To leave toddler in the car while I collect sibling from school?

[peekabooiseeyouhere]

For context, small rural school, not a dangerous area in the slightest.

Caveat, haven’t done this yet. But it would make life a lot easier …

We were really early today, which is why I was thinking about it. She’d been to a little crafting event which was about fifteen minutes from the school, it was 1230-230 so we were there at 245, and then the heavens opened with cold rain and I wondered about just leaving her in the car as she was happy listening to the Yoto player. But as it was she was clearly expecting to come with me so no biggie!

I wouldn't. I have finally started leaving my 5yr old in the car when I get my eldest from Beavers. I can see the car in the car park and am within distance to use the key fob. First week was fine, second week he was distraught thought i wasn't coming back. Oh I felt so guilty. I just take him with me now. Pain in the ass when its raining but better than leaving him.

Why risk a lifetime of sadness and guilt? The likelihood of anything awful happening would be very remote but I would still never risk it. I remember the case of a mum who left her child in a car near the jetty, just nipped in a shop for a minute, and when she came out the car was underwater in the harbour.

I would but ideally i'd walk

YABVU and lazy. Walk to school run and use a rain mac. I would be worried if I saw a toddler alone in a car.

Children get killed crossing the road on the school run too. Do you say the same to all the mothers on here who bring their kids with them?

rhe streets surrounding our schools are restricted at drop off and pick up times. It’s chaos for the streets further out

I think you just need to stop the leaving op - in the car, on the drive.

I know it's tiring but they actually aren't that little for long and they are like puppies: perfectly behaved when you are there then suddenly take it into their head to do something mad when left unattended.

You'd never forgive yourself.

She can’t do anything in her car seat. Lol at ‘stop the leaving.’

No I wouldn’t. 99% nothing would happen to her, but are you prepared to take a 1% chance?

Well then why did you even post asking if you had the answers and only want to "lol" at people who bother to reply?

I would never leave a toddler on a drive. Or was she in a car seat on the drive?

I've said I understood only too well the temptation; I wasn't being harsh, just giving honest feedback in answer to your question.

This is true. I've heard parents say they don't do it because the car could get hit by another car. The exact situation is as likely to happen whether you are in the front or not. And if you have a rear facing seat, you will get to your child running from the school gates 100m away nearly as fast as getting out from the front and going to the back to comfort your child. I think some parents have a God complex about their kids, you can't prevent everything. Driving to school in the first place is the most risky part, leaving them and being nearby is not a risky thing to do by comparison.

Exactly. Risk of what @Screamingabdabz ? Genuinely. I get it if it’s the height of summer.

I can't think of any primary school I've been to that this would be the case, and I do primary visits in my local area so have been to a few recently including tiny village schools. They all have those big yellow zig zags outside to stop you parking there and making it unsafe.

Absolutely not. If school see this happening it will be picked up as a safeguarding concern and rightly so.

Personally, no I wouldn't

Nope. It’s a pain, but what if a car ran into yours? Or your baby wakes up and panics? Or or or?

I think the police would have a field day if they noticed your baby alone in the car. Don’t do it, it’s just lazy.

I wouldn't. When my sister was little and the three of us were left in the car for a minute she took the handbrake off and the car rolled down a slope and crashed. We were all unhurt, but I've never forgotten what it felt like when she said I know how mummy drives the car, and then we were moving.

My empty car was squashed in a supermarket car park by a 4x4 reversing, I wouldn’t do it.

No, they won't. Lots of parents here leave kids in the car to do the school run.

And children are hit by cars on the school run too.

It's not as though you're suddenly making them safer by taking them with you.

No. Not a dangerous area means nothing ... look at every rural disaster and that's what people say..

Don't do it

Yes, of course she was! She was in the car seat, in the car. on the drive while I nipped in.

I laughed at ‘stop leaving her’ because it makes it sound like I’m constantly doing it.

Agree, but at my local school it wouldn’t matter how soon you got there. Massive fence, then all classrooms around a corner.
No parking and double yellow lines. But now has metal poles etc as parents kept parking on double yellow lines or driving over and parking on the path. Lazy twats.