WWYD-child alone on car

[Moorethemerrier]

Need some advice. If I handled this correctly and what others would have done

Pulled into shops today and car next to me has a child (roughly 2yrs old) asleep in the car. It’s 1degrees here today and has been snowing. I stood by the car for 5 mins and took a photo of the number plate to go into to shops to ask for them to do a tannoy announcement. I walked around to find someone who wasn’t serving but didn’t want to not be able to see the car so instead I went back out to stand by the car as thought that might be best incase the child woke. I was in two minds to call the police as I don’t know how long this child’s been sleeping in there.
Out comes and man with a couple of bags of shopping pushing a buggy. I ask him if it’s his car/child and tell him how irresponsible it is to leave child alone in the car. He is instantly abrasive telling me to mind my own and he has a hard day and stop judging him. We go back and forth with me just generally trying to make him understand that it’s extremely irresponsible as it’s freezing. I tell him I had taken a photo of the car and was going to call police if he hadn’t returned. He starts getting annoyed it being GDPR and I’m breaking the law taking a photo of his car with his child in it and tells me he is phoning to police on me for taking a photo of his car.
Anyway due to him becoming aggressive the fact he has left the child I decide to just phone them anyway as I didn’t know if it would
escalate and it’s dark outside with no one else in close proximity.
He comes at me to hand the phone over so he can talk to them himself, I obviously refuse. We have a bit of back and forth and eventually off he speeds in his car.

I rung my DH in the way home as I needed to offload and was obviously shaken. He has gone off at me telling me I should have minded my own business, that im a ‘Karen’ and I should have done nothing.

Now I genuinely feel so bad. I’m not usually one to judge people and after was thinking what if he is just having the worst time and trying to do his best and I’ve now reported him neglecting his child. What would you have done in this situation? Should I have just made sure he returned then left. AIBU or you have called the police. I fear I’ve done the wrong thing!

I'd leave someone who called me a Karen. Disgusting misogynistic term. If course you were right.

The age of the child would be very helpful here OP.

What did you ask the tannoy to say?!

next time you could save a life. you did the absolute right thing

OP says the child was roughly 2 years old.

The bloke was a dickhead and your partner isn’t much better

Breach of GDPR my arse

I would of done the same, absolutely 100000% you did the right thing

Yanbu at all.
the dad is abusive and your partner is a misogynist.
Karen is a nasty ageist term but it was originally coined about white women reporting black people for doing perfectly ordinary things. Not leaving a small child alone in a car in the freezing cold.

You did the right thing. He needs to know that if he leaves his toddler in the car that someone will notice and call for help.

Your husband is a nob and phoning the police would have absolutely been the right thing to do. Who leaves a 2 year old in a car on their own in freezing weather. Social services need to be involved imo

You did the right thing, given how out of sight he was from his car.

Good point.
“would the neglectful pos who left their children in a car alone please return and save them before they die of hypothermia”

How lovely of you to stay and make sure the child was ok. But I think I'd have drove off once their parent returned. You giving off to them isn't going to do one bit of good unfortunately, only to annoy you further.

I would've done what you did up until the point where the dad came out a

• I would've explained that I was worried and had come into the store to see if I could find him and was thinking to even call the police.

I would've let him respond and if he didn't seem bothered, I would've given him a funny look and left it at that

I wouldn't have gone back and forth with him, he's probably just had a shit day and used very very poor judgement.

Yes he was 100% in the wrong but what did you want from the man? He isn't your husband, just a man who made a shitty choice.

It shouldn't have escalated and I would've left way before it did. He probably felt like shit himself.

You're not a karen but I don't see why you carried on talking to him. People know how to parent, he was just not acting like the best one.

Exactly my thoughts too.

Basic reading skills would be very helpful here PP.

Your DH sounds like a nob and dismissive of neglecting children. Do you have children? I'd be worried he would put your own in this position given doesn't see anything wrong with it.

Phoning the police was the right thing to do, social services need to be involved.

You did the right thing. The man is an absolute idiot to leave a child out of his sight. He needs social services to visit.

And you can photo his car and his kid all day long. No crime whatsoever in recording in a public place.

You 100% dud the right thing by ensuring that the toddler's parent came back. We all should feel responsible to protect babies and small children from harm. My husband would never leave our 2 year old daughter in a car on her own let alone in this freezing weather. You never know what's going on in that baby's home and you may have raised a valid concern..

Your husband is an idiot!!

Something happened to my child when with their dad. All the bystanders looking shocked. Not one of them contacted the police and the police and ss never listen to a mother when it's just her word against his. So I think you did the right thing op. You waited long enough for him to have been just grabbing calpol or milk or whatever he urgently needed as I do think a couple minutes is acceptable in some cases but he was doing a proper shop to need a couple bags and he argues with you then drives off which speaks to a nasty streak on the personality. It always upsets me post where people say not your business when it's kids safety because lots of people have to speak up to protect kids who are actually being treated bad.

I agree here.

I say fair play - I don’t think I’d have the confidence to stand up to someone like that - the fact he got aggressive too makes me worry for the poor child.

I wouldn’t have got into a discussion with him but I absolutely would have reported it.

We must protect children. Too many things have happened by people walking by.

I appreciate the husband came back, but if you’d left the child fast asleep who knows the parent might have forgotten about them?! It’s the sort of thing I think of America in the heat but equally could’ve happen here in the cold.

You did the right thing.

Well what other things is he making poor judgements on?
Absolutely the right thing to do. Might make him think twice in future!