I live in a state without clear laws about leaving children alone in vehicles but I saw something today that had me wishing I did.

This woman I know was going into a store that was rather busy because of a sale (so a wait of at least 10 minutes to check out leaving her 9 year old with 4 younger siblings in the vehicle. The youngest is maybe 3-4 months old and there's a 2 year old, 5 year old and 7 year old.

I was leaving the store and personally had stood in line at least 15 minutes.

Yes..It is distressing!!! Here in Alberta you cannot leave a child under the age of 7 in a vehicle unattended as it is against the law....of course you hear about it all the time on the news of a busy,thoughtless Mom running into the store for a quick minute leaving a child to swelter to death in a hot car!!Sad really!!

Here in Ohio it's a huge No-No. I know someone who left her 10 year old in the car with the sleeping baby while she ran into the store. someone called the police and reported her, and the ycame to her house! She and her hubby both had to take parenting classes and children's services check in on them for severla months. It's scary out there! You never know what kind of weirdos are waiting for your kids! Plus, this heat would kill them!

Although I am sure we have all been tempted (when trying to get 3 kids in car seats/booster) for every little stop you make, its a fact of life, its not safe out there and you must take your kids everywhere (thank goodness for pay at the pump).

Personally if I get to the point where its too hard to get the kiddos out of the car, then I am going to wait to run my errands when DH comes home.

not only is it not safe to leave the kids in the cars but what about the heat that has been everywhere. It does not take long for cars to heat up and leaving those kids to deal with the heat is unreal.

I can say this as a full-time mother of a "fiesty" 2 yr old... OH MY GOD!

I would never think of leaving my child alone in a car, even locked. People kidnap children all the time, not to mention the other dangers of leaving a child in a car... I don't think I'm better than anyone, so please don't get that idea (I'm not judging), but I would NEVER leave my young child alone. Yes, life with small children can be extremely inconvenient, especially when running errands- but they are not equiped to protect themselves.
I live up North, and really bad things happen here, just like in the big cities - not willing to take that chance.

Ok, I've got to stop...and sorry for carrying on.

I'm under the theory of "If you take your wallet with you, why not take your most precious treasure--your children"

I have 4 in car seats and yes, I take them all out of the car even if just for 1 minute to run in and turn around to rebuckle them in.

About 8 years ago it was on the news where a woman ran into the dry cleaners and left her asleep 4 month old in the car with the windows down. A man saw her and jumped in the car and stole it. The mom freaked out and called police. They found the car safe with baby inside just a few miles down the road with a note saying "I stole your car to prove a point. Why didn't you take your child with you? I could have been a murder. Hopefully, you have learned your lesson and will be a better parent now." The guy actually called the cops to tell them where the car was and waited there to make sure that the baby stayed safe. I remember my jaw hanging down to the floor after watching it with my dad yelling "serves her right!" I was just happy the baby was okay, I'll never forget that.

A woman, in the quad cities left her kids in her car awhile back while running into the k mart to get a ring she just HAD to have that was on sale. Meanwhile her older child and there were several in the car, two or three I think three, but anyway the older child was playing with a lighter set her car ablaze while she was in the store browsing and such. By the time the fire dept got there, they pulled the children out of the car... but wait they didn't see the infant seat and the infant died in the fire. The firemen were all devestated, felt horrid because they felt like they let a baby die, but meanwhile mom was in the store shopping away like it was nothing. Sad thing is, after she lost her kids in the fire, she returned LATER that same night to the store and returned the very ring she purchased that day because she just ended up not liking it. It was a huge court case she was on trial for abuse and neglect it saddens me that so many people in the world can't have kids, and so many others just treat them like property. I would never leave my baby in the car.
Jen

I will say in her defense that she left the car running but of course with that many kids in the vehicle one of them could have put it in gear.
We live in a very rural area where kidnappings don't happen and I probably wouldn't have thought much if she'd left the oldest two or three in the vehicle but it was the two little ones being left that bothered me most.

I have to add a similar incident. We were going to the library w/all my kids. Upon leaving, I saw a mother enter the building, leaving her 5-6 yo in the car holding a crying infant . The infant was under 3 mon. b/c it had no head control. A 2-3 yo was sleeping beside them. The 5-6 yo was juggling the infant around to the best of her ability to try to get the infant to stop crying. It hurt my heart so see a 5-6 yo taking care of an infant in an unattended car. I waited to leave until the mother came out. I was parked on the side of her. She got in the car and drove away. She did not attend to the infant crying. So apparently she drove away w/the 5-6 yo holding the baby. I really wish the police would have seent that.

How old would you say you would feel comfortable leaving a child in the car? I'm just wondering because I have left my daughter (age 7) in the car with the door open if I've had to run back into the house to grab my phone, or sunglasses, or something. I"ve never been gone for just a minute, and I've never worried about it. I just looked up the MD law, and it says to leave kids under 8 in a home or car alone is illegal if they're out of sight, unless there is somebody over 13 there. I didn't realize. My DD would be able to get out of the car if she needed to, and she's right in front of the house, so I'm not concerned about kidnapping. But, I won't be doing that again until she's 8.

However, I recently found out that she has been left in the car when she's out with one of her friends. Usually, the friend's 14 year old brother is there, as well, but he's completely irresponsible. Usually, the mom won't even leave him alone at home. I'm actually more afraid that he's there, he seems the type to accidentally blow up the car. She'll leave the three of them to go into the bank, or other relatively quick errands. I'm very uncomfortable with that, but it's legal.

Argh.

it is against the law in Texas mainly because even in the winter it is hot here...well maybe not all the time but it seems like it. anyway i never leave my kids in the car for anything, one cause it is so hot and two cause there are too many predators around just waiting to snatch a child.

Let me get this right:
He STOLE the car to teach a mother not to leave her baby in the car.
Cause she was breaking a law...he broke the law to prove a point.
Yea, the judge is going to buy that as a defence in his trail.

Where was HIS common sense???

mommachris
who would never consider it an option to leave her kids unattended in the car

so did anything happen to the guy who stole the car to prove a point? Extreme, without a doubt, but you can bet that mom will never do it again!

Some idiot left their 11yr/o in the car while grocery shopped at Albertson's. She left the keys in the ignition for her kid to listen to the radio. The 11yr/o got bored, scooted over to the driver's seat, turned the car on, put the car in gear, and drove the car 3' forward. Because he didn't know how to drive or get the car out of gear into reverse, he panicked and pressed harder on the gas pedal.

The young lady he hit was pinned up against her own bumper of her own car, screaming from pain. She had shattered pelvis, shattered hip, shattered femur. Shattered life. She'll never have children.

How do I know this? Her husband was our UPS driver. They were newlyweds.

Take your kid with you no matter how "old" they are or "mature" they appear.

As a mother of three of young children, I always take them with me. There have been times I've had to get gas in the middle of winter and couldn't pay at the pump (for whatever reason) and I unbuckle them all from their car/booster seats, drag them into the store for the 30 seconds it takes to pay for the gas, and drag them all back out. It's a pain at times, but nothing compared to the pain I would feel if something ever happened to them!

I see people leave their little ones all the time and it makes me sick! Just a couple of weeks ago we went to pay our cable bill and I stayed in the van (with the air running) while my husband went in and paid. Another lady pulled up next to us and in she went to conduct her business...leaving her baby (maybe 6 months) alone in the vehicle. The kicker? You can't even see your vehicle once you get in the building! Anyone could have taken that child. I know I would have had enough time to grab that baby and drive before she'd have ever known. Makes me sick!!

A woman just south of Buffalo, NY went to work one morning with her 9-month old in his car seat. She usually dropped him off at daycare before going to work, but that morning she "forgot"!!!! She went into work on a very hot day and left her innocent child strapped in his car seat!!! He died from the heat in the car and it seems that the authorities believe her that she just forgot to take him to daycare, so no charges were filed against her and her other children are still with her!!!!!! How do you forget that you have your child with you!?!

I am a firm believer that everyone should have to take a parenting test before they are allowed to have children.

A few years ago we parked next to a station wagon filled with garbage, blankets, etc. Well we went into the store and were in there for at least two hours, because we bought Christmas presents. Since it was Christmas time, it was FREEZING outside. Well when we went back to the car I was waiting for my husband to load stuff up and unlock the doors. While I was waiting I started looking at all the junk in the car next to us. That's when I noticed there were kids in it! They must have been in there the entire time we were shopping! There were three and they were all sleeping. They all looked under the age of five. Then I noticed that the parents left the KEYS on the FRONT SEAT!

Since it was Christmas time they had police there for security. I went to the officer and told him about it. He came right out and called the station. He thanked me for telling him and I left.