Unattended young kids in car - would you have done anything?

j.e.j.

I think more likely she'd be immensely irritated! Mums don't like being told by other mums how to bring up their children.

New_and_Improved_Me

Being a parent is never easy.

You have to balance looking after and Molly cuddling children.

Personally I see nothing wrong with leaving children unattended in a car whilst you pop into a supermarket/shop.

However, having said that. It is important to mention that NOT all children are the same. I have three 8/6/5. Mine are all VERY well behaved. I trust them to do as they are told.

If you tell them to do something they will listen and do it. If I tell them to stay seated or NOT to do something whilst they are unattended somewhere they will listen and normally obey.

There are other kids that my wife's siblings have, that are of similar ages and you could trust them and anywhere.

Having said that, I don't condone people leaving kids alone at home or in cars for extended period at ALL.

A 'good' patient can use their judgement around their children.

onlyroz

I think it depends on the age of the child and how long you will be gone. I've left my 3 and 7 year olds in the car for 5 minutes but I wouldn't leave them for longer. You also have to be careful on hot days when the temperature in the car can soar in a very short space of time.

Janepig

Might the mother have gone to use the cashpoint (hole in the wall) perhaps? I don't think I'd go into the shop and leave little ones of the ages the OP describes, but I'd certainly leave them to go and get money out of the cashpoint. I'd also most definitely leave my two in the car while I pay for petrol (assuming I'm not doing the "pay at pump" thing). Why would you fuss about with getting them out of the car, then negotiate the forecourt with them (imo more dangerous than leaving them in the car)? Even in the largest petrol stations you can see you car from the shop.

Jx

lallysmum

I leave my six year old in the car when I pay for petrol, usually use the pumps right next to the payment window bit, but otherwise, just take him in to the shop with me. I can imagine how much of a nightmare it would be if you just needed milk or something and have twins and toddler to manage.

My parents left me, 9, and my little brother, 4, in the car whilst we were at a hypermarket in France. They had gone in to get wine and we were whining that we didn't want to go, so they left us. I decided that I wanted to put some music on because I was bored and accidentally started the car. Oh my goodness, I was hysterical, had no idea how to turn it off... some random French man leaned in through the open window and turned it off for me. Dad still doesn't know about that..

FBaby

j.e.j. wrote: »

I think more likely she'd be immensely irritated! Mums don't like being told by other mums how to bring up their children.

That wouldn't matter, even if I was insulted, if it made her realise that maybe she should avoid leaving the kids alone again, even if it is for the fear of being reported rather than realising her error.

Primrose

I think we've all become so politically correct these days that people are frightened to blow their noses in public for fear of being reported to the environmental health police.

Perhaps the poor mother has been deserted by her husband, or he was working and couldn't help her with the shopping. Perhaps she did the right thing by spending ages loading them in the car instead of leaving them alone in the house. I'm sure the children would probably have been perfectly OK. I wouldn't castigate somebody for leaving children in a car for a few minutes. They certainly wont die of a heatwave in this weather. If the person concerned had felt so strongly about it, perhaps she should have just simply waited by the car until the owner returned, to make sure that everything stayed ok. I'm not criticising anybody but think people are going a little overboard on some of these issues these days. People did actually survive before our legislature became overwhelmed with Heath & Safety laws and rules and regulations.

sassyblue

phill99 wrote: »

As a nation we are now obsessed, almost to a level of dangerous paranoia, about children being abducted. In reality however, abduction bay stranger is, thankfully a very rare thing and is why when it happens, it is so news worthy and gains so much media overage.

If a test was set to name all children abducted by a stranger in the last decade, most of us could name a few. And many could probably name all of them. But it is no more than half a dozen cases. It is a very rare crime.

Most children who are abducted are abducted by someone known to them.

While I'm not suggesting the parent (or guardian) was right to leave children unattended, we just need to put the whole thing into perspective and take a reality check.

And what about the child choking, the car catching fire or another car crashing into it terrifying the kids? I'd rather be the parent of a live child than a dead abused one, so personally I'm happy to have my paranoia about !!!!!philes thanks.

OP, I'd have watched the car too, and got someone going in the store to report it to someone working at the store to get a call out to the parent. I know life is stressful, especially given the time of year, and it would have been difficult to get all the kids out for perhaps a very quick job but some things you just don't do.

Imp

It is strange how peoples' sense of risk differs. When I leave 2 year old in the car for any reason - getting a parking ticket, paying for petrol etc. I leave the car unlocked. I see the risk of something like fire as far higher than the risk of abduction, and I would rather allow a passer-by the option of doing something if it all went wrong.

Stephb1986_2

When I was a kid my mum and dad left me and my brother in the car and went into the supermarket as it was packed and we probably would of caused more stress to our parents being in the shop.

We used to have loads of fun playing OI YOU!! that's what we used to shout at people getting out of cars we were only 5-7 years old and it was so much fun to watch people looking around to see who it was lol.

Childish I know but we're talking early 90's No harm ever came to us we had a drink and something to eat in the car if we got hungry.

Steph xx