Leaving sibling in car at school drop off

[Sherbertfizzer]

So basically, I DO leave my 2year child in the car. What I want to know....is there really anything actually wrong in this?
It's a village school. I park on the main road opposite the gate and as soon as I see the inner gate open and parents going in, I dash my son across the road leaving his 2 yr sibling in the car.
The weather at present is cold, so there's no chance of him overheating or freezing because I am gone maybe 3 minutes at most. I lock and alarm the car, the windows are up and he is strapped into his car seat with his toys.
When I return to collect older son, I do the same because sibling is then fast asleep and seems awful to wake him and carry him in the wind, rain etc for 3-5 mins to collect older brother.
I used to take him in his pushchair in the morning instead and he screamed blue murder every single day at seeing his beloved brother go into classroom where he couldn't follow and this is what prompted me after 2 months of unchanging behaviour to leave him in the car. It actually worked wonders and he doesnt get distressed anymore.
Now when I enter the gate, I go up an alley and round to the left to the main school door where my child is called for me. It is at this point my child is not actually in sight.
What can happen ? I see lots of people on other posts saying "anything can happen" and "how terrible" but what I don't get is what COULD actually happen? If child is not eating, is strapped into car seat, windows up, car locked AND alarmed? And as stressed this is only for winter AND he's as happy as can be sat there watching all the goings on?

sherbert from what I remember the engine was off but I'd have to double check to be sure

I know the chances of something terrible happening are slim but in rough order of likelihood:

Child just gets upset being left and cries
Child coughs/spews
Child wriggles out of car seat (oh they can..) and unlocks door/turns on the fag lighter/traps fingers/gets tangled and chokes/picks up a coin from under a seat and chokes
Those are the likely ones. The less likely but scary ones I guess are someone taking the car or the child, fire or collision.

I’ve found again and again that it’s when I take short cuts, and think ‘it’s just a moment’ - that’s when the bad stuff happens.

So no judgement from me, but I wouldn’t do it personally.

I would probably do this too. But my main worry is
What if something happens to you in the tiny gap where you’re out of the car? Do other school parents know your ds is in the car? Do they recognise your car, would someone say “wait get her car keys bobby is in the car...” as you're carted off in an ambulance?
But even stuff like the car bursting into flames... it’s so wildly unlikely... and I imagine dealing with a distressed toddler has certain risks attached to it too... it probably wouldn’t put me off if drop off was really that bad.
i guess all I’d say is don’t forget they change fast at that age, maybe try again to do the buggy option again after Easter.
Is there another parent in a similar situation? You could keep an eye on both cars while they get your and their DC?

I have newborn twins and my life would be sooooo much easier if i could leave them in the car while I pick up DD from nursery. In one sense there’s less that could go wrong... but on the flip side nursery pick up is never an in and out job. (Don’t worry no one needs to persuade me not to leave them in the car!!)

Presumably an electrical fault could cause a car to catch fire with the engine off?

Oh we're the next county over in Hertfordshire

I personally think it's fine and would do it myself however I would be too nervous of other people calling police etc. Like the article about the toddler that the husband left her in the car to run in to buy her more calpol. If your child happens to wake whilst your gone, they will start to cry, which attracts attention. That's when police get called. There was in our village where a mum left her daughter in the car for what she says was no more than 5 minutes, but her shutting her car door had woken her 18 month old daughter. Who of course realised was on her own and became frightened and began hysterically crying. A passer by walked past and saw her, she looked through the window and realised the child was soaked in sweat (it wasn't a hot day) but because she had got in such a state for the past 3 minutes and was strapped down she started sweating. The passer by panicked and smashed the car window and removed the child and then called 999. The passer by refused to leave until police arrived and the police saw the child was sweaty and so presumed she was overheating and therefore had been put in danger. They charged the mother with neglect not worth the risk if being accused of all sorts! Xxx