Petrol filling and kids in car

I left my kids in the car but only from the age where they would be able to get themselves out the car in an emergency situation (i.e when they were no longer in harnessed car-seats and could open the car doors, so about 5 years old). Prior to that age they came with me.

99% of the time though I would just fill up the car on occasions where the children weren’t with me.

I’d never seen a fire on a petrol station forecourt so always left DD in the car. I didn’t like doing it but only because I was worried she’d get upset! She never did. There was never a fire and no one ran in with a gun when I paid either. We all lived 😜

Some fuel stations allow you to "pay at the pump" using your card

Not need to go into the shop

Petrol stations are far less dangerous than just being in a car on the road in general...

Always leave them in the car. Because I don’t expect my life to be the plot of a film.

They are not going to get abducted, go on fire or be sprayed with bullets or caught up in a terrorist plot 😂

Do you not get out much? There are absolutely loads of petrol stations without pay at pump. I could tell you 5 within less than 5 miles of my house

If you're going to speak in behalf of the UK you might want to make sure you aren't talking rubbish

I worked in the fire service for 20+ years and have never known a petrol station or a car on the forecourt to go on fire. I’ve never taken my kids out the car when paying for petrol.

Petrol station forecourts are incredibly dangerous. Drivers will not be looking out for small kids. Leave your kids locked in the car and pay. Generally this takes a minute. Or use a forecourt with pay at pump.

I have a 2 year old, I have gone in to pay leaving her in the car before. I now just use a pay at pump petrol station, purely for the fact it’s cheaper.

I take my daughter with me. As a baby/toddler she’d have been in an absolute panic to be left alone in the car even for a few minutes. She’s a bit older now but often there’s a long queue and the petrol stations don’t have an easy view of the pumps from inside the shops. We’re in London so they’re very busy it just feels strange to leave her out there alone all that time. I don’t usually carry a payment card and the pay at pump option doesn’t alway accept payment via phone. I have definitely seen other parents taking their children in as well. Maybe it depends where you are.

My mum left my brother in the car (always) when doing errands once. He pulled the handbrake and the car rolled into traffic... She still carried on leaving him in the car, stupid woman.

I didn't leave mine in the car because I was worried about fires or kidnap.. my kids were the types to get out of the car and wander off. When they were babies, it's not hard to scoop them up and take them in arms but as I said, my ex used to fill my car up so it didn't occur very often for me.

It does depend on the ages I think. When my 14year old is in the car with the 9 year old, ill leave them if im just going in for fuel. If im getting snacks or something, or I just have my 9 year old and he wants to stay in the car, then ill put petrol in the car, then I'll pull into one of the parking spaces right infront of the actual station where I can see him through the window.

Once talking to police at a filling station. One of the coppers very critical when he realised a dad had left two kids on the car and immediately approached him when he came out of the shop.
I didn’t hang around to see how that one panned out

Anyone who would get hysterically upset or would help a sibling to unbuckle and get out of the car has to come in with me. Likeliest risk is kids fight and one comes to complain to me and gets run over doing so.

Or option 3, get fuel when kids aren't in the car. I think most people to this.

Mostlywilliow

I have 4 children, when my second eldest was days old I used to carry him into the school/ put him into a pram ti collect my eldest. When my next was a few days old I carried a toddler, pushed a pram and collected my eldest. We all have to do stuff like this. I mostly got petrol from pay at pump or at night when we were both home so I didn’t have to bring them.

When they were small, if I only had one with me I would have taken them in with me, I might have left them in the car if they were together. I couldn't lock them in the car though, the immobilizer causes the alarm to go off every time anyone moves if the doors are locked with no key in the engine.

Loads of petrol stations don’t have it.

Leave them in the car.
Theyll be fine and you can wolf down a chocolate bar without them knowing

How many petrol station fires are there every year in the UK, and how many of them are raging fireballs that consume cars parked on the forecourt? That risk seems, well, erm, low. In fact so low as to be a crazy concern.

Call me reckless, but I really can’t be troubled by this.

Absolutely this. The risk of taking small children across a busy garage, especially if you have several children, is vastly higher than the risk of leaving them in the car. I really judge the parents I see dragging multiple kids across a garage forecourt. Ideally pay at pump is the answer. But if I ever had to go in and pay while my kids were young I would always have left them in the car where it’s safer. We have become extremely poor as a society at risk assessing.

She was a tiny baby. I wore the wrap and just popped her in, I mean she hadn't reached the lunatic toddler stage and there was only one of her.

This! I always take the key but wouldnt lock the car. Childock would be on as always.Ive not been to many stations where I cant have eyes on my car but heaven forbid an explosion happens or the car is rammed, how are the kids getting out??? Obviously people will smash windows but knowing kids are in the car most people will try boots/all doors first.

People taking young babies in with them annoy me, next time you are in a busy forecourt, just stand for a few seconds and notice the smells, exhausts, petrol, diesel etc.

I will go and google now but having children stolen from cars is a rare occurrence!!

You need to be an octopus really. Three arms to hold onto the kids who are free so they don't wander in front of a car, two arms to free the last remaining kid from the car seat and another to grab your card to go pay. Or you could leave them safely strapped in...

⬆️ this is what l do