). Nope nope nope. Call the cops I need a vacation.

 

[happygirl]

I believe there is middle ground I choose to use that far out exmaple to show, how people are going to think if this lady is allowed to get away with this. people are going to push and push this as far as they can

 

[dcgrumpy]

Yep also for a minute or two if I can't see em. I'm NOT dragging 3 kids back into the house to turn on the porch light no way no how, or to grab a sippy cup of milk, a diaper (when we used em). Nope nope nope. Call the cops I need a vacation.

Exactly, you know how many times I have to run back into the house for something. Plus when they fall asleep in the car I have a really hard time carrying all 3 in at the same time

 

[mickeyboat]

The point you're missing is the reality of the situation that occurred at that particular time.

The reality of the situation is not clear at this point. From what I have read, I do not feel the child was endangered. She was close to the car, she was only gone for a couple of minutes, the child was not cold. I am completely willing to re-evaluate my conclusions if I hear testimony or evidence to the contrary.

As for tearing the officer to shreds, you might not have been responding to my posts, but I have not done that at all. I understand the officer must use some discretion because laws are not always clear cut. But there are instances where police officers have not used their discretion in good faith, just like there are instances where police officers have made mistakes. I guess that is why a judge or jury of our peers decides our guilt or innocence, not police officers.

 

[Beth76]

Its pushing the issue and silly, IMO its not proving any points , its mocking a real law in the state which is a child can not be left alone in a vehicle for more than 10 minutes unattended, being 10 feet away is unattended.

Then you're leaving your child "unattended" to go out to your mailbox. Or you're leaving your child unattended when you walk into a different room. Because you can not leave your children unattended at home either.

If it had started to choke on something, the mother could not even have known so as to attend to it.

Seriously?

so you think it okay to leave a small child in the car as long as you can see them??

Yes, depending on the circumstances.

Seriously, how do you expect us to respond to this? If you can't use good judgment about when it's appropriate to leave your child in the car and when it's not, then perhaps it is best you use childcare.

For the rest of us, we prefer to make those calls for OUR OWN FAMILY without the Nanny State taking over.

ITA

 

[Mrs. Bee]

First of all, we need to get the story straight. Unfortunately the OP chose to post an article from Fox News, of all sources. The mother said she was only a few feet away but many witnesses actually said that she was out of sight of the car for more than 10 mins, like Bburky502 said as well. So does this change anyone's opinion of this mother?

Also, let's assume for a minute that we all agree that leaving the child in the car unattended was okay because she was nearby. What about the other things that she did wrong? First of all, she chose to park illegally in a loading zone. Secondly, she obstructed a police officer, behaving very badly when the police confronted her. Thirdly, she locked the doors, took the keys, and left her child in the freezing cold sleeping without heat.

I guess you'd be surprised to learn of all the cases when this happens. When I was 2 1/2 my mother, who was otherwise very responsible, left me sleeping in my car seat with the keys in the car while she ran in the house to get something that she needed to continue her errands. She was gone about five minutes. In that time, I woke up, managed to get out of my car seat, got in the driver's seat, and somehow ended up going into reverse until I hit the ditch behind me and the car stopped. Luckily, I was uninjured. But you can bet that my mother never left her children unattended again, no matter how nearby or where she was. And you can bet that I won't leave mine.

How do you know that the officer didn't try to simply have the conversation? According to reports, the big issue that led to her arrest wasn't neglect, it was the mother's behaviour when confronted by the police.

I guess when it comes down to it, that old saying, "Better safe than sorry," comes into play. Why take chances with your kids? For convienence?

Thank Goodness! Another "safe than sorry" person like me! And like I said before...was it so important for her to donate the money at that exact time?? I don't understand why she couldn't do it later when her child wasn't asleep in the car.

 

[HelenePA]

Thank Goodness! Another "safe than sorry" person like me! And like I said before...was it so important for her to donate the money at that exact time?? I don't understand why she couldn't do it later when her child wasn't asleep in the car.

Every tried to go places with 3 kids in the car?? do you know how hard it is to get out with 3 kids sometimes and in the cold yet?? mommy mommy I'm cold I'm cold.. but then ya have one screaming but MOMMMYYYYYYY you said we could give the money today.. there is no winning with 3 kids screaming at you each pulling you in a different direction. Its best just to keep the crying to as less as possible. Do you even have children?

 

[jodifla]

Thank Goodness! Another "safe than sorry" person like me! And like I said before...was it so important for her to donate the money at that exact time?? I don't understand why she couldn't do it later when her child wasn't asleep in the car.

For real? At 2, my son was ALWAYS asleep in the car. Like the minute we pulled out of the driveway.


You can't stop living life when you have kids.