TO THINK A TODDLER SHOULDNT BE LEFT IN A CAR ALONE?

[hifi]

went shopping in sainsburys yesterday, loading car and noticed a little girl, about 2 yrs, sat all alone in a smart car. i was parked a good distance from the entrance so she wasnt visible to who ever was caring for her.

i loaded up then sat for five minutes wondering if i should do something, or not.
she looked so sad, i now feel bad that i didnt do anything, or am i over reacting?

This happened to a friend of mine recently. Her partner went off to the centre to get the ticket etc and left her to get her bag etc.

In the car next to them was a baby in a car seat. She was mortified and is childless, but couldn't understand how someone could leave a child. So when her partner came back, who is a police officer, he just called it in. The woman came out and was offering all sorts of excuses. She drove away, but I guarantee she will be getting a visit from SS because you shouldn't leave your kids like that.

Sorry did I upset something? It came up in last 15 minutes

SpawnChorus - I think that this topic is generating a lot of emotion because of what might have happened. A supermarket carpark is not a safe place for an unaccompanied 2-year old to be wandering on her own - and I suspect she could have got out of the car without much difficulty at that age.

The first her parent would have known about it was when he/she returned to the car to find the door open and the child nowhere to be seen.

To characterise the responses to this very real risk as hysteria seems a little unkind to me.

We cannot protect our children from every possible eventuality and risk, however vague or unlikely, but there are some situations where the risks are so obvious that it is a no-brainer, and leaving a child at the far end of a supermarket carpark where you can't see her is most definitely one of these.

My father once found a baby in a parked car at a flower show. It was a hot day, and the car windows were tight shut. He rang the police and ambulance, who smashed the car window to get the baby out. The paramedics told him that if he hadn't alerted them when he did, and if they hadn't got the child out of the car when they did, she would have died of heat stroke.

Tricky

My dd2 who is 2 and 1/4 always wants to stay in car and look at her book, play with dolly when I pick d1 up from school but it is a car park away from school only about 3 minute walk but public car park. I do always make her get out and come with me but sometimes think maybe should just lock her in as I would only be about 10 minutes maximum.

What worries me is if something frightens her and she is alone and no one can calm her. I do not think anything would actually happen with her in a locked car......

Flum - could your dd2 get out of her carseat and open the door? And if she can't do those things right now, what's to say that she won't suddenly realise how whilst you are collecting your dd1.

My eldest ds was around this age when we suddenly realised, whilst driving home from town, that he'd undone his car seat straps and was unsecured. We had no idea up to that point that he could do that but he'd obviously been watching and learning.

If you can't see the car from where you pick your dd1 up, I would err on the side of caution and take dd2 with you. Chances are that nothing would go wrong - but is it worth taking that chance?

Perhaps you could set up a game for you and dd2 to play whilst waiting for dd1 - making up a story with a new episode each day, or counting red cars, or seeing who can stand on one leg for longest. I remember seeing, on supernanny, a game where she set up a bingo game for the children on the way to school - first person to spot a bus/bird/dog etc got that on their bingo board. Also, as time goes by, I suspect she'll make friends amongst the other younger siblings waiting in the playground and will enjoy it more.

Hope this helps.

Sge doesn,'t mind coming that much. I just make her. I don;t think she would get out of the car even if she could. She is scared of cars and carparksQ!