sleeping baby in car

[grumpykat25]

Please don't shout- I'm veerrrrrrry tired and emotional.
So, dd is teething/had mmr jab and mini-measles/staying awake screaming all night and I've stayed home with her today. My mobile (damn thing) is broken (again) and had to be dropped at the nokia repair shop on a retail park . After popping to the docs, dd finally falls asleep in the car, and so I drove over to said retail park. When I get there, she's still asleep. Not sort of sleeping, but head back, fly catching and snoring sleep. I parked my car RIGHT OUTSIDE the shop and stood in the doorway, having let the guy know that I needed to speak to him. At no point could I not see happily slumbering dd.
A car park attendant noticed her sleeping and peered in at her then wandered off. 30 seconds later there are three of them with a walkie talkie so I popped my head out and said "don't worry, she's mine, just a couple of minutes" etc. He told me that he'd rung security, they were on their way and if I didn't get her out of the car RIGHT NOW then they'd have social services out. WTF? AIBU to think that was a little extreme ?
So poor dd is hoiked out of her sleep and the car for the further two minutes it took to sign my phone in and then wailed all the way home.
Why do people always think they know best? Or am I too tired to realise that IABU?

YANBU! I leave my DD in the car sleeping or not while i run into the butchers (if I can get parked right outside). Just doesn't make sense to go through the whole palaver of getting her out of car for the 2 mins it takes to buy a lb of mince. I also left her in car today while I ran into Spar for a couple of things. I honestly didn't realise this was a big deal at all. Maybe i should be expecting Social Services at my door any day now!

HTC I know you and the other Mams are right in lots of ways but I can't help it nearly losing two of your own is a awful burden to bear. It has left me neurotic about them all I am a lot better than I was but there has been times I have made DH and kids life hell by being overprotected. I still have a plotting chart in the kitchen and I moniter where they all are on farm in yard up woods at friends at school at shop ect ect and they have to ring me if they go somewhere different I pretend its in case I need them for a job or cos of meals planning ect. I hasten to add they all have their freedom to make friends and be there own people but its like I feel I cheated death and he might be back for one of them. I am not critiscising anyone but you really can't be too careful round cars I just don't want anyone else to feel like I did at that hospital it was like being crucified.

I can't pretend to know how that must have felt. How it must still feel. I am not surprised at the strength of your feeling about leaving children in cars.

HCT thanks for at least trying to understandx

again, I'm sorry that you had such a close call.

have you ever sought help to get over this feeling of needing to overprotect, in order to encourage their independence?

I am considered by my friends as over protective, and I think they're right. But last year, ds was five, I had to take him to GP for some wierd rash and temp. He was in his jammies and dressing gown. Stopped at pharmacy and thought it would be fine to leave him eating drinking his juice in the car, where I could see him. Handed in the prescription, took twenty seconds, headed back and two traffic wardens were stood there, they told me I had broken the law and would let me off with a warning this time

I said I was in the shop, right behind me, the car was right there outside the shop, i saw ds the entire twenty seconds, what was the problem?

Apparantly it's illegal How do we find out for sure if this is illegal?

When did traffic wardens become the law?

That is a truly terrible tale Bee. You poor thing.

We are still very close knit here abouts and yes very inward looking it was even more so 12 years ago. You don't go to outsiders for help it is hard to explain but we have to be stronger than that here. For example I am laid up at the moment due to riding injuries and finding it a bit difficult but you don't whine to visitors or say poor me you smile and say 'much better today thank you' Reading magazines I realise I probably had that PTSD thing I couldn't bear to be left alone with kids for awhile as I felt I couldn't be trusted to do right by them. DMIL a very good woman saw me through it, I was lost for awhile and it is still a bad scar but its not a open wound anymore. It knocked me flat but I got up again eventually. The bairns have no idea Im worried so much of the time they just think I'M their right bossy old Mam

OP- YANBU. At all. I do this occasionally for 2 mins at a time if DD is asleep & I am paying for petrol/ putting the trolley back/ taking the shopping in from the car (when you do this the baby has to be very briefly alone in either house it car right?), etc. I've always been uber paranoid during those 2 min bursts though & Bees horrific story has now worsened that paranoia! But she is the only one here saying something actually went wrong by leaving kids in car in sight ever so quickly so I assume this is v rare? (albeit possibly not worth risking I suppose).

Perfumed I would love to know the letter of the law on this. I think nothing of leaving 8yo DS in car for less than 5 mins if I'm getting a paper or pint of milk from a corner shop & car is in sight -is that illegal too? If so til when? 16?! They can drive themselves at 17 FFS!

google car fire dangers telegraph

Realistically BON it is very rare still but it is actually on the rise because of people interfering with the electrics to add extra gadgets.

My kids have ridden since they could walk and far far more children get hurt doing that activity than those who get left in cars. It is not up to me to lay the law down for others I only know one thing horrifies me so much its completely out and another I can risk assess to make it ok.

There is no logic to my point of view