To refuse to leave my child unattended in a car?

[Gangle]

I was recently heavily criticised on a thread for saying that I would not leave DS, now 7 months, unattended in a car, e.g. in a petrol station or car park. Genuinely perplexed that people seem to think it's ok to leave kids alone - noone I know would do it and I don't think any of us are neurotic or precious about our babies.

LOL melpomene. Gangle, it's only funny to those of us who don't have the option to take our children with us. Those of us who may have left our kids in the car unattended hundreds of times and nothing has happened, so we smile at your fear that a big truck is going to randomly run over your car with you baby in it.

I have even nipped to the shop across the road while my twins have been in bed having their lunchtime nap.

ooopsie I let go of my 6 month old in the bath once and he slipped backwards momentarily. He swims like a fish now though so maybe it helped

I leave ds's in car when paying for petrol as i can see car the whole time and far more dangerous imo to have them going across forecourt with lots of traffic. I do have an 8 year old and 10 month old.

I leave the car locked tho.

Re the bath thing, i just get in with him (is great)

I'd be in a loony-bin by now if I spent time thinking up every possible scenario that could occur with my DCs. I remember the earlier thread - thought it was madness then, and still do now, to be so neurotic to not leave the kids for a short time in a locked car. I wouldn't do the weekly shop (though it's an engaging thought), but I leave them without a second thought while I pay for petrol or nip into the paper-shop. And - shock!! - I can't always see the car on these occasions. They are much happier and more comfortable not to be dragged in and out of car-seats, and the older one (who is 5) loves the 'ooh, I'm in charge' aspect for 2 mins while I pop in to pay.

I honestly think that people who get worked up about this sort of thing are just looking for stuff to obsess about. Hope these people never find themselves with a child with a serious medical condition or special needs of some kind - they'd disappear in a puff of smoke with the anxiety some of us have to live with day to day.

hear hear wispa. Being a neurotic parent is very different from just being sensible and responsible. We would all end up going nuts if we imagine every possible thing that could occur. In fact, if you live like that, it's no life at all because you'd never get out of bed and do anything!

why do you lock the car?
I always lock it if it is just me
but if dd is in there I leave it unlocked.

I lock the car so DD1 can't be tempted to go exploring, and so that no passing nutter could open the doors. Funnily enough. (Was that a serious question??)

I double lock the car when ds1 is in there because if he leaps out and is gone I won't get him. He always then sets of the alarm. If it's just ds2 and ds3 I tend to leave the door unlocked, or do whatever I do without thinking iyswim.

yes I was serious, one of those things you wonder for no real reason.
I don't as dd is in a wheelchir so I hardly think anyone would steal her because
a) it would take to long
b) she would scream the place down

also if ds is in there, he is 16 and would kill them.

if you do leave your child/ren in the car, then do LOCK it

only takes a few seconds for them to undo door and escape/get run over,or for strange nutter/thief to open door

interiour sensors can be set not to go off - talk to your garage

ours will set sensors if i dont press ok when i leave car - therefore always working unless i turn it off

dd can't escape And I watch the van whilst paying, or ds is in with her

Surely it's a bit of a no-brainer that if you were to be hit by a lorry whilst carrying your baby there's a high chance that you would both be killed whereas if a lorry hits a stationary car, a child inside in a car seat has a far higher chance of surviving?

But then people in general are often very bad at assessing risks accurately in lots of situations - I find it quite interesting actually why different people weigh risk in different ways and you end up with such a dichotomy on threads such as these.

LOL, I promise you no one would even attempt to steal any car with my kids in, even if it was a brand new, top of the range Porsche

god though

Wouldn't it be GREAT to do the weekly shop with the kids strapped in the car?

They could sit reading the Numberjacks magazine or whatever else crap takes their fancy, and eating Buttons

I could wander freely among the aisles, making actual informed choices. And then I could have a coffee afterwards

Off on a complete tanget here but WHY fgs do supermarkets not have shoppers creches? I am sure that they would more than make their money back.

i kind of get where gangle is coming from; as a new mum I carried PFB everywhere in his sling, and when he got too heavy for that, he went in the rear-facing pushchair - but, get this, I actually felt that even 2 foot away from me (and facing me) he was too bloody far away and I would get anxiety attacks about whether he was ok/cold/hot/choking.

FillyJonk - some Sainsbos have creches, but they are for 2Years and up, and only available for about 1 hour at a time.

BTW I'm OK now. PFB is 16!

I have twins, at 14 months and for me to pay for petrol, i would have to get the double buggy out and load them in, so no i leave the children in the car, but i do always try to use a petrol station with a pay at pump, so i dont have to leave the car, if i do i make sure i dont take my eyes off the car whilst going in to pay, it is your choice at the end of the day !"!

Fillyjonk that made me laugh out loud LOL !!