Do you leave kids in car whilst paying for fuel?

[elm26]

I’m not saying which one of us does which but here’s the scenario, 9 month old and 3 year old in car. You cannot pay at pump (we have one of these which is miles from us).

You’re only paying for fuel, you’re not choosing drink/crisps or anything else, literally in, pay and out.

YABU - you’d take both kids in with you
YANBU - you’d leave them in the car

Yes me
I’m so proud ls myself keeping 3 alive right through to being adults
whilst
never taking them in to a petrol station
sitting them in forward facing car seats before they were 18
never tracking them
letting them walk or cycle to school in year 4

Very freaky timing but I did this today for the first time ever, left my 11 month old, two year old and dog in the car. It was at 7.45am so the petrol station was empty, I stopped nearest to the door, locked the car on the way in and had my Apple Pay ready as soon as I got to the till! Basically I was completely OTT yet my heart was still racing by the time I got back 😂 reading some of these comments though maybe I might chill the hell out next time

edited to add - I am slightly paranoid as I once had a group of balaclava clad men try to car jack my car while I was in it which probably doesn’t help my paranoia!

Really, I would make sure that I filled up when the children were not with me or when there was another parent there.

I always take my 3 year old with me! I had no idea it was not the done thing! Quite a relief as I’m about to have another baby, but I’ll have to get over my own personal anxieties about it! When I was at school, a patient escaled from a mental health facility and doused himself in petrol and set himself alight on the forecourt. It was right by our school, I didn’t see it happen but it’s given me the heebie jeebies about petrol stations ever since. That said, my parents always left us in the car and obviously it was fine.

For those posters saying they’ve never seen or heard of anyone that takes their kid out of the car at a petrol station - hello! It’s me, I’m the one person that does it!

Leave in the car, but we generally try to fill up when there's either 2 of us or no kids in the car - helpfully there's one on the way back from DC2's nursery so I pop in after dropping him off if we're getting low

Leave kids in car. 9 month going nowhere. Good training for 3 yo to be told what to do and comply.
Maybe small reward offered

DH used to fill the cars on the way to/from work so whichever car needed fuel he would take. That eliminated the need for either of us to leave or not leave the kids to pay for fuel.

Absolutely not -it’s neglectful

Oh give over 😂

Did you forget the winky face emoji?

Always left them in the car, it’s never a trek to the kiosk. Would have been annoying and difficult to cart twins over to pay as well.

Yep, my DS comes in with me too. I’d rather be wasn’t left in the car in his own

Yes, assuming I could trust the 3 year old not to get out. But yes, mine always stayed in the car. They slept in it in the drive too. They are teens now. No one has stolen them yet. 😂

I always left mine in the car, but there were three dc (at one stage all under 3yrs) I remember one friend was horrified because she said always took hers with her-but she only had one dc. The logistics of 3 are somewhat multiplied

Sure they do

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

FckThisShit

Only on Mumsnet do so many people argue against leaving kids in the car whilst paying for fuel… just this really. 🙄😉😆

Depends on the situation. If it's my local petrol station, I leave toddler in the car. If it's a different petrol station and I can see the car from inside, I leave him. If I can't see him from inside, I take him, unless my older child is in the car too.

Always leave them in the car, with strict instructions to not be idiots and stay in their seats. It’s always worked so far

How irresponsible.

I live in a place where leaving your kids in the car even for a few minutes is illegal.

YABU to think this is safe or reasonable.

Also, I can't believe the UK still doesn't have universal pay at the pump filling stations.

There is no way on this green earth that I am opening the back doors, deploying the tail-lift, unclamping his wheelchair, wheeling him on to it, lowering the tail-lift, the stowing it again so I can secure the van, then taking my 5 year old across a forecourt to pay for petrol then reversing the process to get him back in the van. I pay at pump where possible but, if it's not available, then I leave him safely in his wheelchair in the van and pay at the kiosk. Unloading then reloading a wheelchair takes time and I think I would piss people off if I blocked a pump while carrying out the process and, having had my ramp run over in a car park it's not a situation I want to risk on a forecourt, I don't believe it is safer to take him with me.

Do you live in a hot country by any chance?

I saw it once. Woman with a baby and a toddler. She looked like she was crossing a battlefield the way she had the baby clamped to her with one hand while stooping to hold the toddler's hand with the other, dragging her across the forecourt. Madness.

Always leave them in the car with dire warnings not to touch anything. I don't even bother locking it. Go in, pay. Come out again. All fine.

And in 16 years of driving and having kids, I don't think I've ever seen anyone shephard all their children out of the car and into the petrol station just to pay for petrol without needing to pick up anything else from the shop/ someone needs a wee etc etc.