Would you leave your child in a car alone?

[Deleted User]

Clip from BBC Radio 5 Live concerning a father who was prosecuted for leaving his child in a car outside a pharmacy while he went in to buy some Calpol:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03mmjth

What would you do?

HappyMJ

Sleazy wrote: »

Clip from BBC Radio 5 Live concerning a father who was prosecuted for leaving his child in a car outside a pharmacy while he went in to buy some Calpol:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03mmjth

What would you do?

He was cleared of all charges. Thank goodness.

I would leave a child (of a certain age) alone in a car whilst I popped in to buy some Calpol. I would never leave a baby alone in a car. At what age I would leave them alone is up to me to decide. As long as they know how to open the door and get out that would be an appropriate age.

DigForVictory

Poor blighter - me, I've lugged the sick child in with me to get Calpol as feeling drizz *and* having my parent errant strikes me as aggravating the woe.
However, I'm very glad the charges are dropped & I hope folk are decent to him.

Dill

Reminds me of an incident from my childhood. Our neighbour opposite left his 5 year old daughter in the car while he went into the shop for something. (This was back in the days before child locks). She opened the door and got out of the car and went to look for her daddy, and she got run over


These days the child would be strapped in and the doors locked, so I can't see it being an issue now. Kidnap and abduction is (thankfully) quite rare, so although it is a risk, it would be a small one. I'm not sure I would want to take it, personally, but if you're only going into the shop for a minute..


Do people bring their children into the garage with them when they go to pay for their petrol?

HappyMJ

Dill wrote: »

Reminds me of an incident from my childhood. Our neighbour opposite left his 5 year old daughter in the car while he went into the shop for something. (This was back in the days before child locks). She opened the door and got out of the car and went to look for her daddy, and she got run over


These days the child would be strapped in and the doors locked, so I can't see it being an issue now. Kidnap and abduction is (thankfully) quite rare, so although it is a risk, it would be a small one. I'm not sure I would want to take it, personally, but if you're only going into the shop for a minute..


Do people bring their children into the garage with them when they go to pay for their petrol?

Oh no...I wouldn't lock them in. They need to be able to get out in an emergency and with door locks these days preventing the door from being opened from the inside that would not be an option.

They've got to be old enough to understand road sense to be left alone.

Jagraf

Personally I didn't.

Jagraf

Dill wrote: »

Do people bring their children into the garage with them when they go to pay for their petrol?

Yes it was a real hassle so I filled the car up while dd was at school / nursery etc.

thriftyemma

I do leave my children in the car, and have on several occasions. I don't mean for hours at a time. But when it's to pick up a pint of milk, it's a PITA to decant 3 wiggly children, get them all in the shop and out again, then back in the car without incident.

I have actually been "cautioned" once for doing so. DD was poorly, so when it was time to pick up the older kids from school, I strapped her in the car. She was fast asleep when we got there. Rather than wake her, and carry a poorly child across the playground, I left her in the car. I could see the car from the pick up point, and was gone for roughly 3 minutes.
Just as DS came out his class room, I could see a woman stood near my car, waving her arms and looking angry. I rushed back over, and found DD crying her eyes out, and the angry woman on the phone to the police. It turns out, angry woman had seen DD alone, and hammered on the window. DD woke up, and was terrified at the noise and sight of angry woman.
The woman passed her phone over, and said something like "You're in trouble with the police!". The person I spoke to said yes, we all do it sometimes, but maybe don't do it again. I handed the phone back, and the woman turned the air blue with comments on my parenting abilities, or her perceived lack of them. I got the kids in the car, went on my way, and nothing ever came of it.

lulu_92

I pay at the pump, and will continue to do so when my twins are born.

peachyprice

lulu_92 wrote: »

I pay at the pump, and will continue to do so when my twins are born.

There wasn't such a thing 21 years ago when mine were born.

They were far safer strapped in the car than with me trying to cross a forecourt trying to avoid moving cars with 2 wriggling toddlers in tow.

Dill

Jagraf wrote: »

Yes it was a real hassle so I filled the car up while dd was at school / nursery etc.

That's interesting. I always thought of my mum as being a bit over-protective but she never thought twice about leaving us in the car while she quickly went in and paid for petrol. She would never have left us at home alone for more than a short while, though.