To worry about this child asleep in car

[StrangeMusic]

There's a child about 2years old asleep in a car (in car seat) on road near my work (quietish residential street). I've been here about 10 minutes and no one has come back for him. Might be overreacting but would never leave my son asleep in car for more than a minute or two. Don't know what to do, should I report it?? Just concerned maybe he's been forgotten about, after reading some stories where this happened, and worried for the little thing

Er...same time zone (ish) does not mean the same weather.

Seeings nobody has posted any links to actual cases then I thought I'd post this very scary article

A realistic portrayal of real life cases. Scariest article I've ever read.

But, agree calling 999 a bit mental in Nov in UK!

MrsBodger

That, plus all the other clues, rain etc. rather than hot sun or snow, but anyway...brick wall and all that.

But I should add that I don't blame the OP for asking the question, and am in no way laughing at her for doing so. It's the responses that were OTT imo.

Agree, xmas. OP, you asked. We were not laughing at you. We were laughing at the 999 people. That is all.

Good grief what an over reaction.

I didn't leave my kids sleeping in the car, on a drive because I couldn't see them from the window. My sister did on a residential street because she could see them from her window. They were fine, absolutely fine.

The child was not in the arse end of nowhere, it was in a street of houses!

The vast majority of parents in this world are good parents. They weigh up the risks and make the decision based on that risk. Just because a child has died in a car in sweltering heat in parts of America, doesn't mean a sleeping one will die on a rainy day in November in Clapham.

As for calling 999, some of you need to learn what 999 actually is for!

I'd be knocking on the door of the house even if he the car is on their driveway telling them ntheyve forgotten their child and you were concerned. I don't give a stuff about caution in these cases.

There was a truly heartbreaking article linked to on this site about the people who are compiling statistics about children who have been forgotten in cars when their parents have been on autopilot. Most of those children were sleeping, which is how they were forgotten. Just because it's November and the child may not have overheated doesn't mean that the child wasn't forgotten.
The responses on this thread have been disappointingly spiteful considering that the worst any of the subjects of this mockery did was advise the OP to err on the side of caution.

Strange, not laughing at you. It's always good to trust your instincts on these things. Just think 999 was ott.

Personally wouldn't leave my son sleeping in car, even on my driveway, just as I'd never leave my handbag. I'm aware that's incredibly cautious, maybe overly cautious, but I just wouldn't feel ok with it. If he's pissed off by being woken up and cranky, well so be it. Or if there's only half an hour left of his nap time, I'll often keep driving or sit on driveway getting emails done and online shopping

Sit in driveway in car, I mean, not hang around outside!

kidinasweetshop Harrowing, yes that's the word.

Shared the shit out of me when I read it.

erring on the side of caution would have been knocking on some local doors to see if anyone knew whos the car was, or phoning the non emergency number. Phoning 999 is an over reaction.

So, the woman had been out and the child had fallen asleep in the car. How was she going to forget her 2yo was missing from the house, after say 30 minutes-1hour? I've had 2 yo's, I've worked with them, they aren't quiet little things you keep on a shelf. They are noisy, demanding, playful and need a lot of attention. I am pretty sure she would have soon realised it wasn't there!

I don't think that the two are mutually exclusive - the OP said that they weren't sure where to start with knocking on doors, and if they had to get back to work and were concerned about leaving the car, then taking any decisive action would have been better than doing nothing. I just think that the outpouring of rudeness was unnecessary considering the fairly innocuous nature of the advice given.

You might think so IamInvisible, but the article linked to above lists many scenarios in which the parents had forgotten about their children in the car because they had deviated from their daily routine and weren't normally in that situation. It can and does happen.

Wouldn't it have been quicker to knock on doors than wait for ten minutes, then ring police and stay to notice the mum come out 5 minutes later? I can see why you didnt, some people can get very aggressive at the suggestion theyve forgotten about their children! Tbh, I would've called 101 for advice on what to do, so yanbu at all to have asked the question. You exercised common sense, child is safe and sound. At least you did something, which is a lot more than anyone else who walked down the street.

*Op you did right thing.

My rule of thumb is that if I wouldn't leave my handbag unattended somewhere, then I wouldnt leave my child unattended there either.*

This. Overdramatic or not.

If you Google DoJo, what frequently crops up is the parents have forgotten to take the baby/toddler to daycare and gone on to work, thus not realising they are in the car when they leave it. Very sad, but different.