She called security on me for toddler in car.... WTF??

[JustWantedPetrol]

Left my toddler in the car to pay for petrol - I could see him while paying - and a stupid woman called security cause my 3yo was crying and shouldn't be left in car...... Eh??
WTAF? She's never seen parents leave kids in the car to pay for petrol? WTF is that about?

I also have three children and have never taken them out of the car and walked them amongst cars in a petrol station to spend 1 minute paying for petrol.

'Your child was crying and how was she to know you were going to be back soon?' Surely it was obvious that she was paying for petrol if the car was at the pumps.

I've never met anyone, or seen anyone, IRL who take their kids into the petrol station with them

Me neither. It's a MN trope though

Children don't normally cry without reason.

Um.....always knew mine were broken Tbh they cried for 'reasons' but sometimes things I couldn't fathom, I swear they'd cry because it was sunny/grey/rainy or unicorns weren't real or because monkeys eat bananas but they didn't like bananas etc as toddlers. Thankfully they have grown out of it

I agree with splinters. Petrol forecourts are not the same as shopping centre car parks, or any other car park for that matter.

You park, take the fuel, pay and leave. If you aren't inside your car you are either outside pumping the fuel or inside paying.

Cars do not just rock up, park at a fuel pump and their owners disappear for hours on end.

What was the security then? Aren't most petrol stations manned by a person sitting behind a window?

I usually send one of the kids to pay for the petrol as I'm generally far too pissed to walk that far.

yes

What is this "security" of which you speak?

innurendo ours have signs saying that children under 16 cannot pay for or pump fuel.

Well she was right to do so. Your child was crying and how was she to know you were going to be back soon?

Oh lets think, car parked at a petrol pump.....think that kind of gives it away that driver is in paying for petrol, which generally doesnt take long.

Your petrol station has security? Where do you live that this is needed?

sailor

And my 3 year old can't reach the till, so that's a no-no

innuendo, what you say can't possibly be true

I take my DS (2) into the petrol station with me whilst I pay. I do this because 1) he would get upset if he didn't see me whilst being alone in an unknown place 2) if an explosion were to happen I'd rather him be with me, regardless of where we are positioned at the time. I know that an explosion is unlikely, but sadly you still get the idiots that smoke on the forecourt or will harmlessly flick a fag in that direction without a second thought. However it's none of my business if other parents want to leave their kids in the car, I have plenty of friends that do so, and I'd never judge or report them for it.

Is there not technology in the UK to pay at the pumps?

Children don't normally cry without reason.

True. My 3yo cried today because her bed was "broken" (the blankets were askew).

Presumably the car was sat next to the petrol pump, kind of logical to assume the parent would be back for it pretty quickly!

Statistically it's safer to leave your child/children in the car rather than walk them across a forecourt. Just putting that out there

Christ some 3 year olds cry for stupid reasons - like mum won't let the, drive the car. And I have known 3 year olds who keep that crying going for some time too.
Stupid woman.

DS worked at Tesco petrol station. To get security the petrol station staff would have had to call across to the store and get someone to leave the store and walk across the huge car park. There are no security staff in the petrol station.

The person calling security would have had to go to into the petrol station to tell them to call security where the driver would have been paying.

Doesn't make sense.

Always leave the window open a crack if you're going to be more than a few hours, or dogooders will whinge about it.

My 4 year old cried yesterday because "he didn't want his head to be this shape"......

@sailor you have found the one hole in my story

@out2pasture - there is, although they like to keep it permanently disabled in quite a few petrol stations, perhaps as a public spirited contribution towards staving off obesity.

Where is your petrol station that you have security

How long would you have to be gone for someone to notice that your child was crying and then find some 'security' to intervene in a petrol station. It would presumably take longer than two minutes to find anything you could call security and have them come to take a look.

It's one thing for someone to maybe have said something about not leaving a child. But you'd presumably be back before 'security' could turn up.

innurendo Wish I had thought of doing that. And I am sure if they jump they could reach the till.

I have been in a petrol station with a security guard standing outside - looking very bored actually.