To leave sleeping child in locked car?

[Wouldyoudothisiwonder]

Went to supermarket to get prescription for DD(2) and she fell asleep on the way. Would you lock the car and leave her sleeping while you run in? Or not?

Sure, but the difference is, you're there with them and can either prevent them rolling off, or hear them if they do hurt themselves and comfort them.

You can't do that if they're locked in a car and you're totally oblivious in a supermarket.

Are you still being rude?

This is so selfish.

The staff working there shouldn’t be taken away from their job to go out wandering round a carpark. Do you realise how much time that would waste?

Then if they can do it for OP imagine how many other lazy people would try this on? “Oh hello pharmacy … yeah we’re parked up outside in a red fiesta can you bring my Perscription out because I’ve got my elderly MIL in the car asleep and I can’t leave her”.

Complete nonsense.

So….take the keys with you and then the kid won’t start the engine, will they?

Most modern cars have electrical handbrakes. And a child strong enough to release an old-school handbrake is old enough to be left anyway, you just need to teach them to not mess with the car.

There is a lot of people failing to accurately assess risk, here. And even more who do not understand how cars work.

Cars don’t randomly burst into flames. They just don’t!

They really really do. A quick Google will bring up dozens of stories of recalls due to fire risks and incidents of exactly that happening. There are regularly recalls of vehicles due to the risk of the car igniting due to some manufacturing error.

www.cbsnews.com/news/hyundai-and-kia-suv-recall-fire-risk/ I used to process insurance claims for a repairer who fixed vehicles for the big insurance companies. It happened regularly.

This is such nonsense. It is vanishingly rare that a car explodes. Come on.

A couple of minutes to run in a shop
for calpol or milk, or nappies if everyone is more honest here they have all done stuff like it.

Erm... no. OP is outside a supermarket. I doubt she could cross the car park, find what she wants, stand in a Sunday/pre-Xmas queue and be back at the car in a couple of minutes.

I agree the risk of anything dangerous happening are tiny. But the chance of someone seeing an unattended child in a supermarket car park and the police getting involved are not so tiny.

Well, yes, but even if you take the keys, there are still other things they can mess around with. I've also never had a car with an electrical handbrake - they're all manual ones.

Also, you can teach your children until you're blue in the face, but children are children and can do silly things in the heat of the moment, especially when their parents aren't around to tell them off or stop them.

More fool the car owner for leaving the keys in the car, then.

No, people understand that it's vanishingly unlikely, they just still don't think it's worth the risk.

I would NEVER allow my small children to possibly wake up alone, frightened, in a situation where I can't hear them if they call out for me.

Anybody who's happy to do this doesn't deserve children imo.

No, of course not.

Your kid is in more danger in a moving car, so the risk in your scenario is less

Child waking distressed.
Someone calling police
Someone peering in upsetting child,
Someone trying to break in to rescue screaming child
Humiliation of being announced over tannoy and doing walk of shame
Child who is sick....vomiting and checking, fitting through temperature or just the advice not to leave child sleeping in car seat because the neck position obstructs the airways...something your not going to notice if your not there

Many of you seem petrified of cars exploding without any prior warning due to an electrical fault. Yet you’re all driving around in said imminently-exploding cars and putting your kids in them. So you can’t honestly be that concerned can you? Surely it would be more likely to explode when the key is turned in the ignition and the battery is connected to the starter solenoid? I.e. when you’re in it?

Hrtft, but I can't believe how many people I've seen do this.

I remember when my dd was a toddler, I was parked in a Co-op car park and next to me was a car with a baby in the back, completely on it's own. I actually waited until the mum got back and she was at least 10 minutes from that point, so God knows how long she had been gone altogether. She had gone into the village, not just that shop, which would have been bad enough! I couldn't believe how stupid and irresponsible someone could be! I've seen this sort of thing several times now. Not usually with babies, but very small children and it actually makes me really cross.

Yes, it would be very unlikely that someone would steel a baby from a car, but what's not anywhere near as unlikely, is someone steeling your car and not even knowing that a child is in the back. I've heard quite a few stories of babies being left at the side of the road in a car seat!

I'm not petrified of my car exploding at all. I'm not stupid and know it's vanishingly unlikely to happen.

I just think it's pretty shit to go off and leave a baby/toddler in a car completely unattended.

While I appreciate its not likely - I literally was the child left in a parked car while my mum ran into the shop and got hit by another car.

Mum could see the car from the shop and had to watch a lorry turn the corner and hit the side of the car. I still have scars on the inside of my mouth from where I bit my cheeks rocking back and forth.

A prescription takes longer than the walk from door to kitchen.a minute max...even if nobody else is waiting it's a good 10 minutes from leaving car to returning add on 5 mins for everyone in the qué if their prescriptions or questions are simple

Yep! Especially when you are goading me. I did what I did I don’t need your approval or criticism

If they’re sleeping soundly and you’re whizzing to the pharmacy and back, I really don’t see the problem. They’d prefer that than being woken and dragged around a supermarket.

You posted on a public forum, you don't get to decide what people think of your replies and who responds to them, lol.

Many years ago when dc were in primary a mum left her toddler in the car whilst dropping her other dc off, it was his screaming when I walked by the car that caught my attention. All I could do was stand by the car and keep an eye on him/try to reassure him till she returned 10 minutes later and got annoyed with me for noticing her child was distressed.
Don't leave your little one in the car on their own when you can't see them.

No need to be so smug about being totally irresponsible.