To leave a 2 year old in the car while nipping to corner shop

[Arnie123]

I have always left my son who is 2 in the car when I am going to pay for petrol at a garage as I genuinely feel he is safer in the car than around other cars and petrol. I always make sure it is one of those garages where I can watch my car from the queue.
Today I was in a rush but wanted a bottle of milk from a tiny corner shop. I could see from stranding next to the car there was no queue but in the end decided to take my son in the shop with me.
Is it unacceptable behaviour to leave a toddler in a locked car while nipping in a corner shop?

When my children were small, I sometimes chose to patronise certain shops because they were easy to park at/see out of for just this reason.

I once parked on the forecourt of the post office and ran in to find a little queue, a woman I barely knew told me I shouldn't do it. She told me she did once and her son got out of the car and ran across the dual carriage way. He was ok but it made me think twice about it as my DS could easily undo the seat belt.

I never take my two out of the car at petrol stations, and there are three sets of local shops (tiny, walled-in car park visible from shop/post office/pharmacy/cashpoint etc) which I specifically use because I can see the car from inside the shops.

I also leave DS1 in the car in the private nursery carpark while I drop off DS2.

I wouldn't leave them anywhere that I was going out of sight for more than a few seconds, so not at bigger shops or DS2's preschool etc.

I think there's a balance to be struck between reasonable precautions and making life unduly difficult.

It can't be that common to unload small children from cars in petrol stations. Like a previous poster, I've hardly ever seen it.

In fact, I saw a woman unload a baby and take it in with her to pay and I did do a bit of a double-take.

It's your choice as the parent. I personally wouldn't leave my children 'out of sight' - if I can see them its ok but if I can't then I don't ever leave them unattended when out in public. That's my choice for my children - you do what you think is appropriate for yours.

I leave DS in the car at the garage too, I think if I was popping into a shop for that sort of time (just a minute or two) then yeah I would leave him, as long as he could see me and I him. I always crack a window and lock the doors though paranoia

I worry more,now, about my daughter (16) walking home from a friend's house at 9pm than I ever did about leaving her strapped into her car seat at a petrol station. I tend to pick her up mostly, or insist she has someone to walk with.

As parents we risk assess constantly, and each parent has different levels of risk they are willing to allow
Personally I feel that there is more risk of being in a car accident whilst driving than anything happening in a petrol station but I still allow my children in a car. I normally pay at pump but would go in and lay and leave the, in the car.
We have a small coop near us where you park right outside and it has completely glass front so I would pop in and grab something and keep an eye out.

I think it also depends on where you live. We live in a small village close to 2 small towns. If I lived in a big city I would see the risks differently in the same situations
Plus up til now I drove a clapped out gaffa taped to the hilt mondeo which no one in their right mind would want to steal! If I drove an Audi or a Mercedes etc that would be Alighieri risk too

totally agree with you jojane.