Baby left alone in car

[ChickenGator]

I was on my way to pick up my son from school when I walked passed a car with a baby inside.

I did a double take and noticed he was on his own and felt uneasy walking off and leaving him there.

So I waited there for a couple of minutes to see if anyone came, maybe they'd rushed back in the house to get something.
The car was parked on the street and I knew in front of a house with a driveway with another car in the driveway.

After another minute or so I knew I was going to be late to pick up my son, so I built up the courage to knock on the door.

She answered pretty quick and I asked is that your car on the street and she said yes to which I replied I was just checking because there's a child alone in there.

She then gets a bit annoyed and says I know I'm checking on him which seemed weird since I had been hanging around a while and the windows at the front on the house were covered by blinds

So I said ok and starting walking back down the drive to which she then calls me rude.
I turned back and said I was genuinely concerned for the child and by the way he's awake and walked off.

When I walked back home after collecting my son the child was no longer in the car.

Am I mad for thinking this is crazy. I remember when mine were that age? Transferring them out of the seat would always wake them but I'd never considered leaving them on their own in the car. Many times I sat in the car whilst they slept.
The car wasn't even in the drive it was on the street! I've been thinking about it all evening.
It's a quiet residential street but still...

Beyond the risk of the child (and car) being stolen, there's also the possibility of suffocation and death from harsh weather conditions.

Like, I'm not gonna lie, I let my DD sleep in her carseat and come out every 5 minutes to check on her from time to time, but I also live back in the woods where there are no passer-bys, and my car has sentry mode (I get alerts on my phone if someone is in view of the cameras) as well as climate control settings that remain on without it having to be ready to drive off (it does not have a key). But in a normal, petrol-operated car? On a residential street? Nah.

You definitely did the right thing.

It was cold today too!!

@RockyFowlboa why on earth did you quote the whole of the OP?
You were literally the first person to answer.
Can you imagine how long a thread would be if everyone did that?

@ChickenGator you did the right thing. Of course babies shouldn't be left alone in cars.

DP and I would never have left our DC alone like that when they were little, but then we are not Scandinavian...

@TheShellBeach Force of habit

You absolutely did the right thing, I’d never do that. Very silly of her to get annoyed - many people would be visibly much judgier, she got lucky

You were in the right. In a potentially dangerous situation it's always best to check that the baby is actually okay and nothing has happened to the parent to stop them getting to their baby.

People who mind their own business and don't look out for others, especially little ones, allow terrible things to happen. e.g. You read about toddlers who wander off and wind up dead and people report having seen them walking off on their own but having done nothing. I always think how they could have saved that little life if they'd just gone out and checked where the parent was.

If you see it again just call the police and give them the street and registration number. However you did the right thing and you never know what might’ve happened if you’d not knocked on.

You did the right thing

For what it's worth people who leave kids in cars are never grateful!

My neighbours left their child asleep in the car in the middle of the day in mid summer. It was hot enough for me not to leave my dogs in the car so definitely not ok to leave a child strapped in a car seat.
After 15 mins I knocked the door - they told me to go away and mind my own. They were out back playing with older child. I rang 999 and police came and had a stern word.

Neighbours made my life hell after that so much so I had to move.

Not sure why the first poster quoted the op, but anyway

How old was the child??

My neighbours left their child asleep in the car in the middle of the day in mid summer

^

This is worse than the op

Try to fight it. It's a bad habit x

Well it's pointless.

Everyone on a thread is answering the OP, so there's absolutely no need to quote it.

Please stop.

How many more messages am I going to get about having quoted the OP? I didn't realize I was the first respondent. Its not like I can go back and fix it

Even if you were the 200th respondent, there is never any need to quote the whole OP.

OKAY I GOT IT

😂

My Grandparents would put me out for the nap on the balcony in -10 winter! That's my excuse for...everything.

In the early 80s auntie left her baby in a pram, outside the shop whilst she went inside. Came out - pram gone, baby gone! So she rushed home in a complete panic mode to call the police and found the baby napping underneath her front-room windows. That's the usual spot, so panic over 😂
Turns out, a close friend spotted the pram outside the shop and decided it would be a good prank to just take it home and park in the usual spot...
That's entertainment before TikTok 😁

a child in a hot car I’d call the police. Every year babies and toddlers die of that.

I don’t know why anyone would do this. Someone tried this as DC’s school once, when they returned to the car it was surrounded by concerned parents and baby was screaming. The school sent out a note to say don’t leave babies in cars!

I wish they'd remove the quote option for the first post on a thread. I'm with you on this - it never needs quoted

You definitely did the right thing. Honestly she’s lucky no one did walk past and call 999 on her.
I can understand if the car was in a locked garage, but to leave it on the street in full view that’s incredibly dangerous.

I don't agree with most peoples views of leaving babies in cars. If it's very hot or very cold admittedly. On their own driveway would have been better admittedly.

But mostly, babies left on their own aren't at that much risk. The risk management if it has been identified and assessed, has at least been considered.

But then although not actually being Nordic, I'm a fan of the Scandinavian leaving babies outside to sleep, and think that most people's anxiety or suggestions of risk is invalid or over-exaggerated.

I wouldn’t have knocked, I would have called the police. I’m pretty sure it’s been illegal to leave little kids in a car alone for at least a couple of years.

My DD was the worst sleeper in the world. I was like the living dead for the first 5 years of her life. When she was little if she fell asleep while I was driving I would park outside the house, pop inside and make a cup of tea and sit on the front step with a book and a brew for as long as she would sleep for. I never tried transferring her. Obviously the temperature was a factor I would take into account and would ensure car in shade, window down in the summer. Extra blanket in winter. If it was raining I'd sit in the front window so I could see her and check regularly. She was a child that would always wake up screaming so sometimes it was the only 10 mins of quiet I'd get in a day.