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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Leaving toddler in the car to go into a shop.

202 replies

lbsjob87 · 01/02/2017 20:04

During discussions over dinner about our day, OH mentioned he'd popped into the Post Office to post an EBay parcel.
I said to DS "Did Daddy take you to see Postman Pat?"
He said "No, I in car".
DH then said "I was in and out in two minutes and I could see him all the time, it was quicker than getting him out."
Knowing the shop in question, this is possible, but even so, is it reasonable to leave a 2 year old unattended for even a few minutes? He had to get the parcel weighed so couldn't just drop it in the postbox.
He says he can't see the problem, and it's no different to paying for petrol and leaving him to go and pay.
(I try not to get petrol when DCs are in the car, and take them into the shop if it's unavoidable).
AIBU?

OP posts:
MadHattersWineParty · 01/02/2017 20:07

Well, I don't see what danger your two year old would have potentially been in tbh. I'm sure there are times you leave your two year old unattended?! Like, in another room or in the loo or hanging the washing out?

Ilovecaindingle · 01/02/2017 20:08

My ds 2 can open his car seat so I def wouldn't do that - do leave older kids in at petrol station but next youngest is 8.

MadHattersWineParty · 01/02/2017 20:08

Although I don't have kids so I might be talking out of my arse and would do it completely differently if I did, I've no idea Blush but I'm pretty sure as toddlers I'd have probably been left in the car while my parents popped into shops.

CocoLoco87 · 01/02/2017 20:08

Would he leave a million pounds on the back seat unattended? I wouldn't, and my kids are worth far more to me!

I know this sounds fatalistic / doom and gloom, but say someone managed to get in the car and start it (somehow) before OH could get there. Or another car driving crashed into your stationary car.

I know the temptation is strong, and if you're going to be quick in a shop it does seem like a big upheaval for a small task, but IMO, not worth the risk.

EdenX · 01/02/2017 20:08

Can't see a problem either.

Original poster
lbsjob87 · 01/02/2017 20:09

That's why I wondered why it seems so much worse to me. He obviously locked the door, but somehow it seems more dangerous than if he left him to go to another room.
But for some reason I was furious.

OP posts:
FuzzyOwl · 01/02/2017 20:11

I wouldn't do it, especially considering what has happened to parents who have been caught doing so in the past as you can read [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03mmjth
here]]

RockyBird · 01/02/2017 20:11

To be fair a million quid is far more tempting to nick from the back seat of a motor than a dribbly toddler.

BastardBernie · 01/02/2017 20:11

I do it all the time

ThatsWotSheSaid · 01/02/2017 20:11

I'd never do it. I don't know if it's more dangerous than leaving them in another room but it feels wrong to me. Is it not illegal to leave a young child technically unattended?

TellMeHowToLiveMyLife · 01/02/2017 20:11

I think people are more likely to want to steal a million pounds than a toddler coco.

I don't see the problem at all. What (realistically) do you worry might have happened?

FuzzyOwl · 01/02/2017 20:13

TellMeHowToLiveMyLife that you will be arrested for child neglect, as has happened to other parents. That is the realist worry that I would have.

StarlingMurderation · 01/02/2017 20:14

One of the reasons I wouldn't do this is that DS would get pretty distressed if I left him on his own, even if he could see me. Even if it's only 2 minutes, I wouldn't want him upset.

Funnyonion17 · 01/02/2017 20:14

For fuel I leave mine in the car. I lock it and the passenger seats have child locks anyway. Anything else, no. I used to and eventually I felt so bad and saw it wasn't right. Haven't done it for a long time and wouldn't again.

MyBreadIsEggy · 01/02/2017 20:14

I park right outside my village bakery and leave my toddler in the locked car. I can see her the whole time and I'm in and out in a couple of minutes....whereas if I got her out, I would have to get her in and out of the car seat and then spend 10 mins trying to coax her out of the shop to the tune of "Look Mama!! CAKE!!" Hmm

Scaffleen · 01/02/2017 20:15

I wouldn't but then I always think about the awful scenarios that could happen. Like them getting out of seat and getting out the door through the front or taking the hand brake off. Then there's the possibility of something happening to me whilst in the shop and then my child would be left in the car a lone for hours whilst I'm rushed to hospital unable to communicate about my child in the car! The likelihood of any of this happening is tiny though.

MyDSMakeMeGreyButTheyreFab · 01/02/2017 20:15

If ds can't un do the seat belt and they wouldn't get stressed or upset then yes I would do it-and have.

I wouldn't run into a supermarket and grab something but if the car was in sight all the time and ds couldn't undo the belt and I could lock the doors -yes I would

Sassypants82 · 01/02/2017 20:15

Not a chance i would ever do /condone this. Just not worth the risk of something going wrong.

HelenaWay · 01/02/2017 20:16

I do it every day.

MakeMyWineADouble · 01/02/2017 20:22

This thread reminds me of this story so no I would always have dc with me just in case

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/cctv-appeal-car-baby-strapped-seat-stolen-mother-visits-store/

PerpendicularVincent · 01/02/2017 20:31

I wouldn't, DS knows how to unbuckle his car seat and unlock the car, so there's no way I'd risk it.

He'd be worried on his own, wondering where we were. To him, the next logical step would be to get out of the car and try and find DH and I.

I'd also worry that someone would try and steal the car. Rare, admittedly, but I'm not risking it.

Mumzypopz · 01/02/2017 21:44

Don't often see people taking babies into petrol stations to pay, so think quite a lot of people do it. Not many pay at the pumps near me. Can't see the harm if you can see the child and you are away for a couple of mins.

FearTheLiving · 01/02/2017 21:47

I couldn't do it. I've tried to, but couldn't physically walk away from the car! Luckily all my local petrol stations are pay at pump.

Amber76 · 01/02/2017 21:56

I'd do it - if it is just a few minutes and you're close to the car I honestly think its ok.

Thetruthfairy · 01/02/2017 22:03

I didn't do it. I did it a few times. Now I'm on dc3 I do it fairly often.