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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to call 999 after seeing a baby alone in a car?

174 replies

VividMentor · 23/04/2026 19:29

I saw a baby left alone in a car in a car park of a Sainsbury's, no one around, I was leaving the trolley to put my son in my car, and I noticed a baby in the car seat, alone in the car. I went inside the store a told security, then came out and felt very uncomfortable leaving like that, so I called 999. By the time I finished the call, I went back inside the shop to check if security tracked the parents, they didn't. Went back to the car, got a call from 999 asking me to call them if the parents came back, which a did a while later when the mother approached the car. Then she called the father and he arrived a minute later very angry at me for calling. I explained that I waited, no one showed up and I called, what if no one came back? What if, considering the windows were open, someone took the baby? Also, if they were 2 people, why didn't the mother stay in the car since the only needed bread apparently? Police arrived and I left after talking to them, but this father looked very angry. Did I do the wrong thing here? That baby was alone in the car for a good 30 minutes.

OP posts:
Cocktailglass · 24/04/2026 22:02

That's true moronic and very concerning behaviour, both parents went in to shop and left the baby! Ffs one stay, other go or take with! I hope the police took their details and gave them a warning at least. Angry boy dad needs to get a grip, clearly one of those imbecile you can't reason with. As for the mother, any common sense? What a pair of fricking idiots and I will stand by this statement.

dh280125 · 24/04/2026 23:20

totally right. if they do that what the hell else are they doing? hope they've taken it as a warning, but likely not.

ImGoneUnderground · 24/04/2026 23:35

Dalmationday · 23/04/2026 19:46

I think if it’s 2 mins outside a Tesco express it’s a bit different. 30 mins alone is mad????

You did the right thing - Also 2 mins is also unreasonable & no different (really? - go in to shop, get shopping, queue, pay etc, card declined, 'unexpected item in bagging area' etc etc.....??) - how many seconds would it take for 'someone' to snatch that baby???? Or even a fire to start, another car crash into the car, baby vomit & choke (yes, maybe not very likely, but could happen....)....hopefully a wake up call for the 'loving parents' who complained about someone else caring more for their child than they do. Please do it again next time you see it xxxx🌹

Mythoughts1 · 25/04/2026 00:23

Good on you. You definitely did the right thing.

GlobalTravellerbutespeciallyBognor · 25/04/2026 04:50

But what do the police do next?

Referral to social services?
Arrest them for neglect?
Each is justified imo.

ImogenBrocklehurst · 25/04/2026 08:22

GranolaBaker · 23/04/2026 19:42

30 minutes?! You absolutely did the right thing.

A family friend left their baby in the car by accident in a hot country and the baby died (terrible terrible tale and the most horrific mistake that will quite obviously haunt them forever). It doesn’t have to be a hot day for a young child to get heat stroke and die, quite apart from the abduction fears (and just general competence of the parents - what other safety things are they this causal with? )

By accident?? How?

ViciousCurrentBun · 25/04/2026 08:28

I was in a supermarket waiting at customer services and the woman in front had found a toddler wandering round the car park, they had managed to get out of the car they had been left in

You did the right thing,

Girlwithavibe · 25/04/2026 08:51

Well-done Op !!
I think u doubted yourself because of the dad's angry response it made u feel bad !!
But he was mad because he had been caught neglecting a child !
I would do the same in those circumstances, u know it wasn't ok so that is why u reacted the way you did !! Never doubt yourself ❤️

hellomylov3 · 25/04/2026 09:08

It's not actually illegal to leave a child unattended in a car. The parents would have been spoken to but nothing would have been done. The baby being accidentally forgotten about would be the main worry. The law needs to change to stop this.

Starsnrainbows · 25/04/2026 09:50

I would have done the same. Some people dont deserve to be parents!

Notabarbie · 25/04/2026 10:00

Definitely the right thing. Well done.

happysinglemama · 25/04/2026 10:37

Safeguarding is everyone’s duty so well done!!!

Utopiaqueen · 25/04/2026 10:40

Buzzingabout · 24/04/2026 19:01

You were absolutely right. I never left my son alone in the car for one minute ever when he was a baby up to teen t
years.

Baby of course. But you honestly never left your TEEN in a car for one minute?!

MabelAnderson · 25/04/2026 11:51

Auroraloves · 23/04/2026 19:30

You did absolutely the right thing

This . 30 minutes !! Horrifying.

ForeverTheOptomist · 25/04/2026 12:23

That's outrageous. You most definitely did the right thing. Do not doubt yourself.

MinecraftMum40 · 25/04/2026 14:10

Some days Woolworths don’t deserve to be parents. You absolutely did the right thing.

FettchYeSandbagges · 25/04/2026 14:20

You did absolutely the right thing, although if it were me, I wouldn't have hung around and identified myself to the parents.

ccccccccc · 25/04/2026 15:00

Dalmationday · 23/04/2026 19:46

I think if it’s 2 mins outside a Tesco express it’s a bit different. 30 mins alone is mad????

No, 2 minutes outside a Tesco express is not allowed either.

pushontheswings · 25/04/2026 17:49

By who? Of course it’s ‘allowed’. You might not choose to do so personally as is your right but there is no law stating that you cannot!

Buzzingabout · 25/04/2026 18:08

Horrifying that a woman can be so stupid and selfish. She should have been fined. That was outright neglect.

user1492757084 · 25/04/2026 18:11

A baby in a car for mere minutes with a parent in full view picking up a package or buying fuel is very different to a baby alone for 30 minutes. Were they gambling at a casino?
You did the right thing, Op.

user1492757084 · 25/04/2026 18:17

Some places actively ask for children under 14 to stay in the safety of their car - landfill dumps, petrol stations and agricultural chemical retailers etc etc.
A baby in a shopping car park for 30 minutes alone sounds unreasonable and dangerous.

BePeppyHazelHam · 25/04/2026 20:27

Terrible thing to do leaving a baby in a car on its own full stop. Hopefully social services look into this further. I suspect it’s not the first time they’ve done it.

Fizzy89 · 27/04/2026 12:18

It doesn't take 30 mins to get bread does it so what were they really doing!

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